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Shen Kuo

Shen Kuo (A.D. 1033- 1097), born in Qiantang, Hangzhou (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang), was a scientist and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty. Ren Zongjia Jinshi Zongshen participated in Wang Anshi's political reform movement. In the fifth year of Xining (1072), he was promoted to supervisor of Tianbu, and went to Zhejiang to inspect water conservancy and officers the following year. In the eighth year of Xining, he sent envoys to Liao country to refute Liao country's claim to land. The following year, he served as a bachelor of Hanlin, and made the third secretary right, rectifying Shaanxi salt policy. Later, Yanzhou (now Yan 'an, Shaanxi) was famous for strengthening its defense against Xixia. In the fifth year of Yuanfeng (1082), Song Jun was defeated by Xixia in the battle of Yongle City and was demoted. In his later years, he wrote Meng Qian Bi Tan according to his own life experience.

Shen Kuo's scientific achievements are manifold. He devoted himself to astronomy and advocated a new calendar similar to today's solar calendar. In physics, he recorded the principle of compass and various production methods; The existence of magnetic declination was discovered more than 400 years before Europe. The principle of concave mirror imaging is expounded. The law of * * * vibration is also studied. In mathematics, he founded "gap product" (second-order arithmetic progression summation method) and "meeting circle" (knowing the diameter of the circle and the height of the bow, finding the chord and arc length of the bow). In geology, he studied the formation of alluvial plain and water erosion, and put forward the name of oil for the first time. In medicine, there are many records about effective prescriptions and many medical works. In addition, he also recorded the scientific development and production technology at that time, such as movable type printing and metal smelting method invented by Bi Sheng. Shen Kuo is a scientific generalist.

Biography of Shen Kuo

In the Northern Song Dynasty in China, there was a very knowledgeable and outstanding scientist. He is Shen Kuo, one of the most outstanding scientists in the history of China. He is proficient in astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, agriculture and medicine; He is also an outstanding engineer, excellent strategist, diplomat and politician. At the same time, he is knowledgeable, good at writing and proficient in other people's calendars, music, medicine, divination and so on. Meng Qian Bi Tan, written in his later years, recorded in detail the outstanding contributions of working people in science and technology and their own research results, reflecting the brilliant achievements of natural science in ancient China, especially in the Northern Song Dynasty. Meng Qian's pen talk is not only an academic treasure house in ancient China, but also occupies an important position in the history of world culture. Known as "the coordinates in the history of science in China".

Shen Kuo was born in Qiantang, Zhejiang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang) to a bureaucratic family. His father Shen Zhou worked as a local official in Quanzhou, Kaifeng and Jiangning. Mother Xu Shi is a well-educated woman. Shen Kuo was born in the ninth year of Tiansheng in Song Renzong (A.D. 103 1). He studied hard since he was a child. Under the guidance of his mother, he finished reading at home at the age of fourteen. Later, he followed his father to Quanzhou, Fujian, Runzhou, Jiangsu (now Zhenjiang), Jianzhou, Sichuan (now Jianyang) and Kaifeng, the capital of China. He had the opportunity to get in touch with the society, understand the life and production of the people at that time, increase his knowledge and show his superhuman intelligence. At the age of twenty-four, he started his career. He was the chief book of Shuyang County (now Jiangsu Province) in Haizhou, and then the county magistrate of Donghai (now Jiangsu Province), Ningguo (now Anhui Province) and Wanqiu (now Huaiyang County, Henan Province). At the age of 33, he was appointed as the governor of Yangzhou to join the army and was in charge of criminal trial. Three years later, he was recommended to Zhao Wen Concert Hall in Shi Jing to edit and proofread books. Here he began to study astronomical calendars. Song Shenzong Xining five years (A.D. 1072), who was also the supervisor of astronomical phenomena, was responsible for observing astronomical phenomena and calculating almanac. Then, Shen Kuo served as the review of the history museum, and in the sixth year of Xining (A.D. 1073), he became the general manager of Jixian College. Due to the convenience of his position, he has the opportunity to read more royal books and enrich his knowledge. 1075 was sent to Liao for border negotiations, and the following year he served as a bachelor of Hanlin and was appointed as the third secretary.

