Han Gonglian wrote a volume of "Nine Chapters of Pythagoras", which caused the wooden sample of the wheel. Later, Su Song and Han Gonglian assembled a group of workers in three years (1088), which was completed in seven years. This is a high-rise building that combines three sets of devices, namely the armillary sphere, the elephant and the time telling device. The whole instrument was driven by water power, and later it was called the water transport instrument platform, in which there were many outstanding inventions.
The Waterborne Observatory developed by Su Song is a giant astronomical instrument, with a height of12m and a width of 7m, just like a three-story building. In the explanation, Su Song said: "We should adopt multi-school theory, store the instruments and images, and set up a set. There are two partitions on the platform, the armillary sphere is placed on it and the elephant is placed under it. The axle of the cardinal is hidden in the middle, and the bell and drum are always transported on the wheel ... The wheel is excited by water, and the instruments and images move. " The upper layer of the water transport platform is an armillary sphere for observing celestial bodies, the middle layer is an elephant for demonstrating celestial phenomena, and the lower layer is a mechanical device for making the armillary sphere and the elephant move with celestial bodies to tell the time. It has three functions: observing the movement of celestial bodies, demonstrating the changes of astronomical phenomena, and Woodenhead automatically rings the bell, drums, rings the bell and tells the time accurately with the passage of astronomical phenomena. It not only made unprecedented achievements in China, but also made contributions to mankind in three aspects, which impressed many Chinese and foreign experts in the history of science and technology.
Firstly, the armillary sphere placed on the upper layer of the image platform of the water transport instrument is connected with the pivot wheel through the "sky waybill ring", so that the armillary sphere runs with the pivot wheel. This is the same as the principle that the rotating clock of the modern observatory controls the celestial telescope to move with the celestial body. Therefore, it can be said that this device of water transport instrument platform is the ancestor of modern observatory tracking machinery-rotating instrument clock. Joseph Needham, a British historian of science and technology, spoke highly of this point: "Su Song's combination of horological mechanism and observation armillary sphere is completely successful in principle. Therefore, it can be said that he was six centuries earlier than robert hooke, for example, he and Fei were seven and a half centuries earlier. "
Secondly, there are nine movable roof panels on the top of the platform of the water transport instrument, which can prevent the instrument from being eroded in rain and snow and can be freely disassembled during observation. The movable roof of the platform of water transport instrument is the ancestor of the dome of modern observatory. Therefore, Su Song and Han Gonglian were the first people in the world to design and use the observation room of the Observatory to open and close the roof freely.
Thirdly, the prime mover of the camera platform of the water transport instrument is called the pivot wheel, which is a water wheel with a diameter of 1 ft, consisting of 72 wooden spokes, containing 36 buckets and 36 hook-shaped iron paddles. A group of lever devices called Tianheng, Tianguan, Tianquan and Left and Right Tiansuo are arranged at the top of the pivot wheel, and the pivot wheel is driven by the water leaked from the copper pot. When the water dripping from the leaky kettle fills the pivot bucket, the pivot counterweight loses its balance, the lattice fork inclines downwards, the pivot counterweight is lifted, the iron fork at the wheel edge pushes the tongue away, the balance is pulled, and the pivot wheel rotates downwards. Due to the escapement and rejection of the "left and right sky lock", the pivot wheel can only rotate one spoke, and it will cycle back and forth and run at the same time. This escapement control of the pivot rod by the balance system is basically the same as the function of the anchor escapement mechanism (commonly known as the clamp), the key component of modern clocks and watches. Therefore, the celestial balance system of water transport instrument platform is the pioneer of modern clocks and watches.
Needham changed some views in the past after deeply studying the image platform of water transport instrument. In the History of Science and Technology in China, he said: "We take this opportunity to announce that our previous statement is' clockwork' ..." It was an invention of Europe in the early14th century "is wrong. /kloc-In the 4th century, Europe invented a mechanical clock driven by the gravity of the shaft escapement. However, many centuries ago in China, there was a hydraulic transmission mechanical clock with another escapement mechanism. "
Su Song presided over the establishment of the Waterway Observatory, which was an outstanding astronomical instrument in China at the end of1/kloc-0 and the oldest astronomical clock in the world. There is a high evaluation on the design of the water transport platform in the world. It is believed that the water transport platform has designed a movable roof for the convenience of observation, which is the ancestor of the movable dome of today's observatory. The elephant rotates once a day and night, which not only vividly shows the changes of astronomical phenomena, but also is the ancestor of the rotating clock, a tracking instrument of modern astronomical observatory. The escapement mechanism pioneered by the waterway instrument platform is the key component of the later clocks, so it is the ancestor of the clocks. The application of ancient mechanics knowledge in China has reached a quite high level.
