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Chinese science

Main article: History of science and technology in China
Further information: Chinese mathematics and List of Chinese inventions

Theory and hypothesis

A 1726 illustration of The Sea Island Mathematical Manual, written by Liu Hui in the 3rd century.

As Toby E. Huff notes, pre-modern Chinese science developed precariously without solid scientific theory, while there was a lacking of consistent systemic treatment in comparison to contemporaneous European works such as the Concordance and Discordant Canons by Gratian of Bologna (fl. 12th century).[1] This drawback to Chinese science was lamented even by the mathematician Yang Hui (1238–1298), who criticized earlier mathematicians such as Li Chunfeng (602–670) who were content with using methods without working out their theoretical origins or principle, stating:

The men of old changed the name of their methods from problem to problem, so that as no specific explanation was given, there is no way of telling their theoretical origin or basis.[2]

Despite this, Chinese thinkers of the Middle Ages proposed some hypotheses which are in accordance with modern principles of science. Yang Hui provided theoretical proof for the proposition that the complements of the parallelograms which are about the diameter of any given parallelogram are equal to one another.[2] Sun Sikong (1015–1076) proposed the idea that rainbows were the result of the contact between sunlight and moisture in the air, while Shen Kuo (1031–1095) expanded upon this with description of atmospheric refraction.[3][4][5] Shen believed that rays of sunlight refracted before reaching the surface of the earth, hence the appearance of the observed sun from earth did not match its exact location.[5] Coinciding with the astronomical work of his colleague Wei Pu, Shen and Wei realized that the old calculation technique for the mean sun was inaccurate compared to the apparent sun, since the latter was ahead of it in the accelerated phase of motion, and behind it in the retarded phase.[6] Shen supported and expanded upon beliefs earlier proposed by Han Dynasty (202 BCE–202 CE) scholars such as Jing Fang (78–37 BCE) and Zhang Heng (78–139) that lunar eclipse occurs when the earth obstructs the sunlight traveling towards the moon, a solar eclipse is the moon's obstruction of sunlight reaching earth, that the moon is spherical like a ball and not flat like a disc, and that moonlight is merely sunlight reflected from the moon's surface.[7] Shen also explained that the observance of a full moon occurred when the sun's light was slanting at a certain degree and that cresent phases of the moon proved that the moon was spherical, using a metaphor of observing different angles of a silver ball with white powder thrown onto one side.[8][9] It should be noted that, although the Chinese accepted the idea of spherical-shaped heavenly bodies, the concept of a spherical earth (as opposed to a flat earth) was not accepted in Chinese thought until the works of Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) and Chinese astronomer Xu Guangqi (1562–1633) in the early 17th century.[10]

Pharmacology

There were noted advances in Traditional Chinese medicine during the Middle Ages. Emperor Gaozong (r. 649–683) of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) commissioned the scholarly compilation of a materia medica in 657 that documented 833 medicinal substances taken from stones, minerals, metals, plants, herbs, animals, vegetables, fruits, and cereal crops.[11] In his Bencao Tujing ('Illustrated Pharmacopoeia'), the scholar-official Su Song (1020–1101) not only systematically categorized herbs and minerals according to their pharmaceutical uses, but he also took an interest in zoology.[12][13][14][15] For example, Su made systematic descriptions of animal species and the environmental regions they could be found, such as the freshwater crab Eriocher sinensis found in the Huai River running through Anhui, in waterways near the capital city, as well as reservoirs and marshes of Hebei.[16]

Horology and clockworks

Although the Bencao Tujing was an important pharmaceutical work of the age, Su Song is perhaps better known for his work in horology. His book Xinyi Xiangfayao (新儀象法要; (lit. 'Essentials of a New Method for Mechanizing the Rotation of an Armillary Sphere and a Celestial Globe') documented the intricate mechanics of his astronomical clock tower in Kaifeng, including the use of an escapement mechanism and world's first known chain drive to power the rotating armillary sphere crowning the top as well as the 133 clock jack figurines positioned on a rotating wheel that sounded the hours by banging drums, clashing gongs, striking bells, and holding plaques with special announcements appearing from open-and-close shutter windows.[17][18][19][20] While it had been Zhang Heng who applied the first motive power to the armillary sphere via hydraulics in 125 CE,[21][22] it was Yi Xing (683–727) in 725 CE who first applied an escapement mechanism to a water-powered celestial globe and stiking clock.[23]

