Achievements in Science
The Song Dynasty had a remarkably quick pace of advancement in science compared to many other eras. The Song and the Han Dynasties were ancient China’s eras of most rapid scientific and technical progress ever. Song inventors were especially good at making varieties of gunpowder for different purposes. Shen Kuo, the general who failed during the campaign against the Tanguts was nevertheless a very successful scientist. Also, the Song Dynasty was the time of rapid advances in geography, astronomy, mechanical engineering and many other fields of study.
Shen Kuo was the Song Dynasty’s leading scientist for his time. He wrote many scientific articles and books about his research in various fields that showed new and advanced knowledge. Not only was he a scientist, he was also a court official and a general. The Dream Pool Essays of 1088 was a scientific composition with the knowledge of astronomy, magnetism and other fields of science. It is said that he discovered the concepts of true north and magnetic declination towards the North Pole. It was known that lodestone compasses were used in the Han era but Shen Kuo was the first to describe the magnetic needle compass’s declination though not being able to make a magnetic needle compass. This knowledge predates much of the European discoveries.
Shen Kuo didn’t only improve knowledge on magnetism, he also improved knowledge on manufacturing and mechanical engineering. He wrote how a contemporary printer manufactured and used movable type knowledge and engineering. He said that the printer could make thin ceramic characters by itself and then arrange them on a block when programmed to do so. He said that this method wasn’t very useful for a few sheets of text but it was fast and economical for hundreds of sheets. To print, carved wooden blocks were usually used because it was easier. This technique was invented during the Tang Dynasty, the dynasty preceding the Song Dynasty. Even though movable printing was a Chinese discovery, because Chinese had tens of thousands of characters, it was very hard work and wasn’t very useful either whereas in Europe, where there are only a few dozen letters depending on the country, this method was very useful.
Another important invention during the Song Dynasty was gunpowder. Many varieties of gunpowder were used for different purposes like weapons, explosives, bombs, traps and more. A weak form of gunpowder was made in the Tang Dynasty but it really had no use until the Song Dynasty. The gunpowder was mostly used for rockets, guns, chemical warfare weapons and bombs. Eventually, gunpowder became powerful enough to make dangerous weapons. These firearms included catapults, bombs and grenades with poisonous evaporating gasses. Cannons were also used. When first invented, cannons were produced with barrels that were made out of bamboo stripes that were held together with an iron ring. Tube-like metal barrels are said to be invented by Chen Gui during the Southern Song Dynasty. The Jurchens made the first iron barrel for cannons and called it "Heaven shaking thunder" in 1221. The first hand-gun with a bamboo barrel was first used in 1332. Even though all these firearms were invented, they weren't powerful or sophisticated enough to replace the effective, accurate and powerful crossbow. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Ruoqin, a general, wrote a military encyclopedia called Wujing Zongyao or "The Essentials of the Military Classics." Zeng Gongliang and Yang Weide, the inventors the Song Dynasty’s powerful gunpowder wrote a treaty called the Wujing Zongyao in 1044 that described the formulas for gunpowder containing large percentages of nitrate. When the Song fought the Mongols, the Song army used landmines with gunpowder in their strategies. When the Mongols captured China after getting Song gunpowder formulas and powerful weapon designs, the Mongols captured all of China. After capturing China, the Mongols also used landmines and various types of gunpowder weapons against other countries. This knowledge was hidden and thus not known or used in later dynasties. Even in later eras, complex mechanical clocks or mechanical odometer machines weren’t as appreciated as gunpowder. In many empires, the imperial courts asked for scientific advances so many scientists were the court’s slaves. It is most likely that when dynasties changed, scientists fled or left and their scientific texts were lost or left unused. Probably, when dynasties changed and new empires began, scientists who were servants of imperial courts left or fled and their scientific texts were lost or left unused
Movable Type Printing
Gunpowder
Shen Kuo (1031-1095)