Su Song and Han Gonglian, after completing the platform of water transport instrument, independently developed the hydraulic muddy astronomical phenomena. People drill into the celestial sphere to watch, and drill holes in the celestial sphere into stars, which is very realistic. This is the first clearly recorded false celestial phenomenon in the history of China, and its creativity is unprecedented. After the completion of the water-borne instrument platform, Su Song explained the whole and component drawings of the water-borne instrument platform in the early years of Shaosheng (about 1094 ~ 1096), and wrote the book "New Instrument and Image Law".
Su Song drew more than 50 complete drawings, sub-drawings and parts drawings about astronomical instruments and mechanical transmission in The New Method of Image, and drew 150 kinds of mechanical parts, most of which are perspective views and schematic diagrams. This is the earliest and most complete mechanical drawing preserved in China and even in the world. It is based on these drawings that Wang Zhenduo, Needham and others can accurately restore the whole picture of the water transport instrument platform. For example, from these drawings and descriptions, we can know that the operation law of the pivot wheel of the water transport instrument platform is the transmission of the gear train from 6 teeth to 600 teeth; Fall into the water every 25 seconds, turn once every quarter of an hour, turn 96 times a day, and the wheel, elephant and armillary sphere also turn once a day, which roughly corresponds to the movement of the earth. For another example, through these drawings, we know that the wooden pavilion on the first floor of the water transport instrument platform is a bell and drum wheel day and night, with three layers of small columns of different heights, which can pull three Woodenhead paddles to pull my arm and have the function of pulling together. A quarter of an hour later, Woodenhead came out to beat the drum, ringing the bell at the beginning, ringing the bell at the beginning. On the other hand, on the second floor of the Wooden Pavilion, there are morning and evening wheels, on the third floor of the Wooden Pavilion, there are carved wheels, on the fourth floor of the Wooden Pavilion, there are golden pheasant wheels leaking at night, and on the fifth floor of the Wooden Pavilion, there are silk wheels leaking at night. Without these precious drawings, it would be difficult for us to find out how the mechanical Woodenhead in the wooden pavilion drums, bells and bells on time. Therefore, the mechanical drawing attached to the new instrument and new image method is the key to understand Su Song's astronomical works and achievements, and it is also the key to further interpret the similar works of Zhang Heng, Yi Hang and Zhang Sixun. In order to understand the twilight and the transit of stars more intuitively, Su Song proposed to design an instrument that people can observe in the turbid sky, that is, a false planetarium. Han Honglian has the final say in the specific design. It is made of bamboo and wood, shaped like a spherical bamboo cage, and covered with paper. Punch holes in the paper according to the positions of the stars in the sky. People enter the ball to watch, and the outside light enters through the hole, showing bright spots of different sizes, just like the stars in the night sky. People can see the movement of the stars more vividly by pulling the fulcrum in the hanging ball to make the ball rotate. This instrument is the pioneer of the starry sky demonstration in the modern planetarium.
Su Song also used new instruments and image methods to draw a variety of star maps, such as Purple Cliff Star Map, Northeast Chinese and Foreign Official Star Map, Southwest Chinese and Foreign Official Star Map, North Star Map, Invivo Star Map, Four o'clock Dawn and Mid-Autumn Festival Star Map, and Mid-Autumn Festival Star Map.
14 star map, the first five are the most valuable. Among them, the official map of Hunxiang Northeast is the star official from Kikuk to Xizuk, the official map of Hunxiang Southwest is the star official from Su Kui to Xizuk, and the map of Hunxiang Purple Wall is the 183 star listed in Hunxiang North Compass, which is mainly based on the Big Dipper, Hunxiang invivo map and Hunxiang Polaris map. In order to accurately draw the star map, Su Song adopted the drawing method of combining circle and horizontal. The horizontal map is divided into two sections: the official map of Northeast China and foreign countries is from autumnal equinox to vernal equinox, and the official map of Southwest China and foreign countries is from vernal equinox to autumnal equinox. In addition, when Su Song painted the stars on the sphere on the plane, he found the distortion problem, so he adopted the method of dividing the celestial sphere into two parts along the equator, and then drawing two circular maps with the north pole and the south pole as the centers respectively, which reduced the distortion, which was a new achievement in star map drawing.