Archaeology

During the early half of the Song Dynasty (960–1279), the study of archaeology developed out of the antiquarian interests of the educated gentry and their desire to revive the use of ancient vessels in state rituals and ceremonies.[24] This and the belief that ancient vessels were products of 'sages' and not common people was criticized by Shen Kuo, who took an interdisciplinary approach to archaeology, incorporating his archaeological findings into studies on metallurgy, optics, astronomy, geometry, and ancient music measures.[24] His contemporary Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) compiled an analytical catalogue of ancient rubbings on stone and bronze, which Patricia B. Ebrey says pioneered ideas in early epigraphy and archaeology.[25] In accordance with the beliefs of the later Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886), some Song gentry—such as Zhao Mingcheng (1081–1129)—supported the primacy of contemporaneous archaeological finds of ancient inscriptions over historical works written after the fact, which they contested to be the unreliable in regards to the former evidence.[26] Hong Mai (1123–1202) used ancient Han Dynasty era vessels to debunk what he found to be fallacious descriptions of Han vessels in the Bogutu archaeological catalogue compiled during the latter half of Huizong's reign (1100–1125).[26]

Geology and climatology

In addition to his studies in meteorology, astronomy, and archaeology mentioned above, Shen Kuo also made hypotheses in regards to geology and climatology in his Dream Pool Essays of 1088, specifically his claims regarding geomorphology and climate change. Shen believed that land was reshaped over time due to perpetual erosion, uplift, and deposition of silt, and cited his observance of horizontal strata of fossils embedded in a cliffside at Taihang as evidence that the area was once the location of an ancient seashore that had shifted hundreds of miles east over an enormous span of time.[27][28][29] Shen also wrote that since petrified bamboos were found underground in a dry northern climate zone where they had never been known to grow, climates naturally shifted geographically over time.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Magnetism, mathematics, and metallurgy

Shen Kuo's written work of 1088 also contains the first written description of the magnetic needle compass, the first description in China of experiments with camera obscura, the invention of movable type printing by the artisan Bi Sheng (990–1051), a method of repeated forging of cast iron under a cold blast similar to the modern Bessemer process, and the mathematical basis for spherical trigonometry that would later be mastered by the astronomer and engineer Guo Shoujing (1231–1316).[30][31][32][33][34][35][36] While using a sighting tube of improved width to correct the position of the polestar (which had shifted over the centuries), Shen discovered the concept of true north and magnetic declination towards the North Magnetic Pole, a concept which would aid navigators in the years to come.[37][38]

Qin Jiushao (c. 1202–1261) was the first to introduce the zero symbol into Chinese mathematics.[39] Before this innovation, blank spaces were used instead of zeros in the system of counting rods.[40] Pascal's triangle was first illustrated in China by Yang Hui in his book Xiangjie Jiuzhang Suanfa (详解九章算法), although it was described earlier around 1100 by Jia Xian.[41] Although the Introduction to Computational Studies (算学启蒙) written by Zhu Shijie (fl. 13th century) in 1299 contained nothing new in Chinese algebra, it had a great impact on the development of Japanese mathematics.[42]

In addition to the method similar to the Bessemer process mentioned above, there were other notable advancements in Chinese metallurgy during the Middle Ages. During the 11th century, the growth of the iron industry caused vast deforestation due to the use of charcoal in the smelting process.[43][44] To remedy the problem of deforestation, the Song Chinese discovered how to produce coke from bituminous coal as a substitute for charcoal.[43][44] Although hydraulic-powered bellows for heating the blast furnace had been written of since Du Shi's (d. 38) invention of the 1st century CE, the first known drawn and printed illustration of it in operation is found in a book written in 1313 by Wang Zhen (fl. 1290–1333).[45]

