The author of "Mengxi Bi Tan" is Shen Kuo.

Shen Kuo (1031-1095), courtesy name Cunzhong, father-in-law of Mengxi, Han nationality, was born in Qiantang County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and was a politician and scientist in the Northern Song Dynasty. He is knowledgeable and has researched on astronomy, geography, classics, laws and calendars, music, medicine, etc. He participated in Wang Anshi's political reform. In 1075, he sent an envoy to the Liao Kingdom and strongly denounced its plot to seize land. In his later years, he lived in seclusion in Mengxi Garden in Runzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province). He summarized the inventions and creations of ancient science and technology and wrote "Mengxi Bi Tan".

Anecdotes

According to "Mengxi Bi Tan", Shen Kuo saw a mural by Gao Yi in Kaifeng Xiangguo Temple. The content was about musicians playing together, which was very artistic. But people criticized the pipa musicians for plucking the wrong strings. The wind instruments played the "four" sound, which was on the upper string of the pipa, but the lower string was plucked on the painting.

After careful observation, Shen Kuo thought that Gao Yi's painting was correct. He pointed out that string instruments are different from wind instruments. When playing wind instruments, whatever note you press with your fingers will produce the sound at the same time. However, the pipa is different. The sound will only be produced after your fingers pluck the strings. The action precedes the sound. of. Because of this, the fingers of the musician playing the pipa are not on the upper string of the "four" sound, but on the lower string. This shows that the painter's arrangement is ingenious and ingenious.