Shen Kuo was born in Shen Shi family in Qiantang, Zhejiang. Shen Shi family is a very famous family in the local area. His father and uncle are both scholars. So he was influenced by knowledge from an early age and was very clever. He is also curious about the world and wants to study everything clearly. 14 years old children are still playing, he has read all the books at home, which laid the foundation for Shen Kuo to become a "schoolmaster".
In ancient times, people only came into contact with one field in their lives. For example, people who go into business in the sea are businessmen all their lives, and those who embark on official careers are ups and downs of officialdom all their lives. So how did Shen Kuo come into contact with so many fields and integrate them all? This should start with Shen Kuo's childhood experience. Shen Kuo's father is a North Korean official. Because of the nature of his work, he often travels to various cities on business. When I was a child, Shen Kuo would go with his father. So Shen Kuo had been to Runzhou, Quanzhou, Jianzhou and Bianjing when he was a child. Out of curiosity about the world, Shen Kuo recorded what he saw and heard, so he had a deep understanding of geography. Shen Kuo was sickly since childhood and often took Chinese medicine. Shen Kuo is very studious and often asks about the medicinal properties of various herbs in the doctor's office. In addition, Bojifang, a family heirloom, was written by Shen Jia, and Shen Kuo often took it out to study it, so he also made great achievements in medicine. When Shen Kuo grew up, he lived in his uncle's house for a period of time. There are many military books in his uncle's house. Through these books, Shen Kuo began to like soldiers again. It can be said that Shen Kuo has achieved so much because he has a wide range of interests. When he comes into contact with a field, he will try his best to learn more.
Shen Kuo has done many great things that benefit the country and the people in his life, such as presiding over the Wan Chunwei Project in Wuhu and participating in the detailed design of the armillary sphere. However, he was best known for his participation in Wang Anshi's political reform. At that time, Wang Anshi appreciated Shen Kuo's talent, so he brought Shen Kuo into his own camp to participate in the political reform. During this period, Shen Kuo presided over the dredging project of Bianhe River, which saved the villagers in the lower reaches from floods and sent money to save the famine in Huainan, thus saving the villagers from hunger. The military and political reform consolidated the national defense, which made the national defense in the Northern Song Dynasty stronger than ever. It can be said that Shen Kuo not only provided powerful assistance for Wang Anshi's political reform, but also solved a series of problems for the people and the country, and the knowledge used to solve these problems was recorded by Shen Kuo.
In his later years, Shen Kuo moved his family to Meng Xi Park, which he bought in Runzhou in his early years, sorted out all the notes he wrote in Meng Xi Park in his early years, classified all his scientific knowledge and what he saw and heard in his life, and created Meng Qian Bi Tan, which left an immortal wealth for future generations.