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On QI last week they mentioned that the Chinese never invented glass, and as such were hindered in their development by the lack of chemically inert glass containers for chemical experiments, and also from the lack of glass for spectacles which could extend the working life of scholars by 10-15 years (though the Chinese did invent sunglasses using panes of smokey quartz).
So, assuming this is true, the obvious question is, what if the Chinese did invent or acquire glass technology? When might they have done so, and what impact might it have had?