Shen Kuo, whose real name was Cunzhong, was born in a bureaucratic family in Qiantang, Zhejiang Province in the ninth year of Tiansheng reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty. He studied hard since he was a child. Under the guidance of his mother, he finished reading at home at the age of 14. At the age of 24, he started his career. Three years later, he was recommended to the Zhaowen Museum in the capital to edit books, where he began to study astronomical calendars. In his later years, he carefully summarized his life experience and scientific activities in Mengqian Park, and wrote the famous scientific masterpieces Mengxi Essays and Forgetfulness. In the second year of Shaosheng reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song Dynasty, Shen Kuo passed away.
Japanese mathematician Yoshio Mishima once said. There is no such person as Shen Kuo in the history of mathematics in the world. Only China has such a person. Dr. Joseph Needham, a famous British expert on the history of science, said that Shen Kuo's Mengxi written talks are the coordinates of the history of Chinese science.
Our evaluation of this versatile talent in history has always been mixed. In fact, this is our incomplete understanding of history. No one is perfect. As a politician who participated in the reform trend of the Northern Song Dynasty, Shen Kuo also had some shortcomings. Shen Kuo knew that Wang Anshi and Su Dongpo had different political views, so he placed his treasure on Wang Anshi, slandered his good friend Su Dongpo, and exposed that Su Dongpo's poems in front of Shenzong had a tendency to mock the government. As a cultural master who pays attention to character, Wang Anshi paid great attention to Shen Kuo, and finally concluded that Shen Kuo was an unapproachable villain. Of course, the inaccessibility of his character does not affect our affirmation of Shen Kuo's scientific achievements.
A scientist with outstanding achievements
Shen Kuo was well-read and versatile. The biography of Song Dynasty records: he was well-read and good at writing articles on astronomy, local chronicles, calendars, music, medicine, etc. It is pertinent that various works on divination have this assessment. Even as far as natural science is concerned, Shen Kuo's contributions are multidisciplinary and cover a wide range of fields.
First of all, Shen Kuo attached great importance to the development of agricultural production and water conservancy. He wrote books about polders, such as "Five Comments on Polder Fields" and "Wanchun Polder Books". Moreover, Shen Kuo also made important contributions to defending the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty. During the seventh year of Ning's reign, when Zai Xi served as the visiting envoy of Hebei West Road and the commander of military equipment, he compiled military works such as the French Treaty of City Construction and the Border State Formation.
Shen Kuo is also an outstanding astronomer. In the fifth year of Xining, after Shen Kuo took charge of the Tianjian, he researched and transformed old astronomical observation instruments such as armillary spheres, floating leaks, and shadow tables. Sundial diagrams were also made and the sundial measurement method was improved. Shen Kuo wrote his research results into three papers: Armillary Sphere Theory, Floating Sphere Theory, and Jingbiao Theory, which are important documents in the history of Chinese astronomy. In his later years, Shen Kuo proposed the idea of ??replacing the original calendar with the lunisolar calendar. The twelve Qi calendars not only conform to the actual operation of celestial bodies, but are also conducive to the arrangement of agricultural activities. Countries around the world now use the Gregorian calendar with the Shen Kuo #12 Qi calendar in units of months.
Shen Kuo also has outstanding research in mathematics. He founded gap product technology and circle technology which not only promoted the development of plane geometry but also played an important role in astronomical calculations. Shen Kuo's achievements in physics research are also extremely valuable. The recorded views and results cover the fields of mechanics, optics, magnetism, acoustics, etc., especially magnetism. Shen Kuo explicitly talked about the deflection angle of the magnetic needle for the first time. He pointed out: Fang Jia used a magnet to grind the front end of the needle, and the magnet could guide it, but it was always slightly to the east, not all the way to the south. This is the world's earliest record of magnetic declination. It was not discovered in the West until Columbus first sailed to America in 400 BC
In addition to his contributions in natural sciences, he also made great achievements in social sciences and humanities. His achievements involve academic fields such as society, economy, history, diplomacy, military, archaeology, temperament, painting, calligraphy, and poetry. He was an encyclopedic scholar at the time. These academic achievements fully reflect Shen Kuo's studious and enterprising spirit.
Outstanding Diplomat
Shen Kuo was an outstanding scientist in ancient China. He was a person who worked diligently in the field of science and technology and was also an expert in diplomacy, but this is rarely known.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty often found excuses to invade the borders of the Song Dynasty. In the eighth year of Zong Xining's reign, the Liao Dynasty wanted to attack the Song Dynasty again, but there was no excuse. So, he sent an envoy named Xiao to Bianjing City to see the emperor in the north, lying that the land in the Huangpi area on Hedong Road was the land of the Liao Dynasty and was now occupied by the Song Dynasty, and demanded its return. The novel is good, as evidenced by the text of the relevant treaty signed by Liao and Song Dynasty.
