What do you think is the most incredible scientific invention in ancient times? Why?

Sofia is a humanoid robot developed by Hanson Robotics in Hong Kong. It looks like a normal human woman, has rubber skin, and can show more than 62 facial expressions. Through computer calculations in her "brain", Sophia is able to recognize human facial expressions and make eye contact and have normal conversations with people.

Sofia once came to China to be a guest on CCTV's "Dialogue". If you are interested, you can search and take a look. She is no different from a normal person.

Picture - Sophia is a guest on the "Dialogue" program

The successful development of Sophia has brought artificial intelligence to a new level and allowed people to see the future of artificial intelligence. But if I say that China created this kind of artificial intelligence more than 2,000 years ago, your jaw will drop.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Lu Ban and Mozi were the leading innovators of that era, but compared with the person I am going to talk about below, they are simply not worth mentioning, even if Lu Ban invented a wooden flying boat that could fly for three days. Kite, even if Mozi discovered the small hole image.

"Liezi Tangwen" records a craftsman with no name or surname. Because he was from Yanshi (now Yanshi, Henan), people called him Yanshi.

King Mu of Zhou (who once had a tryst with the Queen Mother of the West), who loved traveling all his life, went on a tour of the West, crossed the Kunlun Mountains, and climbed Mount Yanyan (the Sunset Mountain, the Yanyan Mountain recorded in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas"). ci mountain).

Picture - The Sculpture of King Mu of Zhou Seeing the Queen Mother of the West

On the way back to the country, King Mu of Zhou was blocked by a man who wanted to show off his skills. It was Yanshi.

King Zhou Mu summoned Yanshi: "What skills do you have to show?"

Yanshi: "As long as there is an order from the king, I am willing to try it. But I have already made it. I hope the king will take a look at it first."

King Zhou Mu said, "Bring it here tomorrow and I will look at it with you."

The next day, Yanshi. He took a man with him to meet King Zhou Mu.

King Mu asked: "Who is coming with you?"

Yanshi replied: "They are the singing and dancing artists I made."

King Mu was surprised to see the man walking quickly and slowly, stretching and bending freely, just like a real person. He can sing by lowering his head, and his singing voice can change according to the rhythm of the song; he can dance by raising his hands, and his dance postures can be in time with the beat, and his movements can change as he pleases.

Picture - just a picture

King Mu of Zhou thought this was a real person, so he called his concubines to watch it together.

Who would have thought that when this person was about to finish his performance, he would flirt with King Zhou Mu's concubines.

King Zhou Mu was furious: He seduced my woman and cuckolded me in front of me. It is really the emperor who does not show his power and treats me as a second-rate man. Come, push them out and behead them.

Yanshi was so frightened that he knelt down and begged for mercy, and tore apart the singer and dancer. It was really dismantled, like dismantling a bench.

King Mu of Zhou took a look and found that the "person" who had just been singing, dancing and seducing women was actually made of leather, wood, resin, and paints such as lacquer, chalk, black charcoal, cinnabar, and blue sand. Whitewashed and painted.

King Zhou Mu was shocked. He did not believe his eyes at all. He stepped down from the throne and inspected carefully. He saw that this "man" had all the internal organs, muscles, bones and hair, and everything that a human should have.

Picture - no other meaning, just a picture

King Zhou Mu ordered Yanshi to assemble it again, and the result was restored to the original state. King Mu of Zhou was so curious that he tried it himself: if the heart was removed, the "person" would be dead and unable to speak; if the liver was removed, the eyes would be blind; if the kidneys were removed, the "person" would be dead and unable to speak. My legs immediately became paralyzed.

King Zhou Mu was very happy: I have traveled all over the world and have dealt with gods and immortals. I have seen a lot. This is the first time I have seen such an interesting object. This is almost the same as Nuwa creating humans. So King Mu of Zhou ordered to bring Yanshi and this "artificial intelligence" back to Haojing.

Later, Lu Ban and Mozi's disciples told them about this. They felt ashamed and no longer dared to boast.

That’s what happened. If it were true, let alone that era, even in modern times, it would be earth-shattering technology, and it could surpass “Sofia” by eighteen streets.

