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Shen Kuo [a] (Chinese: 沈括; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua [b], courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁), [1] was a Chinese polymath, scientist, and statesman of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Shen was a master in many fields of study including mathematics, optics, and horology.
In addition, Shen's description of sedimentary deposition predated that of James Hutton, who wrote his groundbreaking work in 1802 (considered the foundation of modern geology). [12] The influential philosopher Zhu Xi (1130–1200) wrote of this curious natural phenomena of fossils as well, and was known to have read the works of Shen Kuo. [25]
Even before Shen Kuo and Zhu Yu had described the mariner's magnetic needle compass, the earlier military treatise of the Wujing Zongyao in 1044 had also described a thermoremanence compass. [77] This was a simple iron or steel needle that was heated, cooled, and placed in a bowl of water, producing the effect of weak magnetization, although ...
The Dream Pool Essays, written by the Song dynasty polymath scientist Shen Kuo, contained a detailed description of how geomancers magnetized a needle by rubbing its tip with lodestone and hung the magnetic needle with one single strain of silk with a bit of wax attached to the center of the needle. Shen Kuo pointed out that a needle prepared ...
There was also the scientist and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095). Being the head official for the Bureau of Astronomy, Shen Kuo was an avid scholar of astronomy, and improved the designs of several astronomical instruments: the gnomon, armillary sphere, clepsydra clock, and sighting tube fixed to observe the pole star indefinitely. [7]
Shen Kuo (Chinese: 沈括; 1031–1095) of the Song dynasty used marine fossils found in the Taihang Mountains to infer the existence of geological processes such as geomorphology and the shifting of seashores over time. [10] In 1088 AD, he discovered preserved petrified bamboos found underground in Yan'an, Shanbei region, Shaanxi.
Shen Kuo's article is very important in the scope of general Chinese history, since he was one of China's greatest classical era scientists (perhaps the most important). The article meets all of the FA criteria and cridentials, and reads much smoother with rewording of some awkward sentences from before.
Shen Kuo was the first to discern magnetic declination of true north while experimenting with a compass. [ 174 ] [ 175 ] Shen theorized that geographical climates gradually shifted over time. [ 176 ] [ 177 ] He created a theory of land formation involving concepts accepted in modern geomorphology . [ 178 ]