In the second year of Xining in Song Shenzong (A.D. 1069), Wang Anshi, a representative of the landlord class reformists, was appointed as prime minister and began a large-scale political reform movement. Shen Kuo actively participated in the political reform movement and was trusted and valued by Wang Anshi. He has served as the highest official in charge of state finance, three secretaries and many other important positions. In the ninth year of Xining (AD 1076), Wang Anshi's political reform failed. Shen Kuo was falsely demoted as an official and renamed Xuanzhou (now Xuancheng, Anhui). Three years later, in order to resist Xixia, he changed to Yanzhou (now Yan 'an, Shaanxi) and served as the envoy of Yan 'an Road. Yuan Feng was promoted to a bachelor's degree in Longtuge in the fifth year (AD 1082) for his meritorious service in guarding the frontier. However, he was soon framed and demoted to be the deputy ambassador of Zhou Jun (now Xunxian County, Hubei Province). In the second year of Zhe Zongyuan (A.D. 1087), Shen Kuo spent 12 years compiling the Map of Counties and Counties in the World, which was submitted in Bianjing by special permission. The following year, he settled in Meng Xi Park in Runzhou (now the eastern suburb of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) to spend his old age.

In his later years, Shen Kuo carefully summed up his life experience and scientific activities in Meng Xi Park, and wrote famous scientific masterpieces such as Meng Qian's Pen Talk and Forgetting His ambition. Song Zhe died in the second year of Zong Shaosheng (AD 1095). He wrote dozens of books in his life, but only a few comprehensive collections, such as Changxing Collection and Prescription Science, have been circulated so far. Meng Qian Bi Tan is the coordinate of Chinese science history and the summary of Shen Kuo's social science activities all his life. Its content is extremely rich, including more than 600 articles on astronomy, calendar, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, geology, medicine, literature, history, archaeology, music and art, among which 200 articles belong to science and technology, recording many of his inventions, discoveries and opinions.

Water control in Shen Kuo

Shen Kuo attaches great importance to developing agricultural production and building water conservancy projects. As early as his youth, when he was the chief accountant of Shuyang County, he presided over water control projects, organized tens of thousands of migrant workers and built canals and weirs, which not only relieved the flood threat of local people, but also reclaimed 7,000 hectares of fertile land and changed the face of Shuyang. At that time, he was only 24 years old. When he was appointed as the county magistrate of Ningguo, he actively advocated and presided over the construction of a large-scale and solid Wanchunwei in Wuhu, Anhui Province, and opened up 1270 hectares of fertile land that could be drained and irrigated to ensure a bumper harvest in drought and flood. At the same time, he also wrote five books on polder fields and Wan Chunwei's book.

In the fifth year of Xining (A.D. 1072), Shen Kuo presided over the Bianhe water conservancy construction. In order to harness the Bianhe River, Shen Kuo personally measured the topography of the Bianhe River downstream from Kaifeng to the bank of Huaihe River in Sizhou for 840 miles. He used the method of "building a weir by layers" to calculate that the terrain height difference between Kaifeng and Sizhou was 19 feet, 4 feet, 8 inches and 6 minutes respectively. In this topographic survey method, the Bianhe River is divided into many sections, which are built into stepped dikes, and water is poured into them. Then, the water surface of each section is measured section by section, and the difference of each section is accumulated, and the sum is the "terrain reality" between Kaifeng and Sizhou. This is a pioneering work in the history of world water conservancy. In just four or five years, more than 17,000 hectares of land have been silted up by water diversion, with remarkable achievements. When calculating the terrain height, the unit is accurate to one inch, which shows that Shen Kuo's academic attitude is extremely serious.