If such exquisite artificial objects can be created, what will happen if they have feelings?

Do you think it will be true?

I think it would be better to remove the word "most". I think there are many incredible inventions in ancient times, but the one that interests me the most is one called: Baghdad Battery

Iraq's One of the most interesting and controversial artifacts from the Baghdad Museum is a clay pot. It is 5 to 6 inches tall and encased in a copper cylinder. The iron rod hangs from the center of this cylinder (but does not touch it). Both the copper cylinder and the iron rod were held in place with pitch plugs. The rod shows signs of corrosion, possibly due to the use of acidic liquids such as vinegar or wine.

From our understanding, people would use batteries so early? So what is it used for?

And is this container really used to generate electricity? Isn't it an ordinary container?

Many people say this is a scam.

The object consists of a terracotta jar approximately 130 mm (approximately 5 inches) tall (with a half-inch opening) and a copper column made from rolled sheets of copper, Copper There is an iron rod inside the pillar. At the top, the iron rod and copper post were separated by a stopper made of asphalt. The iron rod and copper post were tightly fitted inside the opening of the jar, with the middle part of the outer wall of the jar protruding outward. Since the copper pillar is rolled and cannot isolate the liquid, when the jar is filled with a liquid containing citric acid, the iron rod will also be filled with this liquid. If even a tiny amount of electrolyte solution is added to this item, it will corrode. This has led some scholars to believe that lemon water, grape juice, or vinegar will cause the iron and copper to initiate an electrochemical reaction.

The power provided by the Baghdad battery is inefficient compared to modern devices.

Someone has copied the Baghdad battery, and the copy can produce a voltage of 0.8 to nearly two volts.

The Baghdad Battery has been put to the test by the media at least twice.

They are the Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World program on British television in 1980, and the Discovery Channel's MythBusters program broadcast on March 23, 2005.

Although even today, there is still a lot of controversy, and countless people think this is impossible, but I still think this Baghdad TV is a very interesting ancient invention.

What could be done with weak voltage in that era?

Is it used for divination? Or use it to do some small experiments?

It’s really fun!

Shouldn’t the most incredible scientific invention be the famous “Four Great Inventions”

Although the compass was invented by the clever Chinese, its main purpose is to read Feng Shui. But without this invention, the Age of Discovery would not have come. Without the Age of Discovery, exchanges between the East and the West would have been delayed for hundreds of years. The collision and explosion of human civilization would have been delayed for many years, and the pattern of a global village would not have been formed.

Are you saying it is contrary to nature?

And gunpowder. Although our ancestors who love liveliness invented gunpowder, they mainly used it to make firecrackers, which made our festivals lively. Weddings and funerals also had more lively atmosphere because of gunpowder. But without gunpowder, Western gun technology would not have developed on a large scale. If they were still stuck in their cold weapon age, how could the West plunder underdeveloped areas and build colonies one after another, and China would not be able to The country would be opened during the Opium War. If we don’t open the country, the Qing Dynasty may not have long-term peace and stability, and you may still have pigtails on the back of your head shouting long live long live long live long live.

You said that this invention goes against the will of heaven. Not only does it go against heaven, but it also blows the sky.

There was also papermaking. Without the discovery of papermaking, all articles were still engraved on bamboo slips and written on expensive silk. Literati had to use knives to carve words on bamboo slips. Writing efficiency dropped significantly, and culture could not be spread. Without spread, progress could not be made. . Maybe our civilization will go back a thousand years now.

Do you think this invention is contrary to nature?

Let’s talk about printing. Without movable type printing, all books had to be copied. How expensive would a book be? Most people cannot afford to read. If they cannot afford to read, they will be ignorant. If they are ignorant, they will be deceived and think that they are born with knowledge. The bitches should be enslaved, there would be no Renaissance, and there would be no widespread spread of knowledge. If knowledge is not spread, technology will not be spread.

Do you think this invention is contrary to nature?

After talking about the four major inventions, let’s talk about some small objects.

The first one is of course the famous "Chinese boots", which is what foreigners call stirrups.

Stirrups are the crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese people.

