How did the hanging coffins go up the cliff in ancient times? Is the controversial Zhang Heng seismograph deleted from the textbook really "fake"? Apart from the "Four Great Inventions", are there any other scientific technologies in ancient China? What does the mysterious "cow Liu Ma" look like?
On June 65438+1October 10, the publication seminar of China Ancient Machinery Repair was held in Metropark International Hotel. Zhang Baichun, director of Institute of Natural History of China Academy of Sciences and academician of International Institute of History of Science; Feng, director of Tsinghua University Institute of History of Science and Ancient Literature and academician of International Institute of History of Science; Liu Bing, professor of Tsinghua University Academy of Social Sciences; Wang, professor of Peking University Institute of Medical Humanities; Dai Wusan, professor of Shenzhen Graduate School of China Academy of Sciences.
The publication seminar of "Research on the Restoration of Ancient Machinery in China" takes the theme of "Reproduction of Ancient Mechanical Civilization in China".
The bronze chariots and horses unearthed from the Qin Mausoleum in the 1980s are lifelike, beautiful and complex, showing the high level of technology and manufacturing technology in the Qin Dynasty.
Since when is the technology in China no longer advanced? Lu Jingyan said that the time when China science and technology withdrew from the advanced ranks was about the middle and late Ming Dynasty, that is,15-16th century. During this period, the west was on the eve of the industrial revolution that changed the world, and scientific and technological progress was very obvious. From the middle and late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, the level of science and technology in Europe has surpassed that in China as a whole, which also proves that the situation of advanced science and technology in China has ended.
Lu Jingyan pointed out in his book that China is one of the earliest countries in the world to use and develop machinery. Historically, China has long been ahead of the world in mechanical technology, and has made a series of remarkable achievements in agriculture, metallurgy, textile, vehicle and boat, military, astronomy, drilling and other fields. Needham, a British scholar, once listed 26 outstanding inventions in ancient China in his magnum opus History of Science and Technology in China, and pointed out that these outstanding inventions were used in Europe several centuries to more than ten centuries later than in China. Among these 26 inventions, 12 belongs to machinery, and 10 is more or less related to machinery. It is no exaggeration to say that ancient machinery in China is an important part of ancient science and technology, and the brilliance of ancient machinery technology in China, with its variety, quantity and rich connotation, has had a great impact on the development of science and technology in China and even the world.
Joseph Needham, a British scholar.
At the seminar site, Wen, president of Shanghai Science and Technology Publishing House, introduced the original intention of publishing and the editing process of the book "Research on Ancient Mechanical Repair in China" to the guests. He said that in fact, China people don't know much about these outstanding achievements in ancient China, or even know very little about them. The Research on the Restoration of Ancient Machinery in China vividly reproduces the whole face of ancient mechanical technology civilization in China. By restoring the achievements of mechanical production in different periods, more readers can understand the development of ancient science and technology in China, reveal its development track and rise and fall process, and then understand the social, political and economic situation at that time.
Zhang Baichun also affirmed the great significance and extraordinary value of this book. He said that the mechanical repair work in ancient China consumed a lot of manpower and material resources, and the effect was slow. In the past, few people were engaged in this research work, and there were a lot of gaps in this academic garden, and few monographs talked about restoration research. However, Lu Jingyan has never given up the goal of writing a complete history of mechanical engineering in China, and has written such works as Ancient Weapons in China, History of Science and Technology in China, Mechanical Volume, and Mechanical History in China.
Zhang Baichun said, As a monograph on the history of technology, China Ancient Machinery Restoration studies and restores the technical history of machinery by combining ancient literature records, archaeological data and on-the-spot investigation, which not only inherits Mr. Liu Xianzhou's research method of mechanical history, but also develops the research on the restoration of ancient science and technology initiated by Mr. Wang Zhenduo and others. "In many years of scientific research work, Professor Lu Jingyan visited the ancient plank road in southwest China on the spot and restored the wooden cattle and horses in combination with the actual situation; Hanging coffins in Guixi, Jiangxi, to solve the mystery of the ages; Carefully scrutinize ancient books and documents and restore them to various military machinery. Nearly 100 models of about 150 made by him show the wisdom and intelligence of our ancestors and reproduce the ancient scientific and technological civilization of China. "
There are many hanging coffins at the border of Sichuan and Yunnan, and the age of hanging coffins burial is very long. Judging from the remains of hanging coffins found today, it began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and lasted until the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.