An outstanding astronomer

Shen Kuo is also an outstanding astronomer. In the fifth year of Xining (A.D. 1072), when he was in charge of Bianhe construction in Shen Kuo, Shen Kuo was also in charge of leading the Tianjian Supervision Department. During his tenure, he successively dismissed six uneducated old calendar officials, regardless of their origins, and recommended Wei Pu, a Huainan native who was proficient in astronomical calendar calculation and was born in a civilian, to enter the Tianjian Supervision Department to preside over the important work of revising the new calendar. Shen Kuo and Wei Puzhi took a serious attitude and were very dissatisfied with the calendar revision method that the old calendar officials relied on calculus. They advocate starting with observing the astronomical phenomena and taking the measured results as the basis for revising the calendar. Therefore, Shen Kuo first studied and reformed the old astronomical observation instruments, such as armillary sphere, floating leak and shadow table.

The armillary sphere is an instrument for measuring the orientation of celestial bodies. After the development and evolution of the past dynasties, by the Song Dynasty, the structure of the armillary sphere had become very complicated, three times, intertwined and inconvenient to use. Therefore, Shen Kuo reformed the armillary sphere for many times. On the one hand, he canceled the small white ring, simplified the instruments and division of labor, and then linked the relationship between them with mathematical tools ("the moon ring is omitted, and the difference between the moon and the moon is only a step based on the calendar"); On the other hand, it is suggested to change the position of some rings so that they do not block the line of sight. These reform measures in Shen Kuo have opened up a new road for the development of musical instruments. Later, in the 13th year of Zhiyuan (A.D. 1276), Guo Shoujing of Yuan Dynasty created a new astronomical instrument-Jane Instrument, which was produced on this basis.

The clepsydra is an ancient instrument for measuring time. It is composed of several water containers in the form of steps, and the lower side of each container has holes, which drip from the next container in turn. There is no hole in the bottom container, but there is an "arrow" engraved with the time scale. As the dripping water level rises, the "arrow" slowly floats, and the time can be read from the exposed scale. Shen Kuo also reformed leaky cauldron. He changed the copper leaky pipe of the curved barrel into a straight-necked jade mouth and moved it to the lower part of the pot body. This makes the running water smoother, and the spout is much stronger and more durable.

In addition, Shen Kuo has formulated the standard for measuring the sun's shadow and improved the method for measuring the shadow.

Shen Kuo introduced his research achievements in three papers: On the Hunyi, On the Floating Leak and On the Landscape, elaborated the principle of instrument transformation in detail, and expounded his own astronomical views, which played an important role in the history of astronomy in China.

A series of innovative activities of Shen Kuo and Wei Pu were attacked and framed by conservative forces. Under the resolute struggle of Shen Kuo and Wei Pu, the revised Fengyuan Calendar presided over by Wei Pu was finally completed and promulgated in the eighth year of JaeHee Ning (A.D. 1075). However, due to the obstruction and destruction of conservative forces, the relatively advanced abundant calendar was abolished after only 18 years. However, Shen Kuo did not lose heart because of this. In his later years, he further put forward the idea of replacing the original calendar with the "Twelve-qi Calendar". The original calendars in China were all based on the combination of yin and yang, but the "twelve-qi calendar" was a pure solar calendar. The year is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into three months: Meng, Zhong and Ji, and the month is determined according to the solar terms. Beginning of spring's day is 1 month 1 day, and the day of fright is February 1 day, and so on. Thirty-one days for the big moon and thirty days for the small moon. The big moon and the small moon appear alternately. Even if there is a situation that "two little moons are combined into one", it is only once a year. There are "two small pictures", with 365 days in a year; No, 366 days a year. In this way, the days of the year are very neat, there is no need to set up a leap month, and the four seasons are fixed dates. As for the moon's profit and loss, it has nothing to do with the season when the cold comes and goes, as long as you indicate "new moon" and "hope" in the almanac. The calendar designed by Shen Kuo is scientific, which is not only in line with the reality of celestial bodies, but also conducive to the arrangement of agricultural activities. He foresaw that his ideas would be attacked and scolded by diehard conservatives, and he tried his best to obstruct them, but he firmly believed that "different times will be useful to speakers." Sure enough, nearly 800 years later, the basic principles of the calendar promulgated by the great peasant revolutionary regime, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, were completely consistent with Shen Kuo's Twelve Qi Calendars. The Gregorian calendar adopted by countries all over the world, that is, the solar calendar, is actually not as reasonable as the "twelve-year calendar" in Shen Kuo.

