What are the four major inventions published in the list of important inventions in ancient China？
Restoration diagram of water transport instrument image platform
The observation records of nova supernovae confirm the modern theory of stellar evolution
Apart from some scientific and technological inventions that can be easily and accurately classified and named, some of the 88 important inventions in ancient China need to be properly summarized. For example, "astronomical records" generally reflect the achievements of ancient astronomical observation in China. It is reported that China was good at astronomical calculations in ancient times, and accumulated a large number of systematic observation records, among which nova and supernova observation records also made important contributions to modern scientists’ research on high-energy celestial bodies such as supernovae, radio sources, pulsars and neutron stars.
According to reports, among the astronomical records in ancient China, the most valuable information is related to solar eclipses, comets, sunspots and new stars. The detail and accuracy of the records of comets, meteors and nova in history books enable modern people to accurately determine their position, brightness and movement change process according to these records, and many records are also of high application value to modern astronomical research.
Among them, the most prominent application of solar eclipse record is to study the change of earth’s rotation speed. The long-term change of the earth’s rotation can be obtained by comparing the modern calculated solar eclipse with the actual observation data of this solar eclipse in history. The reliable solar eclipse records in history mainly come from China. There are more than 1000 records of comets in the history of China, which were first recorded in Spring and Autumn Annals, and comets have been regarded as celestial bodies. In contrast, the West regarded comets as burning phenomena in the atmosphere from Aristotle until the 16th century.
From Shang Dynasty to the end of 17th century, China recorded more than 90 nova and supernova events, which is a very precious astronomical record in the world. In 1950s, Xi Zezong, a Chinese planetarium historian, compiled and published A New Table of Ancient Novas, which examined these records in detail, making a very important confirmation for the modern theory of stellar evolution, and was the most wonderful chapter in the application of ancient astronomical records in China.
Records of solar eclipse in Shangshu
In the Northern Song Dynasty, the water transport instrument was built with astronomical observation function.
Some inventions have not developed continuously, or their practical functions are limited, but they show extraordinary wisdom and skills, such as water transport instruments and platforms. The camera platform of water transport instrument integrates the functions of timing, astronomical demonstration and astronomical observation. The creator invented the ingenious "escapement mechanism" and expressed the mechanical structure with a complete set of drawings, showing Chinese’s superb level of designing complex mechanical systems.
The water transport instrument observatory is a large astronomical instrument system built in the Northern Song Dynasty, and it is an observatory integrating armillary sphere, elephant and timing device. Its creativity is mainly reflected in two aspects: firstly, the water wheel, gear train, control machine, timer, elephant and armillary sphere are integrated into a mechanical system, which reflects the high level of designing complex machinery; Secondly, it invented the control machine-Tianheng, which is composed of rod system and scale leakage, and its function is equivalent to the escapement mechanism of modern mechanical clocks and watches.
The water flowing evenly from the clepsydra is injected into the bucket of the water wheel to drive the water wheel to rotate. Under the control of the mechanism composed of rod system and scale leakage, the water wheel rotates evenly and intermittently. Through the gear train and even the chain drive, the water wheel simultaneously drives the timing device, demonstrates the elephant of the sky and observes the armillary sphere of the starry sky. The timing device rings the bell, rings the bell, shows the cards, beats the bell and drums to tell the time, engrave and watch the shift. The armillary sphere is mainly composed of triple rings, and its inner "four-travel instrument" has a watchtube. The water wheel drives the "four-swimming instrument" to run with the sky, which can make the telescope rotate with the starry sky target. This design is the prototype of the rotating clock in later generations.
Double Stirrups Unearthed from the Tomb of Beiyan Feng Sufu
Stirrups appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which seems to be of great military significance.
In contrast, some inventions are not prominent in the complexity of technology, but they have had a great impact on the process of civilization. For example, although the stirrup is simple in structure, it has significantly improved the combat effectiveness of cavalry.
Stirrup is a stepping and supporting device when riding a horse, which is usually similar to a semi-elliptical ring. The stirrup ring is made of leather, iron and other materials with high strength, and the lower edge can be made of wood or rattan, and the iron or leather is wrapped outside to make wider pedals, which usually hang under the saddle in pairs. When getting on the horse, the rider can step on the back of the horse with one stirrup. When riding, your feet pass through the stirrup to help stabilize your body. When galloping, the rider stands on the stirrup with the stirrup as the main support point, and the upper body leans forward, which makes the rider’s hands more free and can move left and right on horseback.
