Mengxi Bitan (Dream Pool Essays)
Written by Shen Kuo (1031-1095) of the Northern Song Dynasty, the essays were written at Shen's residence of Mengxi (Dream Pool) Garden in Runzhou (now Zhenjiang of Jiangsu Province), hence the name Dream Pool Essays. The 609 articles in the book covers astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, geography, meteorology, medicine, agriculture, engineering, literature, history, music, and fine arts. In the part of natural sciences, the author recorded scientific achievements in ancient China, especially in the Northern Song Dynasty, such as Bi Sheng's movable type printing, and advanced techniques of iron and copper smelting.
He described the application of petroleum and used for the first time the term shi you (literally meaning "rock oil," the Chinese for petroleum). The author also made explanations of some natural phenomena, such as: The rainbow comes about due to refraction of sunlight, the tide is related to the movement of the moon, the main content of meteorite in Changzhou is iron, and the earth's surface is formed by erosion of water. Shen was the first to discover magnetic variation, and he also discussed the lens refracting rays, and resonance. |