Physicist+chemist+mathematician

Shen Kuo's achievements in physics research are also extremely rich and precious. The opinions and achievements recorded in Meng Qian's Bi Tan involve mechanics, optics, magnetism, acoustics and other fields. In particular, he has made outstanding achievements in magnetic research. Shen Kuo explicitly talked about the deflection angle of the magnetic needle for the first time in Meng Qian Bi Tan. In terms of optics, Shen Kuo made a popular and vivid exposition on pinhole imaging, concave mirror imaging, and the zoom-in and zoom-out functions of concave-convex mirror through personal observation experiments. He also made some scientific explanations for the light transmission reason of the so-called "transparent mirror" (a bronze mirror that can see the front pattern on the back) handed down from ancient China, which promoted the later research on "transparent mirror". In addition, Shen Kuo also did experiments on the piano to study the phenomenon of acoustic vibration.

In chemistry, Shen Kuo has also made some achievements. When I was in Yanzhou, I studied Lu Yan's oil reserves and uses. Taking advantage of the fact that oil is not easy to burn completely to produce carbon black, he pioneered the process of making cigarette ink with petroleum carbon black instead of pine carbon black. He has noticed that oil resources are abundant and "born in infinity", and predicted that "this thing will never be used in the world", which has been verified today. In addition, the name "petroleum" was first used in "Shenkuo", which is much more appropriate than the previous names such as stone paint, stone grease water, fierce fire oil, kerosene, naphtha and stone candle. In Meng Qian Bitan's "Taiyin Xuan Jing" (gypsum crystal), Shen Kuo distinguished several kinds of crystals from morphology, deliquescence, cleavage and heating dehydration, and pointed out that although they have the same name, they are not the same thing. He also talked about examples of metal transformation, such as the physical phenomenon of changing iron into copper with copper sulfate solution. These means of identifying substances described by him show that people's research on substances at that time has broken through the observation of simple surface phenomena and began to explore the internal structure of substances.

Shen Kuo also has excellent research in mathematics. Starting from the actual calculation needs, he founded "gap product technology" and "convergence technology". Shen Kuo put forward a correct method to find the total stack number of jars and chess pieces by studying the volumes of jars and chess pieces with gaps, that is, the "gap product method", that is, the second-order arithmetic progression summation method. Shen Kuo's research has developed the arithmetic progression problem since Nine Chapters of Arithmetic, and opened up the research direction of higher-order arithmetic progression in the history of ancient mathematics in China. In addition, Shen Kuo also studied the relationship among arc, chord and vector in a circular bow from the calculation of field, and put forward the first simple and practical approximate formula for calculating arc length from the length of chord and vector in the history of mathematics in China, which is called "the skill of meeting circles". The establishment of this method not only promotes the development of plane geometry, but also plays an important role in astronomical calculation and makes an important contribution to the development of ball science in China.

