Zhang Heng (AD 78- 139) was born in Xi 'e, Nanyang (now Shiqiaoxia Village, Nanyang City, Henan Province), and was the same as Shangshu and Hejian. He is "intelligent, sensitive and eager to learn, like the death of Sichuan, sleepless." Virtue is overflowing, articles are floating in Yunfu, and the number is poor in the world, with good production, great technology and brilliance. "He" is not disrespectful, and he is disrespectful of virtue; "Don't be ashamed of disagreement with Lu, but be ashamed of wisdom." He was a great scientist, writer, inventor and politician in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and built a towering monument in the history of world science and culture.
Zhang Heng was born in a declining bureaucratic family and studied tirelessly since childhood. When I was young, I studied literature in Chang 'an and Luoyang for at least ten years. At the age of 29, he wrote the famous Tokyo Fu and Xijing Fu, which are collectively called Erjing Fu.
Zhang Heng was the chief of staff of Nanyang County. When he was in his thirties, Zhang Heng became an official, worked as a doctor, an official and a minister, and punished some corrupt officials.
After thirty, Zhang Heng began to study astronomy. He has a deep research on astronomical calendar calculation, including lingxian and arithmetic. In the history of China, Lingxian correctly explained the cause of the eclipse for the first time. In the first year of Yang Jia's reign (132), he made the world's first seismograph, the Hou Feng seismograph, which can accurately measure the direction of earthquakes and enable officials to record the direction and place of earthquakes, thus accumulating a lot of valuable data.
Zhang Heng made outstanding contributions to astronomy. He improved the armillary sphere and made it in 1 17. Invented the mixed image of water transport, and the book Notes on Huntian Instrument is the masterpiece of Huntian Theory.
In seismology, he invented the "Seismograph" (AD 132), which was the first instrument in the world to measure earthquakes and directions, more than 700 years earlier than Europe. In astronomy, he invented the "armillary sphere" (A.D. 1 17), which was the first large-scale astronomical instrument driven by water to observe stars in the world. He wrote books such as Notes on the Huntianyi Instrument and Lingxian, drew a complete star chart, and put forward the scientific conclusion that "moonlight is born in the sun and shines on it". In literature, he is a brilliant star in the history of China literature. The representative works "Tokyo Fu" and "Xijing Fu", collectively called "Erjing Fu", describe the prosperous scenes of Chang 'an and Luoyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty and satirize the dissolute and shameless parasitic life of bureaucrats and nobles. Du Nan Fu vividly depicts the social outlook, people's life and folk customs of Nanyang County at that time. In addition, there are more than 30 articles, such as Love Song, Song of the Same Voice, Ode to Mystery, Song of Tian, Poem of Four Sorrow, etc. In geography, he drew a complete topographic map, and developed a "drum cart in mind" and a "compass". In mathematics, he wrote The Theory of Calculation, and calculated the values of pi between 3. 1466 and 3. 1622. Although this is slightly different from the known pi today, it is amazing that people can have such an accurate calculation more than 800 years ago. His achievements predate those of Europe 1300 years. In meteorology, he created the "barometer", which is an instrument to predict the wind and direction, earlier than the western hyacinthus orientalis chicken 1000; In mechanics, his "single wood carving" is the earliest aircraft in the world, as well as plans (solar shadow devices) and activity calendars. In art, he ranks first among the six famous painters in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Zhang Heng's outstanding contributions in science and technology, literature and art are not only the glory and pride of the Chinese nation, but also the precious wealth left to the whole human history. Zhang Heng deserves to be the dazzling twin of science and literature in the world. 1956 10, inscription by Guo Moruo, president of China Academy of Sciences: "Such an all-round development figure is also rare in world history."