Science and technology of the Song dynasty

The <a href="/facts/Song_dynasty/FxV5bXS5">Song dynasty</a> witnessed many substantial <a href="/facts/History_of_science_and_technology_in_China/JlA3afbj">scientific and technological</a> advances in <a href="/facts/History_of_China/TNqRSvQ4">Chinese history</a>. Some of these advances and innovations were the products of talented statesmen and <a href="/facts/Scholar-officials/Jtw4hjyU">scholar-officials</a> drafted by the government through <a href="/facts/Imperial_examination/y4qmBl6V">imperial examinations</a>. <a href="/facts/Shen_Kuo/GKqhbxHd">Shen Kuo</a> (1031–1095), author of the <a href="/facts/Dream_Pool_Essays/JaKAXLPd">Dream Pool Essays</a>, is a prime example, an <a href="/facts/List_of_Chinese_inventions/UCKUpovB">inventor</a> and pioneering figure who introduced many new advances in <a href="/facts/Chinese_astronomy/o84DLtYR">Chinese astronomy</a> and <a href="/facts/Chinese_mathematics/naFkyWeW">mathematics</a>, establishing the concept of <a href="/facts/True_north/276EMRXX">true north</a> in the first known experiments with the magnetic <a href="/facts/Compass/86MaeFXu">compass</a>. However, commoner craftsmen such as <a href="/facts/Bi_Sheng/84QyXzsf">Bi Sheng</a> (972–1051), the inventor of <a href="/facts/History_of_printing_in_East_Asia/94IL0sHa">movable type printing</a> (in a form predating the <a href="/facts/Printing_press/7I3laFE0">printing press</a> of <a href="/facts/Johannes_Gutenberg/HkQISRmx">Johannes Gutenberg</a>), were also heavily involved in technical innovations.
The ingenuity of advanced <a href="/facts/Mechanical_engineering/cbId4fye">mechanical engineering</a> had a long tradition in China. The Song engineer <a href="/facts/Su_Song/npEcuVbf">Su Song</a>, who constructed a <a href="/facts/Hydraulics/KSIqLovc">hydraulically-powered</a> <a href="/facts/Astronomical_clock/8yaTPexw">astronomical</a> <a href="/facts/Clocktower/jtdLDPXY">clocktower</a>, admitted that he and his contemporaries were building upon the achievements of the ancients such as <a href="/facts/Zhang_Heng/jBwoVGQ4">Zhang Heng</a> (78–139), an astronomer, inventor, and early master of mechanical gears whose <a href="/facts/Armillary_sphere/0H2dIBdu">armillary sphere</a> was automatically rotated by a <a href="/facts/Waterwheel/7xwQDxrP">waterwheel</a> and <a href="/facts/Water_clock/GCgGB46l">clepsydra</a> timer. The application of <a href="/facts/Movable_type/EscMKqoy">movable type</a> <a href="/facts/History_of_printing/yuLLPQ5e">printing</a> advanced the already widespread use of <a href="/facts/Woodblock_printing/7DX03pTa">woodblock printing</a> to educate and amuse <a href="/facts/Confucianism/Nlbwgmxw">Confucian</a> students and the masses. The application of <a href="/facts/History_of_gunpowder/LlDLQhsb">new weapons</a> employing the use of <a href="/facts/Gunpowder/AEcB6HCR">gunpowder</a> enabled the Song to ward off its militant enemies—the <a href="/facts/Liao_dynasty/aLMKfWr7">Liao</a>, <a href="/facts/Western_Xia/KjwJctSc">Western Xia</a>, and <a href="/facts/Jin_dynasty_(1115%25E2%2580%25931234)/yv1tvwzk">Jin</a> with weapons such as <a href="/facts/Cannon/IH7VkIpm">cannons</a>—until its collapse to the <a href="/facts/Mongols/fb4zx1s8">Mongol</a> forces of <a href="/facts/Kublai_Khan/jkAtyU4h">Kublai Khan</a> in the late 13th century.
Notable advances in <a href="/facts/Civil_engineering/avh5kEq2">civil engineering</a>, <a href="/facts/Maritime_history/KKuV5VFl">nautics</a>, and <a href="/facts/History_of_ferrous_metallurgy/XpwtCB0X">metallurgy</a> were made in Song China, as well as the introduction of the <a href="/facts/Windmill/D7rzFXT2">windmill</a> to China during the thirteenth century. These advances, along with the introduction of <a href="/facts/Banknote/mm6H2XI4">paper-printed money</a>, helped revolutionize and sustain the <a href="/facts/Economy_of_the_Song_dynasty/hznYphX4">economy of the Song dynasty</a>. Song era <a href="/facts/Antiquarian/dCTDy9DX">antiquarians</a> such as <a href="/facts/Ouyang_Xiu/IAFz42YL">Ouyang Xiu</a> (1007–1072) and Shen Kuo dabbled in the nascent <a href="/facts/History_of_Chinese_archaeology/uFQgxpkm">field of archaeology</a> and <a href="/facts/Epigraphy/E9UbNeDh">epigraphy</a>, inspecting ancient <a href="/facts/Chinese_ritual_bronzes/HUmfvAv4">bronzewares</a> and inscriptions to understand the past. Advances were also made in the field of <a href="/facts/Forensics/4upVa2vB">forensics</a>, in particular by <a href="/facts/Song_Ci/6FDkMs4l">Song Ci</a> (1186–1249), author of the <a href="/facts/Collected_Cases_of_Injustice_Rectified/YMdnVlSk">Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified</a> that covered topics such as <a href="/facts/Autopsies/GzSXuCH2">autopsies</a> in murder cases and <a href="/facts/First_aid/UomU8Ybm">first aid</a> for victims.

Science and technology of the Song dynasty open-in-new

Science and technology of the Song dynasty