Daoist influence

In their pursuit for an elixir of life and desire to create gold from various mixtures of elements, Daoist priests became heavily associated with alchemy.[46] In their futile experiments, they did manage to discover new metal alloys, porcelain types, and dyes.[46] Joseph Needham labeled their pursuits as proto-scientific rather than merely pseudoscience.[46] In a 9th century Arab work Kitāb al-Khawāss al Kabīr, there are numerous products listed that were native to China, including waterproof and dust-repelling cream or varnish for clothes and weapons, a Chinese lacquer, varnish, or cream that protected leather items, a completely fire-proof cement for class and porcelain, recipes for Chinese and Indian ink, a waterproof cream for the silk garments of underwater divers, and a cream specifically used for polishing mirrors.[47]

Gunpowder warfare

The significant change that distinguished Medieval warfare to Early Modern warfare was the use of gunpowder weaponry in battle. A 10th century silken banner from Dunhuang portrays the first artistic depiction of a fire lance, a prototype of the gun.[48] The Wujing Zongyao military manuscript of 1044 listed the first known written formulas for gunpowder, meant for light-weight bombs lobbed from catapults or thrown down from defenders behind city walls.[49] By the 13th century, the iron-cased bomb shell, hand cannon, land mine, and rocket were developed.[50][51] As evidenced by the Huolongjing of Jiao Yu and Liu Ji, by the 14th century the Chinese had developed the heavy cannon, hollow and gunpowder-packed exploding cannonballs, the two-stage rocket with a booster rocket, the naval mine and wheellock mechanism to ignite trains of fuses.[52][53]

