Shen Kuo is an extremely rare all-rounder in ancient Chinese history, and his talent is so comprehensive that he surpasses and kills almost any generalist in history. In the third year of the Song Dynasty (1051), Shen Kuo became a historical witness to an important invention in the history of world science and technology during the funeral of his father when he returned to his hometown.
He witnessed the clay movable type left by Bi Sheng in cloth clothes, and was deeply impressed by it when he wrote "Mengxi Bi Tan" in his later years, so he recorded Bi Sheng's movable type printing technique in detail.
This exclusive record allowed movable type printing to be passed down to the world and become one of the four great inventions of ancient China, without being annihilated by time. Shen Kuo was the first person in the history of movable type printing to summarize and promote, and his records were selected into middle school textbooks, and the Chinese people are familiar with his historical contributions.
But few people know that Shen Kuo has always struggled in both being a person and an official, but in the end he failed to the top, became unpopular, and was accompanied by abuse, disdain and misunderstanding from others before and after his death.
Shen Kuo, a unique all-rounder in the long history, no matter when and where, people have a very high evaluation of him. "History of the Song Dynasty" once said that he was "erudite and good at writing, and he knew everything in astronomy, square chronicles, legal calendars, medicine, and divination, and he had written on everything."
* The famous scholar Zhang Yinlin also said that he "not only undertook the scientific undertakings in the imperial court at that time, such as repairing the calendar, improving the observation equipment, building water conservancy, making maps, supervising the manufacture of weapons, etc.; Not only in astronomy, earth science, mathematics, medicine, and physics, but also in their own creations; Not only famous for literature; and in the government, diplomacy and military affairs, he can use the minds of his scientists to build extraordinary achievements".
Joseph Needham, a well-known British scholar of the history of science and technology, praised him as "the most outstanding figure in the entire history of science in China". Shen Kuo's talent is in various fields. In terms of the astronomical calendar, he improved astronomical instruments, revised the calendar, and even initiated the "Twelve Calendar", which, despite secular attacks, was of great significance for its scientific and technological innovation, more than 800 years earlier than the George Bernard Shaw calendar used by the British Met Office.
In mathematics, his main contribution was the invention of "gap product" and "circle technique", which opened up a new direction for traditional mathematical research, and was praised by the Japanese mathematical historian Yoshio Mikami as "a model figure in Chinese arithmetic".
In terms of geology and geography, he pioneered the method of topographic elevation surveying, and also used woodcut three-dimensional topographic maps, which predate the West by more than 700 years. In chemistry, he proposed the scientific name "oil" for the first time, and carried out experiments to use petroleum carbon black instead of pine smoke to make ink, and accurately asserted that "this thing will be popular in the world".
In physics, he discovered the earliest record of the Earth's magnetic declination, more than 400 years before the Western record; He also conducted experiments with sound resonance, the results of which preceded the West by hundreds of years.
In terms of engineering technology, he described in detail the whole process of Buyi Bisheng's invention of movable clay printing and the whereabouts of the word print, which was more than 400 years earlier than the invention of metal movable type printing by the German Goldenberg.
Shen Kuo's scientific achievements are remarkable. In order to commemorate and recognize his contributions, in 1979, the Nanjing Purple Mountain Observatory named a newly discovered planet "Shen Kuo".
Shen Kuo was a practical bureaucrat with both civil and military skills, a rare all-rounder in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the seventh year of Xining, the Liao State sent an envoy Xiao Xi to the Song Dynasty, and in the name of the national border dispute, put forward an unreasonable request to redraw the border between the three states of Wei, Ying, and Shuo.
The Manchu ministers talked a lot, but they couldn't find a real hammer to refuse the Khitan's demands. By consulting historical archives, Shen Kuo found that the boundary map agreed between the Song and Liao countries in the early years was bounded by the ancient Great Wall, and the area of Huangwei Mountain that is now arguing is more than 30 miles south of the ancient Great Wall, which is obviously the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty.
When Song Shenzong learned of Shen Kuo's new discovery, he greatly appreciated his talent and appointed him as an envoy to the Liao State. Before Shen Kuo left, Song Shenzong asked him how he should respond if the Liao State did something unfavorable to the envoy.
Shen Kuo replied categorically: "Let the minister die." In the six rounds of negotiations with the Liao State, Shen Kuo adhered to the bottom line of the Song Dynasty, made it clear that the Song Dynasty was unwilling to give up the territory around Huangwei Mountain, and resolutely opposed the unreasonable demands of the Liao State.
Despite Shen Kuo's firm stance, the Liao State still refused to back down. Under the instructions of Song Shenzong, Shen Kuo's diplomatic achievements were wasted. However, with his wisdom and courage, Shen Kuo defended the territory and dignity of the Song Dynasty, demonstrated the national prestige and courage of the Great Song Dynasty, and made people see the vitality and hope of the Song Dynasty.