The ministers responsible for negotiating with the Liao envoys all knew that since the Song Dynasty had its own contacts with the Liao Kingdom, the territory of the Song Dynasty had only decreased but not increased. The Huangpi area must not have been the result of the Song Dynasty's invasion of the Liao Kingdom by the United States, but now the Liao Kingdom's envoys have the text of the treaty from both sides as evidence. It seems that these treaties are not fake. If you don't admit it, Liao has a basis; if you admit it, this is obviously Liao's blackmail to Song Dynasty. The ministers in charge of the negotiations were particularly embarrassed by Xiaoxi and wanted to argue with him about the whole story. As a result, he was laughed at by Liao. Although he was angry, he had no basis to refute. Xiaoxi in front of God? Faced with this, his attitude was very tough, saying: You must return the Huangpi area to Daliao immediately, otherwise you will be responsible for all the consequences. Xiao angrily returned to the north and reported the results of the negotiations to the Emperor of Liao. The shadow of war shrouded the border between Song and Liao, and it was about to break out. Emperor Zongshen faced a particularly big problem: if the border dispute could not be properly resolved, the Song-Liao War would be inevitable. At that time, the Northern Song Dynasty would once again face internal and external troubles, and the reforms just carried out might fall short.
While he was upset, Shen Kuo volunteered to send a special envoy to the Liao Kingdom to continue negotiations on the territorial ownership of the border. He told Zongshen that I had carefully reviewed and studied the data. In all the treaties signed between our country and the Liao in recent years, the exact boundary should be the ancient Great Wall, and the Huang Wei American Ambassador mentioned by the Liao is a little-known place 30 miles south of the Great Wall, which should be our territory. The Liao people bullied me so much that they didn't know Huang Wei's exact location and deliberately provoked me to start a war. I asked the emperor to allow me to go to the Liao Kingdom so that I could distinguish right from wrong with the Liao people and tell the truth. After speaking, Shen Kuo took out a copy of the relevant treaty and showed it to God. After reading it, Song Shenzong was very happy, and I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He told Shen Kuo that the ministers responsible for the negotiations were greedy. After several days of negotiations, they all knew Huang Wei's details and almost missed a major event. Therefore, Song Shenzong appointed Shen Kuo as the ambassador to the Liao Kingdom, responsible for negotiating Huang Wei's ownership.
After Shen Kuo arrived in the Liao Kingdom, Yang, the Prime Minister of the Liao Kingdom, personally came forward to negotiate with him about the territorial ownership of the border. Before formal negotiations, Shen Kuo asked his entourage to memorize a copy of the treaty and the names and locations of the northern border points. During the negotiation process, Shen Kuo kept his head lowered. In several consecutive negotiations, the commissioners were able to clearly explain the issues raised by the Liao people. The two sides talked six times, and Shen Kuo and his party prevailed every time. What they discussed was in line with the fair terms of the Song-Liao treaty, and the Liao people couldn't find any flaws. Yang Yi, the prime minister of the Liao Dynasty, became angry with shame and showed his true colors, saying: If the Song Dynasty fails, I can't bear to give up a few miles of land. Without it, wouldn't it be obvious that we would sever friendly relations with Liao? Shen Kuo did not give in and argued: When the army fights, the morale of the straight ones is strong, and the morale of the straight ones drops. Don’t be unaware of this if Premier Yang wins. Although Huang Wei was young, the treaty clearly stated that he belonged to the Song Dynasty. How can you say that we have damaged the relationship between the two countries? This is because you betrayed the beliefs of your ancestors, ignored the previously signed treaties, and wanted to seize the land of the Song Dynasty, even at the threat of force. I don't think so. It makes sense for you to use this as an excuse to send troops. The people of the Liao Kingdom may not be willing to go to war with the Song Dynasty over these few miles, right? Although the Song Dynasty is weak, it may not be afraid of war with your Liao Kingdom. The words left the arrogant Prime Minister Yang Yici speechless. He saw that Shen Kuo and his members of the envoy were too hard to bear, so he had to report to the Emperor of Liao, and then find another way to start a war.
Shen Kuo Xiahou_ did his duty to Liao and morally stopped Liao and the United States from trying to launch a war on the pretext of territorial issues. In the end, Huang Wei failed to become the trigger of the New Song-Liao War, and Shen Kuo's mission was indispensable. On his way to Liaoning, Shen Kuo recorded the mountains and rivers and the customs and customs of the places he visited, and understood the heart of the people in the north. He reported it to the Northern Song Dynasty court in the form of Mengxi written talks, which played a certain role in handling many affairs on the northern border of the Northern Song Dynasty in the future.
The disgraceful side
Shen Kuo and Su Shi are good friends. These two men who made outstanding contributions to history eventually parted ways. Shen Kuo played a disgraceful role in it. Since ancient times, it is common for literati to look down on each other and then hurt each other. The emperor praised Su Dongpo in front of Shen Kuo, and Shen Kuo felt a silent contrast in his heart. He did not want Su Dongpo's cultural status to be higher than his own, so he condemned Su Dongpo's poems that mocked the court. Zhang Dun and others took pictures of Su Shi's poems as evidence and accused him of being a big rebel and wanted to kill him.