Notes

  1. ^ Toby E. Huff, The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China, and the West (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 0521529948) pp 303.
  2. ^ a b Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986) pp. 104.
  3. ^ Nathan Sivin, Science in Ancient China: Researches and Reflections. (Brookfield, Vermont: VARIORUM, Ashgate Publishing, 1995), Chapter III, pp. 24.
  4. ^ Yung Sik Kim, The Natural Philosophy of Chu Hsi (1130-1200) (DIANE Publishing, 2002, ISBN 087169235X), pp. 171.
  5. ^ a b Paul Dong, China's Major Mysteries: Paranormal Phenomena and the Unexplained in the People's Republic (San Francisco: China Books and Periodicals, Inc., 2000, ISBN 0835126765), pp. 72.
  6. ^ Nathan Sivin, Science in Ancient China: Researches and Reflections. (Brookfield, Vermont: VARIORUM, Ashgate Publishing, 1995), Chapter III, pp. 16–19.
  7. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986) pp. 227 & 414–416
  8. ^ "Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986) pp. 415–416.
  9. ^ Paul Dong, China's Major Mysteries: Paranormal Phenomena and the Unexplained in the People's Republic (San Francisco: China Books and Periodicals, Inc., 2000, ISBN 0835126765), pp. 71–72.
  10. ^ Dainian Fan and Robert Sonné Cohen, Chinese Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996, ISBN 0-7923-3463-9), pp. 431–432.
  11. ^ Charles Benn, China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty. Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-19-517665-0), pp. 235.
  12. ^ Wu Jing-nuan, An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 5.
  13. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986) pp. 648–649.
  14. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 6, Biology and Biological Technology, Part 1, Botany. (Taipei: Caves Books Ltd., 1986), pp. 174–175.
  15. ^ Schafer, Edward H. "Orpiment and Realgar in Chinese Technology and Tradition," Journal of the American Oriental Society (Volume 75, Number 2, 1955): 73–89.
  16. ^ West, Stephen H. "Cilia, Scale and Bristle: The Consumption of Fish and Shellfish in The Eastern Capital of The Northern Song," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies (Volume 47, Number 2, 1987): 595–634.
  17. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. 1986) pp. 111 & 165 & 445–448.
  18. ^ Liu, Heping. ""The Water Mill" and Northern Song Imperial Patronage of Art, Commerce, and Science," The Art Bulletin (Volume 84, Number 4, 2002): 566–595.
  19. ^ Tony Fry, The Architectural Theory Review: Archineering in Chinatime (Sydney: University of Sydney, 2001), pp. 10–11.
  20. ^ Derk Bodde, Chinese Thought, Society, and Science (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991), pp. 140.
  21. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. 1986), pp. 30.
  22. ^ W. Scott Morton and Charlton M. Lewis, China: Its History and Culture. (New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2005), pp. 70.
  23. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. 1986) pp. 470–475.
  24. ^ a b Julius Thomas Fraser and Francis C. Haber, Time, Science, and Society in China and the West (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, ISBN 0-87023-495-1, 1986), pp. 227.
  25. ^ Patricia B. Ebrey, The Cambridge Illustrated History of China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-521-66991-X), pp. 148.
  26. ^ a b Rudolph, R.C. "Preliminary Notes on Sung Archaeology," The Journal of Asian Studies (Volume 22, Number 2, 1963): 169–177.
  27. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986) pp. 603–604, 618.
  28. ^ Nathan Sivin, Science in Ancient China: Researches and Reflections. (Brookfield, Vermont: VARIORUM, Ashgate Publishing, 1995), Chapter III, pp. 23.
  29. ^ Alan Kam-leung Chan, Gregory K. Clancey, and Hui-Chieh Loy, Historical Perspectives on East Asian Science, Technology and Medicine (Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2002, ISBN 9971692597) pp. 15.
  30. ^ Sal Restivo, Mathematics in Society and History: Sociological Inquiries (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992, ISBN 1402000391), pp 32.
  31. ^ Nathan Sivin, Science in Ancient China: Researches and Reflections. (Brookfield, Vermont: VARIORUM, Ashgate Publishing, 1995), Chapter III, pp. 21, 27, & 34.
  32. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 1, Physics (Taipei: Caves Books Ltd., 1986), pp. 98 & 252.
  33. ^ Hsu, Mei-ling. "Chinese Marine Cartography: Sea Charts of Pre-Modern China," Imago Mundi (Volume 40, 1988): 96–112.
  34. ^ Jacques Gernet, A History of Chinese Civilization (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, ISBN 0521497817), pp. 335.
  35. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1: Paper and Printing (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd, 1986), pp 201.
  36. ^ Hartwell, Robert. "Markets, Technology, and the Structure of Enterprise in the Development of the Eleventh-Century Chinese Iron and Steel Industry," The Journal of Economic History (Volume 26, Number 1, 1966): 29–58.
  37. ^ Nathan Sivin, Science in Ancient China: Researches and Reflections. (Brookfield, Vermont: VARIORUM, Ashgate Publishing, 1995), Chapter III, pp. 22.
  38. ^ Peter Mohn, Magnetism in the Solid State: An Introduction (New York: Springer-Verlag Inc., 2003, ISBN 3540431837), pp. 1.
  39. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986) pp. 43.
  40. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986) pp. 62–63.
  41. ^ Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986) pp. 134–137.
  42. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986) pp. 46.
  43. ^ a b Wagner, Donald B. "The Administration of the Iron Industry in Eleventh-Century China," Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (Volume 44 2001): 175-197.
  44. ^ a b Patricia B. Ebrey, Anne Walthall, and James B. Palais, East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006, ISBN 0-618-13384-4), pp. 158.
  45. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986), pp. 376.
  46. ^ a b c John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman, China: A New History (Cambridge: MA; London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2nd ed., 2006, ISBN 0-674-01828-1), pp. 82.
  47. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 4, Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus, Theories and Gifts (Taipei: Caves Books Ltd., 1986), pp. 452.
  48. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986), pp. 220–262.
  49. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986), pp. 70–73 & 117–124.
  50. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986), pp. 173–174, 192, 290, & 477.
  51. ^ Alfred W. Crosby, Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology Through History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0521791588), pp. 100–103.
  52. ^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic (Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd., 1986), pp. 203–205, 264, 508.
  53. ^ John Norris, Early Gunpowder Artillery: 1300–1600 (Marlborough: The Crowood Press, Ltd., 2003), pp. 11.
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