According to textual research, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, China had a single stirrup hanging on the left side of the horse to assist in getting on the horse. The double stirrup matched with a terracotta horse figurine in the tomb of Wang Kui in Xiangshan, Nanjing is the earliest discovered material, which should appear no later than the beginning of the 4th century.
After the invention, stirrup soon spread to Koguryo area in Northeast Asia, and spread to the west through nomadic grassland people such as Turks. From the end of the 6th century to the beginning of the 7th century, Sassanian Persians introduced stirrups from Turks, and passed this technology on to Arabs in the 7th century. In the early 7th century, Avar brought the stirrup to Eastern Europe and Byzantium, and gradually spread to Northern Europe and Western Europe.
Stirrup is of revolutionary significance in military history. It enables knights to give full play to their weapon effectiveness in combat, thus further promoting the development of heavy cavalry. Therefore, this is a seemingly small but historically significant invention.
The contribution of the four major crops cultivation is not inferior to the "four great inventions"
Throughout ancient history, some scientific and technological knowledge may have originated from many places. However, more and more complicated scientific and technological knowledge may be shared by different civilizations through communication. For example, Chinese has contributed to the world the cultivation methods of crops such as rice, soybeans and tea, as well as the technologies of silk weaving, porcelain, paper making, printing, gunpowder and compass, and also introduced crops such as wheat, cotton, corn, potatoes and tomatoes.
In fact, the scientific and technological creativity of the Chinese nation has not yet been fully understood by the public. Our ancestors first cultivated the most important food crop-rice, the most important bean crop-soybean, one of the most important fruit crops-citrus, one of the three beverage crops-tea. The spread of these crop cultivation techniques is not inferior to the "four great inventions" in their contribution to human survival and development.
For example, rice cultivation has made rice the world’s largest food crop, and more than half of the world’s population lives on rice. According to reports, China, India and Southeast Asia may all be the earliest domestication centers of rice, but China’s view as the origin of cultivated rice in Asia has been supported by more and more archaeological evidence. There are 167 places where prehistoric cultivated rice remains in China have been unearthed, and there are four places with a time of more than 10,000 years. Among them, rice remains dating back about 12,000 years have been found in Xianrendong site and Diaotonghuan site in Jiangxi province, and the earliest rice specimens in the world have also been unearthed in Yuchanyan site in Daoxian county, Hunan province. All these provide further evidence for the statement that China is the origin of cultivated rice in Asia.
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Important inventions in ancient China (88 in total)
Scientific discovery and creation
1. Branches and branches 2, Yin-Yang calendar 3, standard table 4, decimal system and counting method 5, pinhole imaging 6, heterosis utilization 7, surplus-deficiency technique 8, twenty-four solar terms 9, meridian theory 10, four diagnostic methods 11, Mawangdui map 12, Pythagorean compatibility circle 13, linear equations and solutions 14, Materialism 15, astronomical records 16, Prescription 16. Dunhuang Star Map 20, Tide Table 21, China Abacus 22, Multiplication and Opening Method 23, Stacking Method 24, Tianyuan Method 25, First Congruence Equation Solution 26, Forensic Medicine System 27, Quaternary Method 28, Twelfth Equal Course Law 29, Classification System of Compendium of Materia Medica 30, and Systematic Karst Landform Investigation.
Technological invention
31. Rice cultivation 32, pig domestication 33, alcoholic beverage brewing 34, lacquer painting 35, millet cultivation 36, jade cutting 37, sericulture 38, silk reeling 39, soybean cultivation 40, block method 41, bamboo cultivation 42, tea tree cultivation 43, citrus cultivation 44, pig iron-based iron and steel smelting technology 45, branches. Multiple cropping 49, acupuncture 50, papermaking 51, chest belt driving 52, greenhouse cultivation 53, jacquard 54, compass 55, water hammer 56, Xinmang copper caliper 57, fan car 58, seismograph 59, rollover (dragon bone car) 60, water raft 61, porcelain 62, stirrup. Compass (compass) 68, drilling (deep drilling and swabbing technology of well salt) 69, movable type printing 70, water transport instrument stage 71, double-acting piston bellows 72, windmill 73, rocket 74, ware (tubular firearm) 75, and human pox inoculation.
Engineering achievements
76. Zeng Houyi chimed bells 77, Dujiangyan 78, Great Wall 79, Lingqu 80, Qin Mausoleum bronze chariots and horses 81, Anji Bridge (open-shouldered stone arch bridge) 82, Grand Canal 83, Potala Palace 84, Suzhou Garden 85, Cangzhou Iron Lion 86, Yingxian Wooden Pagoda 87, Forbidden City 88, Zhenghe Navigation.