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The magnetic compass was first invented as a device for divination as early as the Chinese Han dynasty and Tang dynasty (since about 206 BC). [1] [3] [34] The compass was used in Song dynasty China by the military for navigational orienteering by 1040–44, [22] [35] [36] and was used for maritime navigation by 1111 to 1117. [37]
A Han dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) ladle-and-basin lodestone south-pointing compass, used by ancient Chinese geomancers, but not for navigation. However, it was not until the time of Shen Kuo that the earliest magnetic compasses would be used for navigation .
A canal lock system in modern-day France which uses the pound lock system developed during the Song dynasty. In ancient China, the sluice gate, the canal lock, and flash lock had been known since at least the 1st century BCE (as sources then alluded that they were not new innovations), during the ancient Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). [67]
A lodestone compass was used in China during the Han dynasty between the 2nd century BC and 1st century AD, where it was called the "south-governor" (sīnán 司南). [14] The earliest reference to a magnetic device used for navigation is in a Song dynasty book dated to 1040–1044, where there is a description of an iron "south-pointing fish ...
Navigation at sea was made easier by the invention of the compass and Shen Kuo's treatise of the 11th century on the concept of true north (with magnetic declination towards the North Pole). [115] With military defense and economic policy in mind, the Southern Song established China's first standing navy.
Technology during the Tang period was built also upon the precedents of the past. The mechanical gear systems of Zhang Heng (78–139) and Ma Jun (fl. 3rd century) gave the Tang engineer, astronomer, and monk Yi Xing (683–727) inspiration when he invented the world's first clockwork escapement mechanism in 725. [22]
The compass was then used from the 11th century during the Song dynasty, Yuan dynasty, Ming dynasty, and Qing dynasty in the study of geography. One of the most famous explorers in Chinese history was the 15th century admiral Zheng He , known for the Chinese exploration of the Pacific and his treasure voyages .
A modern military compass, with included sight device for aligning. A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with magnetic north.