First, the application of movable type printing, compass and gunpowder.
1. Movable type printing invented by Bi Sheng in Northern Song Dynasty and its spread. Block printing is the basis of movable type printing. In ancient China, after the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the printing technology became more and more perfect in the Song Dynasty. But the shortcomings of time-consuming and laborious carving are also exposed. For example, in Song Taizu, the official engraving of the Chengdu Tripitaka took 12 years, and130,000 pieces were engraved. Therefore, replacing block printing with movable type printing has become an inevitable trend in the printing industry. During the Northern Song Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, the civilian Bi Sheng invented movable type printing. The specific method is as follows: carve movable type with clay, burn hard, then arrange movable type one by one on the iron plate with turpentine and wax, heat to melt the wax, flatten the characters with a flat plate, and fix the movable type on the iron plate after cooling. Ink printing. After printing, heat the iron plate again, remove the movable type after the wax melts, and reuse it. Movable type printing in Bi Sheng laid the basic process of modern movable type printing. ( 1)? Wang Zhen-fa Ming's wooden movable-type wheel typesetting plate in Yuan Dynasty. (2)? Uighur movable type discovered in Dunhuang in Yuan Dynasty. Dissemination: Movable type printing later spread to Korea, Japan, Egypt and Europe. /kloc-The movable type edition was only available in Europe in the 0/5th century, which was 400 years later than Bi Sheng's invention.
2. The compass began to be used for navigation and communication in the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Warring States period, our people have made "Sina" by using the finger polarity of magnets. It consists of a smooth magnetic spoon and a copper plate engraved with directions. When the spoon stops, the handle points to the south. In the Northern Song Dynasty, people kept experimenting, exploring and improving, and finally found that steel could be magnetized after grinding on a magnet, and its magnetism was more stable than that of natural magnets. According to this discovery, a compass was made. Later, I learned to fix the compass in the azimuth plate and made a compass needle. This greatly improves the stability of pointing, and this form of compass is still popular all over the world. Due to the unprecedented development of foreign trade in the Northern Song Dynasty, the compass, as an accurate and reliable navigation instrument, was applied to the navigation industry. During the Southern Song Dynasty, compasses were widely installed on ships in China. Communication: During the Southern Song Dynasty, it was spread to Europe by Arabs.
3. The widespread use and spread of gunpowder in the army. Gunpowder was used in the military at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and was more widely used in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, in order to resist the attacks of Liao, Xixia and Jin, the Song Dynasty strengthened the production and research of weapons, and the gunpowder weapons were constantly improved. In the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a new breakthrough. A tubular firearm, called musket, has a huge bamboo tube with original bullets in it, which is the most primitive gun in the world. Its invention greatly improved the accuracy of firearms shooting. In the early years of Yuan Dynasty, a large tubular firearm made of copper or iron appeared, which was collectively called "spear". It contained an iron ball and had a fire hole at the end of the spear for ignition, which already possessed the basic structure of modern artillery. The widespread use of gunpowder and gunpowder weapons is an epoch-making progress in the history of world weapons, which has greatly changed the way of human warfare. Communication: During the Southern Song Dynasty, gunpowder spread to Arabia. Mongolia traveled westward and firearms also spread to Arabia. At the beginning of 65438+4th century, when Islamic countries attacked Spain, they used gunpowder weapons. At this time, European countries began to contact gunpowder weapons and manufacture them.
Second, scientists Shen Kuo and Guo Shoujing.
1, Shen Kuo created the Twelve Calendars of Qi in the Northern Song Dynasty, and wrote A Talk on Meng Xi. Shen Kuo is a scientist who occupies an important position in the history of world science. He was called "the most peculiar figure in the history of science in China" by Dr Joseph Needham, an expert in the history of science in Britain.
2. Guo Shoujing of Yuan Dynasty compiled a calendar and presided over the excavation of Tonghui River. Guo Shoujing was a great astronomer. He created a calendar-the calendar of timing. The calendar takes 365.2425 as the tropic year. The tropic year of modern determination is 365.24438+09, and the difference between them is only 26 seconds. At present, the Gregorian calendar widely used in the world also adopts 365.2425 days as a year, but it was promulgated in 1582, which is 300 years later than the service calendar. Shoushi Calendar has been implemented for 364 years, which is the most accurate and longest-used calendar in ancient China. Guo Shoujing is also an expert in water conservancy. He led the construction of Tonghui River between Dadu and Tongzhou, which enabled grain tankers to sail into Dadu Jishuitan, greatly facilitating transportation.
Three. Agronomy and medicine
1. Agricultural book by Wang Zhen, an agronomist in Yuan Dynasty. His Agricultural Book is the first systematic study of agronomy in China.
2. The achievements of acupuncture and forensic medicine in the Song Dynasty, the appearance of acupuncture bronze figures in the Northern Song Dynasty and medical works in the Southern Song Dynasty all reflect the new development of medicine in the Song Dynasty.
Fourth, mature ancient buildings.
Li Jie, an architect of the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote Architectural French. During the Northern Song Dynasty, there appeared some monographs on architecture of cadres, among which Li Jie's Architectural Style is the most famous. It shows that the ancient architectural technology in China has entered a mature stage. It is the most comprehensive and scientific architectural manual in ancient China and the earliest and most complete architectural work in the world.
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the reasons for the high cultural prosperity were:
1. Start from a high point and continue to develop on the basis of the high development of Sui and Tang cultures.
2. The political and economic conditions in Song and Yuan Dynasties provided a good objective environment for the development of culture. The Song Dynasty ended the long-term separatist regime and melee since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. At that time, economic development, urban prosperity, navigation and foreign trade were unprecedentedly active. The Yuan Dynasty achieved national unity and frequent economic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. The combination of the two factors made the culture of Song and Yuan Dynasties advance by leaps and bounds, and a number of famous scientists, writers and artists emerged.