The prosperity and military strength of the Northern Song Dynasty were quite strong, and Shen Kuo was not only a diplomatic expert, but also an ordnance expert and military genius. During his tenure as the supervisor of the Ordnance Superintendent, he greatly improved the military production in the Northern Song Dynasty, not only in terms of the number of weapons, but also in terms of quality.
In order to create the strongest iron armor, he delved into the distinction between wrought iron and steel, as well as cold and hot forging, and described in detail the city defenses, formations, weapons, and strategies and tactics in his military work "The Treaty of Repairing the City".
In the fourth year of Yuanfeng (1081), the Northern Song Dynasty decided to launch an offensive war against Western Xia, and Shen Kuo was urgently transferred to the battlefield in northern Shaanxi to serve as the governor of Yanzhou and the envoy of the Yanyan Road.
Along the border in Shaanxi, he cooperated with the deputy envoy of the Economic Strategy to replenish the troops, train the troops, coordinate the military supplies of grain and grass, and place the first forbidden army, and finally defeated the 80,000 Western Xia troops on the bank of the Wuding River, becoming the most glorious way in the Song army of the Five Routes.
During this period, Shen Kuo played the true character of a literati and produced dozens of triumphant songs, which were sung during the victory of the Song army. There are five of these triumphant songs that have survived to this day, one of which reads: "The flag team is like a splendid pile, and the back of the silver sword is beaten back."
First teach to clean Anxi Road, and wait to drink Malai to the source of the river". However, the weakness of Shen Kuo's character caused him to rise and fall in officialdom for many years, and although he had outstanding achievements, he was eventually ostracized by the New Party, with a poor reputation, and left behind infamy.
Although Wang Anshi had recommended him to inspect the farmland and water conservancy of Liangzhejiang and to take charge of the country's finances during his tenure as the third envoy, his attitude towards Shen Kuo changed radically after Wang Anshi was deposed and reinstated for the first time.
Song Shenzong still admired Shen Kuo's talents, but Wang Anshi and the disdain and disdain of him from the New Party ultimately prevented him from taking charge of the military department.
Shen Kuo, a scientist during the Song Dynasty, raised some criticisms and objections to the new law after Wang Anshi's resignation. His critique was very insightful on specific issues with the new law.
However, this was considered intolerable within the new party. Wang Anshi, Cai Qu, Lu Huiqing and others fiercely attacked and excluded Shen Kuo. Shen Kuo was demoted to the rank of governor of Xuanzhou, which was related to his cowardly character and reluctance to get involved in political struggles.
The relationship with Su Shi also became a negative impact on his reputation after his death. Although Shen Kuo and Su Shi are the same kind of people, they both believe in truth and conscience and have criticized the new law.
But Su Shi is a brave critic, while Shen Kuo is a cowardly critic. They have a strained relationship because of the "whistleblowing incident".
Shen Kuo was a famous scientist and politician during the Northern Song Dynasty who devoted his life to scientific research and political reform. However, he has historically been accused of being the protagonist of "whistleblowers", which has had a serious negative impact on his image.
However, whether this accusation is true or not has been debated historically. According to the Southern Song Dynasty historian Li Tao's "Continuation of the Zhitongjian Long Edition", Shen Kuo's "whistleblower incident" was recorded by Wang Jun, but Li Tao doubted this and believed that this incident "may be problematic and should be examined in detail".
And Shen Kuo's two parties, Su Shi and Shen Kuo, did not have any words about this incident. Moreover, in his letter to Li Zhiyi, Su Shi once mentioned that his only interaction with Shen Kuo was in the sixth year of Yuanyou, when Su Shi returned to Beijing from Hangzhou and passed through Runzhou, Shen Kuo gave him a piece of graphite obtained from Yanzhou.
At the same time, Shen Kuo is also a politically upright person. He once had a close relationship with Li Zhiyi, who was a fan of Su Shi and had a warm relationship with the Sumen Chinese.
When Su Shi was demoted to Hainan, the usual disciples were afraid of being implicated, so they broke off their relationship with Su Shi one after another, and only "Uncle Duan (Li Zhiyi)'s disciple has always lived up to the public, and he can't cover three people".
It can be seen that Li Zhiyi is a decent person and has a deep affection for Su Shi. Such a person also has great respect for Shen Kuo. When Shen Kuo died, Li Zhiyi, who was an official in Gansu, faced the portrait of Shen Kuo and made "Praise for the Portrait of Shen Cunzhong", offering sacrifices to his deceased friends.
He said that Shen Kuo was "a lifetime of absolute" and "awe-inspiring lonely wind", and his evaluation was quite high. Therefore, although Shen Kuo's "whistleblowing incident" is controversial in history, we can analyze this incident from multiple angles and cannot simply make a negative evaluation of Shen Kuo.
Shen Kuo is a dedicated, pragmatic and good **, but not an outstanding politician. Although he was knowledgeable and astute, he was at a loss in the power struggle, always giving in and compromising, and as a result, he was alienated by Wang Anshi, ending his political career.
This was Shen Kuo's misfortune, but it also allowed future generations to get a great scientist and writer. This is the paradox of history.