Hanging coffins is also the content that Wang Yi is most interested in. He teaches philosophy of life and death in Peking University Institute of Medical Humanities. Besides, he is the deputy director of china funeral association Expert Committee. At the seminar site, Wang Yi talked about hanging coffins, thinking that hanging coffins are both hanging and unsolved cases. The related research in the book has broken the mystery and solved a mystery in China's funeral culture. At the symposium, Yin Chuanhong, editor-in-chief of Popular Science Times, also illustrated the interest, academic value and popular science significance of ancient mechanical repair with examples of hanging coffins, drum carts in memory, incense burners in quilts and other inventions with China characteristics.
No matter how the incense burner appeared in the Western Han Dynasty, the gray bowl would not tip over, and the principle is the same as that of today's gyro.
However, Lu Jingyan also mentioned in the book that the specific methods of hanging coffins may be different in different regions, but it must be emphasized that no matter which method is adopted, the machinery used cannot surpass the times at that time, and it must be selected according to local objective conditions and local conditions. He once wrote "Study on Hanging Coffins in China", and listed the methods to improve hanging coffins according to the environment in practice.
Zhang Heng and his seismograph are introduced in the textbook of Old People's Education Edition.
Is Zhang Heng's seismograph "disappeared" from history textbooks really "fake"? Lu Jingyan pointed out in the book that according to ancient records, Zhang Heng's seismograph consists of two systems. One is a system for receiving seismic signals, which consists of a column and eight tracks. The second is the earthquake notification system, which consists of viscera, faucet, copper pill and toad. Unfortunately, it is difficult to know the details of this mechanism, which is the core component of seismograph.
Many modern scholars have deeply studied Zhang Heng's seismograph. As early as19th century, Japanese scholars have discussed it. Later, Wang Zhenduo, Wen and Seismological Bureau of China had great influence. Lu Jingyan said that these ideas about the working principle of seismographs all use the inertia of objects. From a scientific point of view, they are all reasonable and have high academic value, and the latter two ideas are more sensitive. Because the Book of the Later Han Dynasty provided precious historical data about Zhang Heng's creation of the seismograph, which was about 1700 years earlier than other countries, Needham called Zhang Heng's invention "the originator of the seismograph", which was a remarkable achievement.
However, Lu Jingyan also stressed that seismology is a new independent discipline. Understanding China's great achievements in seismology in ancient times can enlighten modern researchers, but don't exaggerate the sensitivity of seismographs. After analyzing the error of Zhang Heng's seismograph, it is found that its columns can only be toppled by eight tracks, and there is an included angle of 45 between two adjacent tracks. When an earthquake occurs in the direction between two adjacent tracks, it is difficult for the seismograph to make a correct report, and the error is the largest when the direction differs from each track by 22.5. Moreover, Zhang Heng's seismograph can only report the ground vibration, and it is impossible to tell whether the vibration is caused by an earthquake or other reasons. In addition, when the earthquake must reach a certain intensity and a certain distance, the seismograph can make a report, and it is impossible to digitize the intensity of the earthquake.
The model is restored according to the imaginary wooden cow diagram.
In order to test the hypothesis, Lu Jingyan rushed from Shanghai to Sichuan and climbed the cliff to measure the wedge hole left by the ancient plank road. Through calculation, it is found that according to the moment relation of the arm, the passing weight that the ancient plank road can bear is basically 150 kg to 200 kg, which is not only the load of the larger unicycle that the manufacturing level can make at that time, but also the weight of a soldier's annual rations at that time, which is completely in line with the ancient book "One cow carries one year". In the process of visiting the local elderly, he also got the information of "Wuchi Road".
Reporter He An 'an
Editor Mi Gong Zhao Hua
Proofread Xue Jingning
Want to know more about "Experts discuss ancient machinery in China: What does" Mu Niu Liu Ma "look like? For more information, please continue to pay attention to the column of deep space science and technology information. Deep space Bian Xiao will continue to update more science and technology information for you. Heart of the King 2 Click on the demo.