Geographer+medical scientist

Shen Kuo also made many outstanding conclusions in geosciences, which reflected that China's geosciences reached the advanced level at that time. He correctly discussed the reasons for the formation of the North China Plain: according to the banded distribution of snail shells and oval gravel between the cliffs of Taihang Mountain in Hebei Province, it was inferred that this area was a seashore in ancient times, and the North China Plain was formed by sediment carried by rivers such as the Yellow River, Zhangshui River, Hutuo River and Sanggan River. During his inspection in eastern Zhejiang, he observed the geomorphological features of Yandang Mountain peak, analyzed its causes, and clearly pointed out that it was the result of water erosion. He also made a similar explanation based on the geomorphological features of the loess area in northwest China. He also observed and studied similar bamboo shoots and various fossils such as peach pit, reed root, pine tree, fish and crab excavated from underground, clearly pointed out that they were the remains of ancient animals and plants, and inferred the ancient natural environment from the fossils. All these show Shen Kuo's valuable materialism. In Europe, it was not until the Renaissance that the Italian Leonardo da Vinci began to discuss the nature of fossils, more than 400 years later than Shen Kuo. When Shen Kuo visited the border of Hebei Province, he made a three-dimensional geographical model of the mountains, roads and terrain he visited on the board. This practice was quickly extended to the border States. In the ninth year of Xining (A.D. 1076), Shen Kuo was ordered to compile the map of counties in the world. He consulted a large number of files and books, and after nearly 20 years of unremitting efforts, he finally completed the masterpiece "Shouling Map" in the history of cartography in China. This is a large atlas, with 20 maps, including a large map, one foot high and two feet wide; Small picture; Eighteen maps for each road (according to the administrative divisions at that time, the whole country was divided into eighteen roads). The scale and detail of the map are rare before. In painting, Shen Kuo put forward nine methods, such as grading, quasi-viewing, mutual integration, side inspection, competition, square inclination and straight pedaling, which are generally consistent with Pei Xiu's famous six-body painting method in the Western Jin Dynasty. He also subdivided all directions into twenty-four directions, which further improved the accuracy of the map and made important contributions to ancient cartography in China.

Shen Kuo is also proficient in medicine and biology. He was interested in medicine since he was a child and devoted himself to medical research. He collected many prescriptions and cured many critically ill patients. At the same time, his knowledge of medicinal botany is also extensive, and he can actually find out, distinguish authenticity and correct mistakes in ancient books. He once put forward a new theory of "five difficulties"; Shen Kuo's medical works include Prescription, etc. The existing Su Shen Liang Fang was made by later generations attaching Su Shi's Miscellaneous Treatise on Medicine to the Prescription.

Materialist.

Shen Kuo has a simple materialistic thought and a viewpoint of development and change. He believes that "the change of heaven and earth, the violence of cold and summer, the drought of floods and the locusts of moths all have laws", and points out that "the principle of going with the sun and going against the yin has its own origin, following nature and coming unexpectedly." That is to say, the changes of things in nature are regular, and these laws exist objectively, regardless of human will, and these laws also exist objectively, regardless of human will. He also believes that there are normal and abnormal changes in the laws of things, and we can't stick to fixed rules. It was these correct ideas and viewpoints that prompted him to make great achievements in science and technology at that time. Shen Kuo once put forward the view that known knowledge is limited and human knowledge is infinite, which has great influence on the development of science.

The ideological tendency of materialism is also manifested in Shen Kuo's attaching great importance to the practical experience and inventions of the working people, and constantly drawing wisdom and strength from the working people at that time. He once said: "As for the technical equipment, the size, black, yellow and reddish can all be made by saints! People who work a lot, a group of teachers and people in the fields are unpredictable. " In order to explore medical knowledge, he "asked to see everywhere he went, whether he was a doctor, a stranger, a villain, or even a scholar-bureaucrat's house or a hermit in the mountains." In Meng Qian Bi Tan, he recorded many outstanding contributions of the working people in the Song Dynasty in science and technology, which is admirable. For example, movable type printing invented by Buyibi (the last day+the second day), the architectural achievements of folk craftsmen Yu Hao and carpenters, the advanced method of closing the dragon and blocking the mouth created by He Gong Gao Chao, the deeds of civilian astronomer Wei Pu Li Xiu, and the valuable experience gained by many unsung heroes in the production struggle such as steelmaking in Hebei and tea planting in Fujian, etc. It is precisely because of Shen Kuo's detailed account that the achievements of many working people who have made contributions have been preserved and passed down.

