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The compass was invented 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) or "South Pointing Fish" (指南魚). [3] The magnetic compass was not, at first, used for navigation, but for geomancy and fortune-telling by the Chinese.
In his career as a scholar-official for the central government, Shen Kuo was also an ambassador to the Western Xia dynasty and Liao dynasty, [15] a military commander, a director of hydraulic works, and the leading chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. [16] By 1072, Shen was appointed as the head official of the Bureau of Astronomy. [13]
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 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 ...
The examination system, used only on a small scale in Sui and Tang times, played a central role in the fashioning of this new elite. The early Song emperors, concerned above all to avoid domination of the government by military men, greatly expanded the civil service examination system and the government school system. [104]
Legalism' was the label created by Han scholars to describe the socio-political philosophy formulated largely by Shen Buhai (d. 340 BCE), Shang Yang (d. 338 BCE), and Han Fei (c. 280 – c. 233 BCE), a philosophy which stressed that government had to rely on a strict system of punishments and rewards to maintain law and order. [177]
This party favoured greater government intervention in the private economy with government monopolies over salt and iron, higher taxes exacted on private business, and price controls which were used to fund an aggressive foreign policy of territorial expansion; they also followed the Qin dynasty approach to discipline by meting out more ...