Called the south-pointing needle, the compass took its first form as a lodestone in a wooden fish floating on top of the water in a small dish. Although most Westerners' orientations are usually toward the north, the Chinese thought of the needle to point South, even though both are pointing in the same direction. The Chinese would rather think of the fertile South than look to the North, where the barbarians lay.
The lodestone was first used for magical purposes, instead of navigational purposes, because they weren't very avid seamen.
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