The tendency of materialism determines that Shen Kuo's description of natural phenomena and scientific and technological achievements is scientific. His observation and description of things are very detailed, specific and accurate, and there is no bad habit of ordinary literati exaggerating in feudal times. So through his account, we can clearly judge the production technology and natural science level he reached at that time. For example, Shen Tuo's records of lightning, mirage, tornado, earthquake, meteorite and other natural phenomena are very detailed, appropriate and vivid, making people feel as if they were there.

Shen Kuo can study objective things from the viewpoint of development and change, and draw correct conclusions. When discussing many problems about mathematics, meteorology and medicine, he repeatedly stressed the need to adapt to local conditions and adapt to the times. For example, February and August in ancient times were the season for picking herbs, but Shen Kuo pointed out that the growth of medicinal materials was influenced by natural conditions and cultivation conditions, and there were different requirements for picking herbs, such as taking roots, leaves, buds, flowers and fruits. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the time of drug collection according to different situations, and it is not possible to "fix the month" rigidly. Shen Kuo's point of view is very reasonable.

Shen Kuo didn't just observe some superficial natural phenomena. He also tried to explore its scientific truth and put forward an explanation of the law of development and change of things. The explanations of many problems, such as the formation reasons of the peaks of Yandang Mountain and North China Plain, the location of Twenty-eight Hostels and the formation of fossils, are in line with modern scientific principles. In order to find out the truth of Yang Ai (concave mirror)' s imaging, he observed the shadows of birds in the air, compared the imaging differences by himself, and finally made a more correct explanation. These are the important reasons for his success in science.

Proficient in polite language and martial arts

Shen Kuo, who is both civil and military, not only made brilliant achievements in science, but also made important contributions to defending the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Northern Song Dynasty, class contradictions and ethnic contradictions were very sharp. The aristocratic rulers of Liao and Xixia often invaded the Central Plains and plundered the population and livestock, which brought great damage to the social economy. Shen Kuo is firmly on the side of the hawk. Zaixi (AD 1074) served as the governor of Hebei West Road and the chief inspector of military equipment during the seven years of Ning. He studied the art of war, seriously studied military issues such as city defense, array law, personnel vehicles, weapons, strategy and tactics, and compiled military works such as the Treaty of Repairing the City of France and the Array Law of Frontier States, and successfully applied some advanced science and technology to military science. At the same time, Shen Kuo has also made in-depth research on the manufacture of crossbow armor, knives, guns and other weapons, which has made certain contributions to improving the quality of weapons and equipment.

Shen Kuo's shortcomings

Shen Kuo's ability is first-class, but he has a problem of gossiping.

During Wang Anshi's political reform, Shen Kuo was a special correspondent sent by the Central Committee to inspect the implementation effect of the new law. Shen Kuo came back to report that the masses enthusiastically supported the new national policy and everything was fine. After the complete downfall of Wang Anshi, Shen Kuo secretly reported to Wu Chong, the new prime minister, and listed many disadvantages of Wang Anshi's political reform. Wu Chong turned around and handed the report to the emperor. When the old man saw it, he was furious: Isn't this a tragedy? From then on, I didn't like Shen Kuo very much.

Su Shi is a colleague of Shen Kuo in the National Library. Su Shi was sent to Zhejiang for committing a crime. Later, Shen Kuo was ordered to inspect local work. Before he left, the emperor Lao Tzu specially told Shen Kuo to go to Hangzhou to show his loyalty to Su Shi. When Shen Kuo and Su Shi met, they were friendly for a long time, and then asked Su Shi for his latest poem.

Su Shi has always been narcissistic about his own words and poems, so he wrote them to Shen Kuo happily. As soon as Shen Kuo got it back, he took it as evidence and wrote to the Central Committee to report Su Shi's slander on state affairs in his poems. Su Shi was later imprisoned for poetry. It is said that Shen Kuo was the first person to stab in the back. Later, Shen Kuo himself was expelled from public office and went to Zhenjiang for retirement. Su Shi happened to be a policeman in Hangzhou, not too far away. Shen Kuo, as before, often goes to Su Shi to catch up with the past, and is respectful every time, which makes Su Shi feel that he has no temper and is annoyed.

