Song Ying Xing was a famous scientist in the late Ming Dynasty. His masterpiece "Heavenly Creations" is illustrated with pictures and texts, which records in detail the types, producing areas, planting and processing of various crops and handicraft raw materials, as well as handicraft production technology, and provides a large number of accurate data, and is known as the science and technology encyclopedia of China in the17th century.
Wu Kai in the Heavenly Palace has been translated into Japanese, English, German, French, Italian, Russian and other languages, which has had a certain impact on the trend of world science and technology changing from ancient medieval tradition to modern science and technology.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some scientists attached importance to experiments and applied mathematical methods, and began to show some characteristics of modern scientific research. However, on the whole, the science and technology in Ming and Qing Dynasties was far less than that in modern western countries. In particular, the Qing dynasty practiced cultural autocracy and closed its doors to the outside world, which widened the gap between Chinese and western science and technology.
Extended data
Creation background
The Ming Dynasty was a relatively developed stage of agriculture, handicrafts and commerce in ancient China. Due to the development of commodity economy, capitalism sprouted in some areas and many industries after the mid-Ming Dynasty.
In agriculture, the area of cultivated land has been expanded, the variety of crops has been improved, and the output per unit area and total output of grain crops and cash crops have been significantly improved. Specialized management has appeared in some areas.
There are many kinds of handicrafts in Ming dynasty, which have reached a certain scale, especially metallurgy, ceramics, textiles and other industries closely related to the national economy and people's livelihood. The cotton textile industry has become the main household sideline, the porcelain industry is well-known at home and abroad, the metallurgical industry has developed from government to private, and the shipbuilding industry has developed.
In the Ming dynasty, commerce and transportation were also developed, and silver became the main currency in circulation. Some giant businessmen often make a fortune thousands of miles away, and some famous business gangs have appeared; Commercial centers and emerging towns in coastal areas have further developed.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Tiangong Wu Kai