The
Song Dynasty (
Chinese: 宋朝;
960–
1279 AD) provided some of the most prolific
technological advancements in
Chinese history, much of which came from talented statesmen drafted by the government through
imperial examinations.
The ingenuity of advanced
mechanical engineering had a long tradition in China. The Song Dynasty engineer
Su Song admitted that he and his contemporaries were building upon the achievements of the ancients such as
Zhang Heng (張衡;
78–
139), an astronomer, inventor, and early master of mechanical gears. The application of
movable type printing advanced the already widespread use of
woodblock printing to educate and amuse
Confucian students and the masses. The application of new weapons employing the use of
gunpowder enabled the Song Dynasty to ward off its militant enemies until its collapse to the
Mongol forces of
Kublai Khan, late in the 13th century.
Notable advancements in
civil engineering,
nautics, and
metallurgy were made in Song China, as well as the introduction of the
windmill to China during the 13th century. These advancements, along with the introduction of
paper-printed money, helped revolutionize and sustain the
economy of the Song Dynasty.
Polymaths and mechanical engineering Polymath personalities such as
Shen Kuo (沈括;
1031–
1095) and
Su Song (苏颂;
1020–
1101) embodied the spirit of early
empirical science and technology in the age of the Song Dynasty. Shen Kuo was most famous for discovering the concept of
true north,
magnetic declination towards the
North Pole, by calculating a more accurate measurement of the
astronomical meridian, and fixed the calculated position of the
pole star that had shifted over the centuries.
Polymaths There were many other important figures in the Song era besides Shen Kuo and Su Song, many of whom contributed greatly to the technological innovations of the time period. Although the mechanically-driven mile-marking device of the carriage-drawn
odometer had been known in China since the ancient
Han Dynasty, the
Song Shi (compiled in 1345) provides a much greater description and more in-depth view of the device than earlier Chinese sources. The
Song Shi states:
What follows is a long dissertation made by the Chief Chamberlain Lu Daolong on the ranging measurements and sizes of wheels and gears. The
Song Shi text records that it was the engineer Wu Deren who combined the South Pointing Chariot and odometer in the year 1107:
The text then went on to describe in full detail the intricate mechanical design for the two devices combined into one (refer to the article on the
South Pointing Chariot).
Odometer and South Pointing Chariot Besides clockwork, hydraulic-powered armillary spheres, odometers, and mechanical compass vehicles, there were other impressive devices of mechanical engineering found during the Song Dynasty. Although literary references for mechanical revolving
repositories and book cases of
Buddhist temples trace back to at least 823 during the
Tang Dynasty, A later Muslim traveler Shah Rukh (son of the
Turco-Mongol warlord
Timur) came to
Ming Dynasty China in 1420 during the reign of the
Yongle Emperor, and described a revolving repository in Ganzhou of
Gansu province that he called a 'kiosque':
Revolving repositories In the field of manufacturing
textiles, the Chinese invented the
quilling-wheel by the 12th century,
Textile machinery Main article: Movable type Movable type printing Advances in military technology aided the
Song Dynasty in its defense against hostile neighbors to the north. The
flamethrower found its origins in
Byzantine-era
Greece, employing
Greek fire (a chemically-complex, highly
flammable petrol fluid) in a device with a
siphon hose by the
7th century.
Gunpowder warfare In ancient China, the
sluice gate, the
canal lock, and
flash lock had been known since at least the 1st century BC (as sources then alluded that they were not new innovations), during the ancient
Han Dynasty (
202 BC–
220). However, agricultural and transportation needs had the potential to conflict with one another. This is best represented in the
Dongpo Zhilin of the governmental official and famous poet
Su Shi (苏轼;
1037–
1101), who wrote about two decades before Shen Kuo in 1060:
Although the
drydock had been known in
Ptolemaic Egypt since the late 3rd century BC (by a
Phoenician; not used again until
Henry VII of England in 1495), the scientist and statesman
Shen Kuo wrote of its use in China to repair boats during the 11th century. In his
Dream Pool Essays (1088), Shen Kuo wrote:
Civil engineering Nautics The Chinese of the Song Dynasty were adept
maritime sailors who traveled to ports of call as far away as
Fatimid Egypt. They were well equipped for their journeys abroad, in large seagoing vessels steered by stern-post
rudders and guided by the directional
compass. 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.
Literature During the Song Dynasty there was also great amount of attention given to the building of efficient automotive vessels known as
paddle wheel craft. The latter had been known in China perhaps since the 5th century,
Paddle-wheel ships The art of
metallurgy during the Song Dynasty built upon the efforts of earlier Chinese dynasties, while new methods were incorporated. The Chinese of the ancient
Han Dynasty (
202 BC–
220) figured out how to create
steel by smelting together the
carbon intermediary of
wrought iron and
cast iron by the 1st century BC.
Metallurgy The effect of wind power was appreciated in China long before the introduction of the
windmill during the Song period. It is uncertain when the ancient Chinese used their very first inflatable
bellows as wind-blowing machines for
kilns and
furnaces. They existed perhaps as far back as the
Shang Dynasty (
1600 BC–
1050 BC), due to the intricate
bronze casting technology of the period. They were certainly used since the advent of the
blast furnace in China from the 6th century BC onwards, since
cast iron farm tools and weapons were widespread by the 5th century BC.
Wind power History of science and technology in China Architecture of the Song Dynasty Culture of the Song Dynasty Economy of the Song Dynasty History of the Song Dynasty Society of the Song Dynasty List of Chinese inventions Notes Bowman, John S. (2000).
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