Medical source database: Shen Kuo (103 1- 1095), a scientist and physician in Song Dynasty. In the word, Qiantang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang) was born. In the last year of Jiayou (1063). From officials to Hanlin bachelor, they have a wide range of knowledge. His masterpiece Meng Qian Bi Tan involves various disciplines, including astronomy, calendar, art of war, music, divination, physics and so on. This book mentions important inventions in ancient China, such as compass device, movable type printing, petroleum smelting, etc. In medicine, we have tasted Liang Fang (called Liang Fang) in Shencun, and Meng Xi's nasal sputum and nasal sputum, all of which are involved, such as Qiu Shi's preparation, the morphology, compatibility, pharmacology, preparation, collection and growth environment of 44 drugs. His Prescription was merged with Su Shi's Miscellaneous Notes on Medicine to form Su Shen Liang Fang, which has been published in many versions.

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First of all, briefly introduce life.

Shen Kuo (1031-1095) was an outstanding scientist and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty and a giant in the history of science and technology in China. 103 1 Born in Qiantang, Zhejiang (Hangzhou). His father, Shen Zhou, worked as a junior official in Zhenjiang, Quanzhou, Kaifeng and Nanjing. As a teenager, Shen Kuo followed his father and gained a lot of knowledge.

1054, Shen Kuo entered the officialdom, served as the main book of Shuyang County (now Shuyang, Jiangsu Province), and was later promoted to county magistrate.

1063 Shen Kuo introduced scholars.

1066, he went to Beijing to edit and proofread the books of Zhaowen Museum.

From 65438 to 0072, he also served as the astronomical supervisor of the promotion department, and spent most of his time studying astronomy and reforming calendars in Kaifeng.

1074 September, Shen Kuo was also in charge of military equipment. He improved his weapons, studied the city defense, array method, strategy and tactics, and compiled the Treaty on the Law of Repairing the City.

1075, Shen Kuo sent a mission to Liao to refute Liao's claim to land.

1076 served as a bachelor of Hanlin, and had the right to be the envoy of the Third Division (the Third Division was the highest organ in charge of finance at that time).

1080 In June, Shen Kuo served as the ambassador of ■ Yan (now the north of Shaanxi) to fight against the invasion of Xixia. Affected by the defeat of the war, Shen Kuo was transferred to Zhou Junying's deputy special envoy and was actually under house arrest.

1085, Zhezong acceded to the throne and granted amnesty, and Shen Kuo was freed.

From 65438 to 0087, he moved to Meng Xi Park in Runzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) and wrote an immortal scientific classic, Meng Qian Bi Tan.

Shen Kuo wrote a lot in his life, but most of them died. In addition to written talks, there are Chang, (included in Su Shi Fang) and some lost articles.

1095 He died in Runzhou, a secluded place, and was buried in Qiantang at the age of 65.

Second, scientific achievements.

Shen Kuo has a wide range of interests and extensive reading. His scientific contributions involve physics, mathematics, astronomy, earth science, medicine, biology, engineering technology, literature and music.

1. In physics, Shen Kuo studied mechanical, acoustic, optical and magnetic phenomena.

(1) In the field of magnetism, Shen Kuo pointed out in "Bi Tan" that the compass is made by grinding the iron needle with a magnet and magnetizing the iron needle. He described four installation methods of compass at that time, namely, Shui Piao method, nail method, bowl lip method and thread hanging method, and compared the advantages and disadvantages of these four methods, pointing out that there were many Shui Piao, big swing, nail method or bowl lip method was easy to drop, and thread hanging method was the best, which showed that he had observed and experimented with these four methods. Through observation and experiment, he found that the magnetic needle has a pointer, which also points to the north. The magnetic needle of a guide is not always a guide, but often slightly eastward. This is the earliest clear record about the compass and the earth's magnetic declination, which is a century earlier than Europe.