White, a British expert on the history of science and technology, said, "Few inventions are as simple as the stirrup, and few inventions are of such great significance."

Although the stirrup is a small It is an object, but it is of extraordinary significance to people in the era of relying on animal power for transportation. It freed the knight's hands and allowed the knight to wield heavy weapons on horseback.

The earliest stirrups discovered in China appeared in the Sixteen Kingdoms period, while in Europe they only appeared in the 6th century AD. It was first discovered in the tombs of the Avars in Hungary. The Avars are descendants of the Rouran people from the Mongolian Plateau.

So stirrups are also called Chinese boots.

Without stirrups, it is difficult to imagine cavalry on horseback with bows and arrows, and it is difficult to imagine them galloping. Of course, this picture may also be difficult to appear:

The second one is naturally the gear of the Warring States Period. Just look at the picture, needless to say, this is from the fourth century BC

Translucent bronze mirror, standing wave fish wash, two-tone chimes, caisson,

Translucent bronze mirror , the pattern on the back of the bronze mirror can be revealed from the light and shadow.

The basic principle is that when the bronze mirror is cast, the thermal expansion and contraction of the thin and thick patterns are uneven, resulting in subtle curvature changes on the front of the mirror. Reflection amplification.

Standing wave fish wash, standing wave is an enhanced pattern produced by the reflection and superposition of waves in a regular space. It's an acoustic phenomenon.

Double-tone chime, a chime can play two pitches that are yoked to each other. When the A tone is played, the B tone is suppressed, and vice versa.

The wavelengths of these two tones have a common multiple relationship.

Caisson,

This is the most interesting. The caisson can be surrounded by a fancy wind bucket,

It has the effect of pulling out the chimney against the wind, and the surrounding carvings become Some aerodynamic air cooling wind grilles.

A pavilion with a caisson is equivalent to an air-conditioning ventilation fan above the head, which can induce the surrounding hot air to naturally rise.

To make the pavilion extra cool, it becomes a pavilion.

Some pavilions are also equipped with water wells and water storage wells. They cool the water wells by extracting cool wind and become well pavilions. and ice storage ice cellar entrance pavilion.

A caisson is a cooling tower with a large surface area.

The heaven-defying cultural relics are things that will make you feel that they are not the inventions of people of that era. Speaking of which, I can immediately think of the following:

1. Warring States Crystal Cup

This does not look like a work of the ancients at all, it is almost the same as a modern crystal cup. The Warring States crystal cup was discovered in 1990 in a Warring States tomb in Banshan Town, northern Hangzhou. The coffin in the tomb has disappeared without a trace. The crystal cup may have come from the tomb's coffin. This crystal cup is 15.4 centimeters high, 7.8 centimeters in diameter, and 5.4 centimeters in base diameter. The cup body is plain and simple, transparent and without decoration. This crystal cup is made from a whole piece of crystal. The craftsmanship is mainly reflected in three aspects: first, the crystal is very hard and difficult to process; second, the cup has a sloping wall, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. , which leads to more complex processing. 3. How to polish. Polishing the outer wall is relatively simple, but because the crystal cup is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, you can't put your hand in it at all, and it is difficult to polish the inner part. How the ancient people polished the inner walls and bottom so smooth and smooth is also an unsolved mystery. This is also the earliest crystal cup product unearthed in China so far. It is unique and one of the national treasures.

2. Mayan Golden Plane

In the mysterious tunnels of Ecuador, South America, there is an amazing thing, which is an airplane model made of pure gold. This set of golden cultural relics of the Mayan civilization also has a time-traveling appearance, because airplanes were only invented in the early 20th century, and this cultural relic was unearthed in an ancient tomb about 2,000 years ago, which is equivalent to the Han Dynasty in China. In the eyes of archaeologists, this is not an ancient era, but they are still amazed by the development of ancient Mayan civilization. Did the Mayans really travel around the world in this kind of aircraft? No wonder many unsolved mysteries of the world say that the Mayans are the descendants of aliens? However, some scholars pointed out that this is a model of a flying bird, but it is similar to the shape of a modern aircraft and there is nothing new about it.

