Shen Kuo
Shen Kuo was a famous scientist of Northern Song dynasty, an all-round scholar of astronomy, law, mathematics and medical science. He travelled widely with his father in his youth and knew a great deal of regional customs. When the Prime Minister Wang Anshi began reforms, Shen Kuo was appointed to reorganise the Bureau of Astronomy. In his reorganisation Shen purged the incompetent and employed those of talent, even a peasant named Wei Pu. He observed the the sky every night for three months using early Chinese meterological instruments and eventually found the exact position of the Plough constellation. Shen Kuo always paid much attention to observe the regional character and habits when he travelled, and recorded them. In his old age, Shen Kuo lived in Mengxi Palace in Runzhou and wrote a text called Mengxi Bitan, in which the scholarship of himself and others were recorded, including Bi Sheng's print type technology.
|