Science and technology in ancient China: people and their masterpieces
-Written by Wanhe Jiang
“Between the 3rd and the 13th centuries, a level of scientific knowledge unapproached in the west” was declaimed by Joseph Needham, who is a famous British scientist and historian. For several millennia prior to the Industrial Revolution in the West, China had been a world leader in science and technology.
“Paper, gunpowder, the compass and movable printing” have been recognized as “Four Great Inventions” of ancient China. They mark China’s early contribution to world science and technology. Besides the “Four Great inventions”, Chinese scientific discoveries and technological inventions cover almost the whole area of science, from mathematics, physics, mechanical engineering to astronomy, geoscience, medicine and so on.
In term of astronomy, all dynasties of China had astronomical institutions in charge of astronomical observation and compilation of calendar. As a result, China had world-leading in astronomical observations, calendar projections, and astronomical instruments. Among these, ancient astronomical instruments in China included the gnomon, the armillary sphere, celestial globes and clepsydra. Zhang Heng (78–139 A.D.), was an astronomer, mathematician and engineer of Eastern Han Dynasty. He correctly explained solar and lunar eclipses and developed a sophisticated calendar to guide farming. He claimed that the moon does not produce light and the moonlight is the reflection of sunlight. He predicted celestial events and recorded events observed in the heavens. He developed the world’s first water-powered armillary sphere, that is, celestial globe. He catalogued 2,500 stars and more than 100 constellations.
With regard to earth science, in 132 A.D., Zhang Heng also invented the first seismoscope (see Figure 1), an urn with pendulum apparatus inside, the pendulum was extremely sensitive to vibration. It has eight dragons positioned face down, beneath the dragons sat eight toads, with their broad mouths gaping to receive the balls. When the pendulum swung, one of dragons dropped ball to the toad mouth indicating when and in which direction an earthquake had occurred. Although the genuine masterpiece was lost to history, Chinese scientists in Zengzhou built a replica seismoscope. And the replica ones accurately detected simulated earthquakes from four different areas in China and Vietnam.
Figure 1 Modern replica of Zhang Heng’s seismoscope (Mitrica 2019)
For mathematics, China was the first country in the world to adopt decimal system of numbers. The formation of ancient Chinese mathematical system had a close connection with calendar formation, land measurement, tax calculation, construction of infrastructure and so on. Before the Qin period (before 221 B.C.), the Elementary Arithmetic method was discovered. Represented by Nine Chapters on Mathematical Art, this arithmetic system also includes arithmetic, algebra, geometry and other various aspects, which offers great help to solve the needs of daily life. Chongzhi Zu (429–500A.D.), a famous mathematician who made the most accurate approximation for π , 1000 years ahead of similar calculations across the rest of world(Zhang 2015).
In respect of geoscience, remarkable achievements had left a rich source of information in understanding the natural geographical records of ancient China. Daoyuan Li (472–527), a geographer at Northern Wei Dynasty, compiled The Commentary on the Water Classic, original text which contains 1,252 rivers and details about the ancient canals, waterways, mountains, city infrastructure facilities, and so on. Zang Xuan (602–664), Buddhist monk wrote The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, a book covers the ancient geographical history of Central Asia, India, Pakistan and other countries. Xiake Xu (1368–1644), the most famous geographer among Chinses history, visited hundreds of caves and many places throughout his life. He documented the location, depth and width of the caves and explained why the caves and their stalactites are formed in science terms.
In ancient Chinese civilization, astronomy, arithmetic, agriculture and medicine are four sections with early development and rich content. Among these four, medicine still contributes significantly in people’s lives, although traditional medicine was discovered in an era without modern scientific knowledge. It can be traced back to Shang Dynasty (1600 to 1046 B.C.), there are more than 300 carved inscriptions related to medicine from that time. The Huangdi Neijing, known as “Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor” compiled in Warring States Period (475–221 B.C.), is regarded as the fundamental source for Chinese medicine. The theory of Yin-Yang and “The Five Elements” are all from the “Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor”. The Divine Husbandman’s Classic of the Materia Medica, compiled during Han Dynasty, is a book on medicinal plants. Together with Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, these two constituted the whole ancient Chinese medical system(Lu 2015). Zhongjin Zhang (150–219AD), an extraordinary physician in the Han Dynasty, compiled two medical monographs, Shanghan Lun and Jingui yaolue. Simiao Sun (581–682), the “China’s King of Medicine” wrote treatises which laid a solid foundation for the future development of Chinese medicines. Shizhen Li (1518–1593), a great physician, herbalist and pharmacologist during Ming Dynasty, finished The Compendium of Materia Medica, also known as Bencao Gangmu, a monumental masterpiece considered as the most comprehensive medical book ever written in history of Chinese medicine. In the book, Li describes 1,892 different pharmaceutical objects, also recorded 11,096 recipes for various diseases. Plants, minerals, parts of animals and other items can all made into drugs. The details of individual drug include origin, how to find the drug, its appearance, how to collect the drug, how to prepare the drug. The pharmaceuticals are classified related to their physical nature, namely, water, fire, earth and metals and minerals, reflected the Five elements. The Bencao Gangmu has an immeasurable scientific value. Up to date, Bencao Gangmu is still used as textbook nowadays for traditional Chinese medicine school.
During the 5000-year history of China, many significant science and technology accomplishments were gained by ordinary people, they are the driving force of development in Chinese science and technology. The collective wisdom and efforts of Chinese pioneers makes the splendid Chinese science history.
Reference
Lu, Y. (2015). A history of Chinese science and techonoly, Springer.
Mitrica, D. (2019). “World’s first earthquake detector was invented 2000 years ago in China.” from https://www.zmescience.com/science/geology/worlds-first-seismoscope-53454/.
Zhang, Q. (2015). An introduction to Chinese History and Culture, Springer.
