The spinning wheel was invented in China about 1000 AD and the earliest drawing of a spinning wheel that we have is from about 1035 AD (see Joseph Needham). Spinning wheels later spread from China to Iran, from Iran to India, and eventually to Europe.

The early Chinese spindle-wheel was originally invented in conjunction with silk-technology and was linked to silk production, as pictured in some Han stone reliefs. It is concluded that the spindle-wheel is a Chinese Invention which may be dated to the early years of the Warring States period.