3. Clay mug

Although no convincing evidence has been found so far as to whether the first dynasty in Chinese history was the Xia Dynasty, the Mug located in Luoyang, Henan The Erlitou ruins are undoubtedly one of the oldest urban ruins in China. It is also considered by many scholars to be the ruins of the Xia Dynasty. Among the Erlitou cultural relics, the most modern cultural relic is this gray pottery cup. It seems It’s like a mug that’s now a hot seller in Starbucks. This is enough to show that this kind of cup was not invented just now. As early as 5,000 years ago, the ancient Chinese knew how to make a cup that is convenient for drinking water and easy to rinse.

I think that three major inventions played a decisive role in the transformation of ancient people into modern people: the first was Suiren's drilling of fire; the second was Shennong's taste of herbs; the third was Cangjie's creation of characters. Without fire, humans can only eat raw food. How many people will starve to death? Without herbal medicine, how many people would die from the disease? Without writing, how could the surviving people communicate? Even if we are thousands of years later, in such a developed modern era, people who have never heard of the dialects in various places in our country will be confused and confused! I think it’s even harder to understand than a foreign language… If I want to communicate, I can only use words! So I think that all other inventions and creations are based on this, nothing more!

This kind of ancient bronze mirror is amazing. Under the illumination of light, the patterns on the back can be directly reflected on the wall. Therefore, they are also called "sunglasses".

Nowadays, many Han Dynasty translucent mirrors have been unearthed in our country, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the "Seeing the Sun's Light" mirror from the Western Han Dynasty. Its workmanship is exquisite, and there is an inscription on the outside of the pattern on the back: "See the light of the sun, and the world will be bright."

As for the principle of the light-transmitting mirror, Shen Kuo, a famous scientist in the Song Dynasty, has this description in his book "Mengxi Bi Tan":

According to the research of modern scholars, this During the forging process of this kind of light-transmitting mirror, the concave and convex areas of the pattern on the back of the mirror are different in thickness, resulting in casting stress due to solidification and shrinkage. After casting, grinding generates compressive stress, thus forming elastic deformation in physical properties.

It can be seen that the invention and forging of light-transmitting mirrors fully reflects the superb optical and mechanical development level of my country's Han Dynasty. Even today with advanced science and technology, it is still amazing!

This is another great invention in ancient my country, and it can be said to be an engineering creation of ingenuity. The mortise and tenon joint is an extremely delicate structural invention. It can not only withstand greater loads, but also allows certain deformation of the structure.

Therefore, the mortise and tenon structure not only makes the building structure stronger, but also offsets a certain amount of seismic energy through adaptive deformation, thus playing a good role in shock absorption.

So, it is not difficult for us to find that after an earthquake disaster occurs in a certain place, modern cement concrete buildings basically suffer serious damage or collapse, but some ancient local buildings with mortise and tenon structures have Often they can survive. Therefore, it has to be said that the invention and creation of the mortise and tenon structure is also an incredible invention in ancient my country.

The author of this article: Xiao Jianjian

Many inventions in ancient China make today’s China feel ashamed. Years of wars in modern China have destroyed Chinese civilization, but it has not yet broken down. Looking at Japan today, we can still vaguely see the shadow of ancient China. Today we can only look at the cultural relics that have been rediscovered from ancient tombs, and sigh at the lost civilization and amazing creativity...

