Shen Kuo (沈括) (1031-1095 AD)

The Dream Pool Essays (Pinyin: Meng Xi Bi Tan; Wade-Giles: Meng Ch'i Pi T'an Chinese: 梦溪笔谈) was an extensive book written by the polymath Chinese scientist and statesman Shen Kuo (1031-1095) by 1088 AD, during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) of China. Although Shen was previously a highly renowned government official and military general, he compiled this enormous written work while virtually isolated on his lavish garden estate near modern-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province. Shen Kuo (沈括) Shen Kuo or Shen Kua (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (1031 - 1095) was a polymath Chinese scientist, mathematician, meteorologist, geologist, mineralogist, military general and strategist, diplomat, notable scholar, astronomer, pharmacologist, hydraulic engineer, academy chancellor, finance minister, state inspector, State Foundation Viscount,[1] and head official of the Bureau of Astronomy for... Events Collapse of the Moorish Caliphate of Córdoba. ... Events The country of Portugal is established for the second time. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Leonardo da Vinci is seen as an epitome of the Renaissance man or polymath A polymath (Greek polymathÄ“s, πολυμαθής, meaning knowing, understanding, or having learnt in quantity, compounded from πολυ- much, many, and the root μαθ-, meaning learning, understanding[1]) is a person well educated in a wide variety of subjects or... Shen Kuo (沈括) Shen Kuo or Shen Kua (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (1031 - 1095) was a polymath Chinese scientist, mathematician, meteorologist, geologist, mineralogist, military general and strategist, diplomat, notable scholar, astronomer, pharmacologist, hydraulic engineer, academy chancellor, finance minister, state inspector, State Foundation Viscount,[1] and head official of the Bureau of Astronomy for... Events Collapse of the Moorish Caliphate of Córdoba. ... Events The country of Portugal is established for the second time. ... Northern Song in 1111 AD Capital Kaifeng (960–1127) Linan (1127–1279) Language(s) Middle Chinese Religion Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism Government Monarchy History  - Zhao Kuangyin taking over the throne of the Later Zhou Dynasty 960  - Battle of Yamen; the end of Song rule 1279 Population  - Peak est. ... Events Edgar the Peaceable crowned King of England. ... For broader historical context, see 1270s and 13th century. ... Zhenjiang (Simplified Chinese: 镇江; Traditional Chinese: 鎮江; pinyin: Zhènjiāng; Wade-Giles: Chen-chiang) is a prefecture-level city in the southwestern Jiangsu province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Jiangsu (Simplified Chinese: 江苏; Traditional Chinese: 江蘇; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-su; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsu) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. ...

Book chapters of the Meng Xi Bi Tan

The Humanities:

• Official life and the imperial court (60 paragraphs)
• Academic and examination matters (10 paragraphs)
• Literary and artistic (70 paragraphs)
• Law and police (11 paragraphs)
• Military (25 paragraphs)
• Miscellaneous stories and anecdotes (72 paragraphs)
• Divination, magic, and folklore (22 paragraphs)

The Natural Sciences:

• On the I Ching, Yin and Yang, and 5 elements (7 paragraphs)
• Mathematics (11 paragraphs)
• Astronomy and calendar (19 paragraphs)
• Meteorology (18 paragraphs)
• Geology and mineralogy (17 paragraphs)
• Geography and cartography (15 paragraphs)
• Physics (6 paragraphs)
• Chemistry (3 paragraphs)
• Engineering, metallurgy, and technology (18 paragraphs)
• Irrigation and hydraulic engineering (6 paragraphs)
• Architecture (6 paragraphs)
• Biological sciences, botany, and zoology (52 paragraphs)
• Agricultural arts (6 paragraphs)
• Medicine and pharmaceutics (23 paragraphs)

The Humanistic Sciences:

• Anthropology (6 paragraphs)
• Archeology (21 paragraphs)
• Philology (36 paragraphs)
• Music (44 paragraphs)

(Total number of paragraphs = 584)^[1]

See also

• Chinese literature
• List of Chinese writers

// [edit] Classical texts Main article: Chinese classic texts China has a wealth of classical literature, both poetry and prose, dating from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BCE) and including the Classics attributed to Confucius. ...

Notes

References

• Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 1, Introductory Orientations. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.

External links

• Shen Kua: mathematician, engineer, physicist, and astronomer
• Works by Shen Kuo at Project Gutenberg