(2) In terms of optics, Shen Kuo conducted experiments on concave mirror imaging. Through experiments, he pointed out that there is a place called "obstacle" in the middle of concave mirror's photos, and within this range, the photos are like this; On this point, nothing can be seen as things are; Beyond this, according to the object, he found the focus of concave mirror. He also made careful observation and research on convex mirror and flat mirror. He pointed out that the convex mirror can reduce the face, so the mirror is small and can accommodate all faces.

(3) Acoustics, Shen Kuo carried out the experiment of acoustic vibration. He cut a villain out of paper, put it on the pitch string of the harp, and plucked the corresponding overtone string, and the villain would jump up; And dial the other strings, the paper man will not move. Similar experiments in the west did not appear until the17th century.

In addition, Shen Kuo also studied mirage, rainbow, thunder and lightning, music and so on, and put forward his own views.

2. Shen Kuo began to study astronomy in the third year of Zhiping, especially when he was in charge of astronomical surveillance, and made a systematic study of calendars and astronomical instruments. Its outstanding achievements are as follows: First, it initiated the "Twelve Calendars in Qi Dynasty". /kloc-The Bernard Shaw calendar adopted by the British Met Office in the 10th and 9th centuries is essentially similar to the twelve-year calendar in Shen Kuo. The first is to improve astronomical instruments. Shen Kuo's new instruments-armillary sphere, floating leakage and manufactured standard watches-have been greatly improved.

3. Mathematical achievements

Shen Kuo's pioneering gap product and circle division opened up a new research direction of traditional mathematics in China.

4. In geoscience, Shen Kuo observed and studied various fossils and inferred the ancient natural environment. He began to study fossils more than 400 years ago than Da Vinci (1452- 15 19). He has also made outstanding contributions in geomorphology, cartography and water conservancy.

5. Medical and pharmaceutical achievements

Shen Kuo paid attention to medicine, especially pharmacology, all his life. He made a lot of efforts and made important contributions.

6. Other achievements

In addition to his contribution to natural science, he has also made great achievements in social science and humanities. His achievements involved social, economic, historical, diplomatic, military, archaeological, music, painting, calligraphy, poetry and other academic fields, and he was an encyclopedic scholar at that time. This academic achievement fully embodies the academic spirit of Shen Kuo.

Third, anecdotes

Shen Kuo observes carefully everywhere, thinks independently and dares to express different opinions, which is one of the important reasons for his outstanding achievements.

1. There is nothing wrong with "April Peach Blossom"

It is said that once, many people commented on Bai Juyi's poem "The world is full of flowers in April, and the peach blossoms bloom in the mountain temple" on the grounds that this poem was written on April 9, the twelfth year of the Tang and Yuan Dynasties, when the peach blossoms withered. Shen Kuo thinks that the climate in mountainous areas is cold, so peach blossoms bloom later than in the plains. Bai Juyi respects facts and makes no mistakes.

2. There is no problem with the finger position when playing pipa.

Another time, someone saw a mural in Suoguo Temple in Kaifeng, in which a wind band was playing. Some people say that the painter made a mistake, because the wind musician is playing the "four" tone, and the finger playing the pipa is not playing the upper string where the "four" tone is located, but covering the lower string. After careful consideration, Shen Kuo said admiringly: This painter is brilliant and very proficient in music! Then he made an incisive explanation with personal experience: strings are different from wind music. When playing wind music, no matter what sound your finger presses, it is issued at the same time; Playing the pipa is different. Fingers pluck the strings first, and then pronounce them, that is, actions precede sounds. So when the wind player plays the four-character note, the pipa player's fingers are ready to dial the next note. All the people present were moved by Shen Kuo's brilliant idea.

Without observation and experiment, Shen Kuo vividly discussed the magnifying and narrowing functions of pinhole imaging, concave mirror imaging and concave-convex mirror, scientifically explained the cause of rainbow, and considered it as "the shadow of the sun in the rain". From the landforms and unique phenomena of Yandang Mountain and Loess, he deduced the theory of geomorphological causes of running water erosion. From the fossils of marine animals on Taihang Mountain, the theory of land-sea change is put forward.