A major case involving 39 relatives and friends of Su Shi and more than 100 poems shocked the whistleblower Shen Kuo. This is the famous Wutai Poetry Case
At that time, Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty appointed Wang Anshi to implement reforms. The old party headed by Sima Guang firmly opposed it and continued to obstruct the implementation of the New Deal. Therefore, at that time, the new party headed by Wang Anshi and the old party headed by Sima Guang were at odds both inside and outside the government. However, Su Shi has always been a person who can have the best of both worlds. He always tells the truth, so both old and new parties hate him. Su Shi initially opposed the reform and was rejected by the New Party. Later, when the old party came to power, Su Shi did not agree to completely negate the new law out of consideration of the actual situation, and the old party put him on guard. Later, the new party overthrew the old party. In order to fight for power and profit, Su Shi was returned to the old party. Shen Kuo was politically inclined to the New Party headed by Wang Anshi, and because of his personal enmity with Su Shi, he was waiting for an opportunity to frame this good friend.
In the third year of Yuanfeng, Su Shi was transferred to Huzhou Prefecture. It was customary at that time for transferred officials to write a thank you note and publish it in Di Bao. What he wrote on the form aroused resentment from both parties, old and new. There are a few words in the form, which means this: Your Majesty, you know that I am very stupid, it is difficult for me to follow those new dignitaries, and I can not adapt to the environment; but you see, although I am old, I don’t like to mess with you. Trouble, so I, I, am here to take care of Wang. In his thank you list, there are new words and troubles that people can hear between the lines. Who's new and who's causing trouble again? When people laughed at the New Party, Shen Kuo was of course even more dissatisfied with Su Shi. So he took the opportunity to write a letter to the emperor, saying that Su Shi's thank-you speech was a satire on current affairs, had ulterior motives, resented the emperor, slandered the emperor, neglected his duties, and insulted the emperor. Now people are rushing to tell it. His statement really caused a sensation among the officials and the people. Even death would not be enough to thank the emperor. In addition, Shen Kuo also selected more than 60 poems from Su Shi's poems as evidence of Su Shi's dissatisfaction with the court. He slandered Su Shi and scolded him and gave specific examples: Your Majesty taught officials to learn laws, but he said that reading thousands of books without reading the laws will make you ignorant of skills. His Majesty gave money to buy young crops, which was originally to help the poor. But he said that it won the child's voice really well, and it would take more than a year for His Majesty to implement the salt law in this city, but he said, is it because he has forgotten his taste? In the past three months, you have no salt. Shen Kuo first made slanderous remarks, and then Ding, one of the censors, followed suit and listed four reasons why Su Shi should be killed. First, Su Shi sent the case to the Yushitai for handling as a token of gratitude to the emperor.
Soon, Su Shi was arrested from Huzhou and returned to Beijing. A month later, he was imprisoned in Yushitai Prison.
At first, Su Shi did not admit that he was full of resentment and slander, but said that some of his poems did reflect the suffering of the people. But later, under the command of Shen Kuo, his subordinates took turns interrogating and torturing Su Shi. Su Shi, a Confucian scholar, could not bear the psychological humiliation and physical pain, so he admitted his crime and wrote a confession poem describing the life of ordinary rural people. He wrapped his rice in a cane and hurried away, and the money changed hands. . The winning child has a good voice and has been in the city for more than a year and a half. Su Shi himself said that he ridiculed the court's youth legislation. His confession was: What this poem says is that people want toon money. Most banker children don’t look at the second place in the city, but they only learn the pronunciation of people in the city, so this new law brings great benefits to young farmers. It's an inconvenience. But how far-fetched these words are! Su Shi also said that his envoy Khitan Tuchao, a 70-year-old man, was ashamed of the fragrance of bamboo shoots and ferns in the spring mountains. Is it because he has forgotten his own taste after hearing the news? He has been eating without salt for the past three months. I ridiculed the Salt Law for being too eager to implement the new law, leaving the people in the mountains hungry, cold, impoverished, and without food for several months. In fact, this poem has nothing to do with the salt method. Su Shi was completely desperate at that time, and waited for Shen Kuo to compile evidence and confessions, and behead him with the emperor's approval.
Fortunately, Song Shenzong felt that Su Shi was a rare talent, and after repeated consideration, he felt sympathy. Later, Zongshen saw the poems written by Su Shi in prison and was not prepared to kill Su Shi, so he pardoned him. This poem is written like this:
The Lord is like the spring of all things, but the humble minister is ignorant and forgets himself.
After a hundred years, you must repay your debt. Ten bums are even more tired.
Its green hills can bury his bones, and he was alone in the rain at night.
We are brothers with you in this life, and we have no choice in the next life.
Su Shi was almost killed because of his poems, but he was saved because of his poems. It's such a blessing. Shen Kuo