Su Song star map is the earliest preserved star map in China among all-sky star maps handed down in history. The preserved map of Dunhuang in the Tang Dynasty predates the map of Su Song, but it was stolen by Stein and is now in the British Museum in London. However, the map of Su and Song Dynasties is more detailed and accurate than that of Dunhuang. For example, Dunhuang map has 1, 350 stars, and Su Song map has 1, 464 stars; The Dunhuang star map is mainly based on the data of the Book of Rites and the Moon Order, not the actual measurement; Su Song star map is drawn according to the actual measurement in Yuanfeng period; The map of Dunhuang starts from (sub) and is arranged intermittently in the order of twelve times, with explanatory words in the middle, and the problem of dividing line is unscientific. The map of Su Song was arranged in the order of 28 nights from the beginning of intercourse, and unscientific elements such as dividing lines were completely removed.
As far as the number of stars on the list is concerned, the contribution of Su Song's star map is also commendable. For example, before the Renaissance in Europe14th century, the number of stars observed was 1022, which was 422 less than that in Su Song. Therefore, Tiller, Brown, Sutton and other western historians of science and technology even think: "From the Middle Ages until the end of 14, there was no other star map except China's." Su Song is a prolific poet. There are 587 poems in the official documents of the Su and Wei Dynasties, most of which are metrical poems and quatrains. Long poems are as many as 1400 words, which can be described as "the most regular poems".
Most of Su Song's poems are works of offering peace, and some of them are poems of offering peace with a generation of poets Ouyang Xiu and Su Dongpo. But there are also many masterpieces.
Poems before and after Liao Dynasty is his masterpiece, with realistic brushwork and sincere feelings. For example, "Hetu Heting meets a light snow" and "People see Qiong Yao in every way, and those who send envoys shine brightly", which reflects the grand occasion of seeing off the messenger and his noble and complicated psychology; The Pavilion of Harmony with the Sun, Wearing Rongjiang River, New Moon Riding a Mercedes to Meet the Fire, and Every time I miss the royal family, I feel ashamed to be anonymous, etc., vividly describe the scene of the Liao envoy welcoming the Song envoy, reflecting the poet's mood of worrying about the country and the people, fearing that the task will not be completed well. In addition, such as depicting the northern scenery of "green hills are like walls", the labor scene of "shepherd mountains moving" and the exotic customs of "vaguely seeing the south wind in the village". Su Song went to Liao twice in his life, each time lasting more than four months. He served as the escort of Ambassador Liao for three times (the head of the reception team).
In August (1067), Song Yingzong made his first trip to Liao. As a judge of the Third Division, he went to Liao with Zhang and others at the age of 48. On the way, he wrote 30 poems about making Liao, mainly describing what he saw and heard and expressing his nostalgia for his old friend.
Su Song's second visit to Liaoning was in August of the tenth year of JaeHee Ning (10 years later). As a bachelor and minister of Longtuge (then secretary supervisor and bachelor of Jixian College), he served as the birthday ambassador of Liao country, and Lin Yao, the secretariat of Yingzhou, went to Liao country to attend Liao Daozong's birthday. On the way back and forth, I wrote 28 poems about Liao Dynasty. 10 years later, I revisited the old place and felt deeply. I not only recorded the grand reception received by Liao country, but also used a lot of space to describe the leisure life of Liao people under harmonious and friendly coexistence, praising the value and correctness of the policy of peace and good neighborliness.
During the period of two envoys and three accompanying envoys in Su Song dealing with Liao, Su Song paid great attention to collecting and sorting out Liao's political system, economic strength, military facilities, mountains and rivers, customs and diplomatic etiquette, and provided them to the court in time.
Su Song thinks: "He made peace for a long time and stole China's laws and regulations to maintain its politics, and he didn't mean to alienate them", but he should also pay attention to his "disobedience". According to the reality of the Song and Liao Dynasties, he put forward a diplomatic policy of reconciliation with the Liao Dynasty, which was appreciated and approved by the emperor and strengthened the confidence of the Song Dynasty in implementing a friendly policy toward Liao. In the early years of Jiayou, Su Song was ordered to revise and compile medical books. Su Song does scientific and technological work, not only taking the overall situation into account, but also doing it himself, not afraid of complexity and hardship. The specimens, diagrams of herbs and explanatory texts of "Illustration of Materia Medica" come from all directions. "Today, there are thousands of paintings ... with details and many vulgar words. To a non-specific overall proportion, the edges are decorated with words, which is neither fish nor fowl and difficult to find. " In order to tidy up this mountain of raw materials, he put forward six principles. Su Song's first three principles are to do everything possible to study and understand the problem; The last three principles are seeking truth from facts. We don't give up information from the grassroots easily, and we are in no hurry to make judgments. But the two theories coexist or have doubts to be tested. This is also an important reason why his works can make great achievements and stand the test of time.
