China was once a world leader in science and technology up until the Ming dynasty. There are many Ancient Chinese discoveries and inventions. For example, papermaking, printing, the compass, and gunpowder are known as the Four Great Inventions. They became widespread across East Asia, the Middle East and later to Europe. Chinese mathematicians were the first to use negative numbers. By the 17th century, Europe and the Western world became better than China in science and technology.