1. Lu Ban, also called Lu Ban He Gongshuban, a native of Dunhuang, Gansu Province, is the most famous skilled craftsman in ancient China. He once built a big wooden flying bird in Liangzhou. Every time he flapped the mechanism on the bird's wings three times, the wooden bird would spread its wings and fly with him. Lu Ban rode him around the country, and the dragon never saw its tail, which was very satisfying. One time, his wife was pregnant, and Lu Ban had to stay at home to accompany his wife who was about to give birth. His father was surprised that there was such a big bird parked in Lu Ban's yard. Lu Ban's wife truthfully told the secret, and the father was pregnant with it. Out of curiosity to explore science, he climbed onto a flying bird and randomly hit the bird's wings dozens of times. The big bird flew into the sky. Unfortunately, the father who was overly curious did not learn how to stop the big bird and just flew like this. Ah Fei, I flew to the country of Wu. The people of Wu country saw a very strange big bird flying in the sky. They thought it was a monster, so they fired thousands of arrows. As a result, the old man who wanted to be the first generation pilot in China became so ambitious. Unpaid, he transformed from a harpy into a hedgehog. Lu Ban was furious after hearing the news and took back his father's body on a flying bird. Because he was resentful that the Wu people shot his father indiscriminately, he built a wooden immortal in Suzhou with his finger pointing to the southeast. As a result, Wu suffered a drought for three years. , the people of Wu didn't know what was going on, and the divination revealed that it was Lu Ban's doing, so they quickly gathered their belongings and came to ask Lu Ban for forgiveness. Lu Ban held a big ax and chopped off one of the immortal's arms. Suddenly, it rained heavily in Wu State, and everyone thought Luban is an immortal. Of course, the following paragraph is untrue, but in the late Spring and Autumn Period, there is a record in the history books that Lu Ban took a look at the capital of the Song Dynasty while riding a wooden kite, a modern flying tool at the time.

2. Wooden ox and flowing horse

Wooden ox and flowing horse should be one of Zhuge Liang's more famous inventions. This is a transportation tool invented by Zhuge Liang during the Northern Expedition to facilitate the transportation of grain. According to historical data According to records, Zhuge Liang used wooden oxen in his fifth northern expedition, and drifting horses in his sixth northern expedition. Wooden oxen and drifting horses are good at going up and down hills, so they are suitable for mountainous areas because they look like cows and horses, with a rope inside, with the rope head connected to the end of the rope. Replace the legs and twist the tongue every 20 kilometers before you can walk again.

3. At the beginning of Wu Zetian's accession to the throne, during the Ruyi period, a craftsman from Jiangsu donated something called a twelve-hour chariot. It should be used to report the twelve o'clock such as Ziwu, but the cleverness of this chariot lies in its When the carriage is positioned due south, the Meridian Gate will automatically open and a little man will appear inside. No matter where the carriage is, it will point to the direction of due south exactly as mentioned above. When was the compass invented? It is traditionally believed that among the four great inventions, except for papermaking, which was invented by Cai Lun of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the other three inventions were only invented in the Song Dynasty. In fact, this understanding is questionable. In history, "Si Nan" appeared during the Warring States Period, and people at that time discovered that The effect of magnet.

Obviously, Wu Zetian's twelve-hour clock also used this principle. What is even more surprising is that the little man used to tell the time. Only in the late Ming and Qing Dynasties did Westerners use Western-made clocks to pay tribute to the royal family. In fact, during the Wu Zhou Dynasty, China had already invented and skillfully used utensils. I wonder why they were later annihilated and disappeared without a trace? It was this Jiangsu craftsman who contributed something called "Wood Fire Tong". The plate contained fire. No matter how it was turned over, the fire would not go out. Could it be that the fire this man burned was oil that people didn't know about at that time?

4. Guess what this is? That's right, it's a sewer pipe. When do you think it was? It was from the Qin Dynasty, and it was built before the six kingdoms were unified. Let’s look at the sewer facilities in many cities today that say “when it rains, there is a sea”... While Japan’s sewers are as spacious as an underground castle, we have been standing still for 3,000 years; you know, 3,000 years ago, Japan still had They are just a group of savages, savages who eat raw hair and drink blood... Some people may think that the Qin Dynasty is not 3,000 years old, but only more than 2,000 years old. Well, let's give it 3000 years

5. This is Yueba in Shouxian County, Anhui Province. Shouxian County was called Shouchun in ancient times, and Huainan King Liu An and his friends made tofu here. Yuan Shu, an honest boy from the Three Kingdoms period, proclaimed himself emperor here. Yang Jian, the magistrate of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, built a modern drainage system, and Liu Huan, the magistrate of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, built a moon dam on its foundation.

Where is this thing? It was used by cattle to drain floodwaters and is still in use. It can be seen that the ancients were far smarter and wiser than we imagine today, and there is nothing they can't do except what we can't imagine.