In the second year of Jiayou (1057), he and Zhang Yuxi, Lin Bu, etc. jointly compiled Supplementary Notes on Jiayou Shennong's Materia Medica (referred to as Jiayou Materia Medica). In order to change the confusion and mistakes in Compendium of Materia Medica, he suggested: "All counties and counties should let appraisers carefully identify users with medicinal value, such as roots, stems, seedlings, leaves, flowers, fruits, shapes, sizes, insects, fish, birds, animals and jade, and draw pictures one by one to tell the flowers, results, harvest years and effects." The medicinal materials collected by barbarians, even if asked about the market, market vendors and businessmen, are analyzed according to this, and one or two pieces of each flavor are sealed, which will be proved by people who come to Beijing. Draw a sketch of the cost, not a picture, so that future generations can know the basis of medication. "
Su Song's suggestion was adopted by the court, and he was appointed to compile "Illustration of Materia Medica". After four years' efforts, in the sixth year of Jiayou (106 1), Su Song compiled a 2 1 volume Illustrated Materia Medica.
Illustrated materia medica is of great value in pharmacology. The drug maps of Newly Revised Materia Medica in Tang Dynasty and Tianbao Prescription have been lost, and the drug maps of Shu Materia Medica by Han Baosheng have also disappeared. The Classic of Materia Medica was born under such circumstances, which is of greater significance. It not only provides a basis for the prescription of medicinal properties, but also makes new contributions to the correction and revision of materia medica in previous dynasties, especially to the identification of drugs that could not be identified in the past. Such as Achyranthes bidentata, "Shen Nong's Notes on Materia Medica" said: "Its stem is similar to Achyranthes bidentata, hence the name. There are males and females in the cloud, public purple stems and big knots. " It is difficult to tell what kind of plant this is. "Classic Materia Medica" is very specific: "Spring seedlings, stems two or three feet high, blue and purple. It is like a crane's knee and a Achyranthes bidentata, hence the name. The tip of the blade is round like a spoon, and the two phases are opposite. Flowers are ears, and autumn fruits are very thin. " According to the three characteristics of spoon-shaped opposite leaves, spicate flowers and Achyranthes nodes, we can conclude that it is Achyranthes bidentata of Amaranthaceae.
Another important significance of the National Survey for the compilation of Illustrated Materia Medica is to expand the sources of drugs. Toast, for example, used to be imported from North Korea, but now it is known that Yinju (Heze, Shandong) also produces this medicine. Xi poison was originally known to be produced in Songshan, Henan, but from the samples provided for analysis, it was also found in Sichuan, and so on.
The illustrated Materia Medica has also made great contributions to biology. For example, it gives an accurate and vivid description of the morphology of animals and plants: squid fish, "shaped like a leather bag, with its mouth under its abdomen, eight legs clustered around its mouth, and only one bone, three or four points thick, like a boat, light and blank." There are also two belts that can be self-cabled, so they are nicknamed cable fish. "It truly reflects the characteristics of cephalopods in sepiidae.
Classic Materia Medica has also made some contributions to mineralogy and metallurgical technology. For example, there are 0/05 kinds of mineral drugs such as cinnabar, azurol and zengqing. The description of cinnabar strips says: "Cinnabar is born in Fuling Valley." Today, Chenzhou, Yizhou and Jiezhou are the most successful places, which are called cinnabar. Born on the precipice of a deep mountain, the natives picked it, and the hole was dozens of feet. When they first saw its seedlings, it was a white stone ear and was called a vermilion bed. On a piece of sand, it is as big as a chicken and as small as a pomegranate ... it is also like a piece of mica that can be analyzed. If it's really vermilion, it's better to have no stone. After that, they were all found in mud and stones, not born in stone beds. "This paper not only explains the source and characteristics of cinnabar, but also briefly introduces the mining process of cinnabar.
There are also many records about metallurgical technology in Illustrated Materia Medica, such as iron and steel smelting's technological process: "The first smelting to remove ore for casting purgers is pig iron; Repeat sales, you can do it, for wrought iron, you can also do wrought iron; Those who mix softness and use it as a sword blade are steel. " The smelting methods of three kinds of steel in Song Dynasty and their different functions are briefly described. Another example is the description of the silver smelting method: "Silver and copper are mixed in the mine, collected by natives and repeatedly fried with lead." The process of silver smelting by soot blowing says: "At the beginning of mining, silver and copper are mixed, first lead is used for smelting, and silver is discharged with lead." There is also a collection of mountain wood leaves to burn ash, and the ground is turned on and filled with ash, which is called ash pool. Put lead and silver on the ash, and the fire will be stronger. Lead will seep into the ash, and silver will live on it. Cease fire and wait for the cold to come out. "This is the earliest and most detailed record of blowing off dust and refining silver. The scientific contribution of Illustrated Materia Medica is various and needs further study and exploration.