Why did the Industrial Revolution happen first in England? Why did the British invent the steam engine? Why did the Chinese invent the waterwheel but not the steam engine?

One by one! Firstly, there are many reasons why it happened in Britain, I will talk about the important three points: 1. Crazy colonial plundering and slave trade brought Britain a huge amount of monetary capital, thus accumulating financial resources for the industrial revolution. 2. The high development of workshop handicrafts was an indispensable technical prerequisite for the industrial revolution. 3. In addition, Britain, in pursuit of more profits, also paid attention to the development of production with enthusiasm, thus stimulating the invention of machines and the use of new science and technology.3. The British government vigorously explored overseas colonies, actively implemented the protective tariff system, and searched for overseas markets for the country's industry and commerce.

Secondly, the first steam engine was invented and built by the French physicist Denis Papin in 1688 using a cylinder and piston. Watt was the inventor of the improved steam engine. So your question is wrong, you should be asking about improvement.

Third, the "steam engine" was not invented because it was not needed. The coal used to smelt steel in England was extracted from deep wells, and the steam engine for draining water had already existed. The steam engine had already existed for draining water, and Watt had only improved it. China's various fuels, such as coal, may have been mined in shallow strata, and did not need a machine like the steam engine, which could have been invented if the coal mines in China had been deeper.

On the other hand, China had plenty of human resources, and it was much less expensive to use manpower than to build a machine. Presumably, China has invented other devices for draining mines, but certainly not the "steam engine".

That is to say, we Chinese followed a different technological path than the West.

In other words, we Chinese followed a different technological path than the West.