Those Westerners who ridiculed the backwardness of science and technology in ancient China were afraid that they had never heard of it, had never seen it, and even regarded it as a book from heaven. However, these incredible inventions and creations were clearly recorded in the notes of the literati of the Tang Dynasty, leaving today's people dumbfounded and unimaginable.

It is a pity that the feudal rulers of ancient China paid too much attention to agriculture and military affairs, and only used scientific and technological inventions and creations here. They looked down upon and reacted negatively to many folk wisdoms, as well as original scientific and technological inventions and creations, and even disdainfully called them "wonderful skills and ingenuity", leaving this grand "folk manufacturing" to fend for itself. In addition, the entire society at that time Society does not encourage and guide craftsmen to innovate in science and technology. Instead, it believes that such innovation and creation are not doing their job properly. As a result, those ingenious skills recorded in history books are gradually lost, and the technological giants gradually disappear and are lost in ancient books.

In such a rule-abiding society, with power-playing emperors and people who only work hard in the fields all day long, the ancient Chinese inventions and creations that once left a bright light of scientific and technological civilization have finally disappeared like ashes. , which has led to the backwardness of modern China's scientific and technological level and the gap with Western countries, which cannot but be said to be a deep regret.

There were many (most) heaven-defying inventions in ancient China. In addition to the four major inventions, I will give the following examples as examples.

One, Chinese characters.

From knotting ropes to record events, to the legendary "Cang Jie (jie) created characters and ghosts and gods cried",

The Chinese invented writing and bid farewell to the barbaric era. Chinese characters continue to develop: oracle bone inscriptions, inscriptions on gold and stone (bells and tripods), seal script, official script, regular script, running script, cursive script, from simple to complex, and from complex to simplified; Methods of writing: pictographic characters, deictic characters, ideographic characters, pictophonetic characters, pseudo-borrowed (tongjia) characters, Zhuanzhu characters]. Most of the characters invented by other ancient civilizations have been extinct and are rarely used. Only China's square Chinese characters are still in practical use today. In the past, some textbooks said that Chinese characters will eventually embark on the path of pinyinization, which is the world's most unique script. Now it seems that it may not be necessary. Chinese characters are mostly a combination of "shape, sound, and meaning", which are simple and rich in meaning: the same one Among the several languages ??used by the United Nations, only Chinese characters occupy the longest position and the least amount of paper. With the development and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, more and more foreigners are learning Chinese and learning Chinese characters. Of course, there are also more people making jokes.

Two, chopsticks, pottery and porcelain.

We eliminated the cutlery, knives and forks used in Western food today thousands of years ago. The legend of chopsticks is that when Dayu was controlling floods, he cooked food in the wild and found that he did not bring the original knives, forks and other tableware. Someone broke off a long branch to hold food. He found that it was easier to use than a knife and fork, so it was gradually popularized. It replaced the original bone, wooden and metal knives and forks. Chopsticks can pick up almost all solid food.

Its scientific principle seems to be the "lever balance (effort-saving) principle", which can exercise the flexibility of human hands (fingers), and then exercise the brain, nervous system, etc. Making people smarter is the so-called "ingenuity".

Bamboo chopsticks paired with fired ceramic spoons,

cups

dishes

and other tableware are convenient, durable and Hygienic and environmentally friendly. Of course, today there are metal bowls and chopsticks.

However, some of these brands have round ends, making them easy to roll, unlike the traditional ones where one end is square.

Chinese people start learning to eat with chopsticks almost as soon as they are weaned. If they still cannot learn to use chopsticks after a long time, they will probably be regarded as stupid children and be blamed.

Many table etiquette cultures using chopsticks have also been formed: you cannot use chopsticks to point at others (to speak), knock on the edges of dishes, and you cannot insert chopsticks directly into the middle of the food (like offering incense to the dead)... ....Foreign countries, especially Westerners, have also begun to imitate Chinese people using chopsticks to eat.

I remember a joke: a conversation between two foreigners:

"Chinese chopsticks are so amazing!"

"Why?"

"After my wife came back from China, she only used chopsticks to eat and drink soup. As a result, she quickly lost several kilograms.

"