View source for Shen Kuo

{{short description|Chinese scientist and statesman}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Shěn|Shen]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name             = Shen Kuo<br />{{lang|zh|沈括}}
| image            = Beijing Ancient Observatory 20090715-19 (cropped).jpg
| caption          = Bust of Shen at the [[Beijing Ancient Observatory]]
| birth_date       = 1031
| birth_place      = [[Hangzhou|Qiantang]], Song Empire
| death_date       = {{Death year and age|1095|1031}}
| death_place      = [[Zhenjiang|Runzhou]], Song Empire
| field            = [[Agronomy]], [[Astronomy]], [[Archaeology]], [[Anatomy]], [[Antiquarianism]], [[Mathematics]], [[Pharmacology]], [[Medical science]], [[Entomology]], [[Mineralogy]], [[Music of China|Music]], [[Geomorphology]], [[Sedimentology]], [[Optical engineering]], [[Soil science]], [[Encyclopedism]], [[Geomagnetics]], [[Optics]], [[Hydraulics]], [[Hydraulic engineering]], [[Mechanical engineering]], [[Metallurgy]], [[Metaphysics]], [[Meteorology]], [[Climatology]], [[Cartography]], [[Botany]], [[Zoology]], [[Economics]], [[Finance]], [[Military history of the Song dynasty|Military strategy]], [[Ethnography]], [[Divination]], [[Art criticism]], [[Chinese philosophy|Philosophy]], [[Song poetry|Poetry]], [[Northern Song (960–1127)#Politics|Politics]], [[Public Administration]]
| work_institution = [[Hanlin Academy]]
| known_for        = [[Geomorphology]], [[Climate change (general concept)|Climate change]], [[Atmospheric refraction]], [[True north]], [[Apparent retrograde motion|Retrogradation]], [[Camera obscura]], [[Raised-relief map]], fixing the position of the [[pole star]], correcting [[Moon|lunar]] and [[Sun|solar]] errors
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|pic=Shen Gua (Chinese characters).svg
 |piccap="Shen Kuo" in [[regular script|regular]] Chinese characters
 |picupright=0.425
|c=沈括
|p=Shěn Kuò
 |w=Shen<sup>3</sup> K'uo<sup>4</sup>
 |mi={{IPAc-cmn|sh|en|3|-|k|uo|4}}
|suz=Sèn Kwæh
|j=Sam<sup>2</sup> Kut<sup>3</sup>
 |y=Sám Kut
 |ci={{IPAc-yue|s|am|2|-|k|ut|3}}
|tl=Sím Kuat
 |poj=Sím Koat
}}
'''Shen Kuo'''{{efn|Pronunciation in [[Mainland China]]}} ({{zh|c=沈括}}; 1031–1095) or '''Shen Gua''',{{efn|Pronunciation in [[Taiwan]]}} [[courtesy name]] '''Cunzhong''' (存中) and [[Art name#China|pseudonym]] '''Mengqi''' (now usually given as '''Mengxi''') '''Weng''' (夢溪翁),<ref name="yao 2003 544">Yao (2003), 544.</ref> was a Chinese [[polymath]], scientist, and statesman of the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279). Shen was a master in many fields of study including [[Chinese mathematics|mathematics]], [[history of optics|optics]], and [[horology]]. In his career as a civil servant, he became a [[finance minister]], governmental state inspector, head official for the [[Chinese astronomy|Bureau of Astronomy]] in the Song court, Assistant Minister of Imperial Hospitality, and also served as an [[Chancellor (education)|academic chancellor]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 2 33">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 33.</ref> At court his political allegiance was to the Reformist faction known as the [[History of the Song dynasty#Partisans and factions, reformers and conservatives|New Policies Group]], headed by [[Chancellor of China|Chancellor]] [[Wang Anshi]] (1021–1085).

In his ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'' or ''Dream Torrent Essays''<ref name="Makeham2008">{{cite book|author=John Makeham|title=China: The World's Oldest Living Civilization Revealed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TQ4NAQAAMAAJ&q=essays|year=2008|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=978-0-500-25142-3|page=239}}</ref> ({{lang|zh|夢溪筆談}}; ''Mengxi Bitan'') of 1088, Shen was the first to describe the magnetic needle [[compass]], which would be used for navigation (first described in Europe by [[Alexander Neckam]] in 1187).<ref name="bowman 2000 599">Bowman (2000), 599.</ref><ref name="mohn 2003 1">Mohn (2003), 1.</ref> Shen discovered the concept of [[true north]] in terms of [[magnetic declination]] towards the [[North magnetic pole|north pole]],<ref name="mohn 2003 1"/> with experimentation of suspended magnetic needles and "the improved [[Meridian (astronomy)|meridian]] determined by Shen's [astronomical] measurement of the distance between the [[pole star]] and true north".<ref name="sivin 1995 III 22">Sivin (1995), III, 22.</ref> This was the decisive step in human history to make compasses more useful for navigation, and may have been a concept unknown in Europe [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|for another four hundred years]] (evidence of German sundials made circa 1450 show markings similar to [[Feng shui|Chinese geomancer]]s' compasses in regard to declination).<ref name="embree 1997 843">Embree (1997), 843.</ref>

Alongside his colleague [[Wei Pu]], Shen planned to map the orbital paths of the Moon and the planets in an intensive five-year project involving daily observations, yet this was thwarted by political opponents at court.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 18"/> To aid his work in astronomy, Shen Kuo made improved designs of the [[armillary sphere]], [[gnomon]], sighting tube, and [[History of timekeeping devices|invented a new type]] of inflow [[water clock]]. Shen Kuo devised a [[geological]] hypothesis for land formation ([[geomorphology]]), based upon findings of inland [[Marine (ocean)|marine]] [[fossil]]s, knowledge of [[soil erosion]], and the [[deposition (geology)|deposition]] of [[silt]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 23 24">Sivin (1995), III, 23–24.</ref> He also proposed a hypothesis of gradual [[Climate change (general concept)|climate change]], after observing ancient [[petrified]] [[bamboo]]s that were preserved underground in a dry northern habitat that would not support bamboo growth in his time. He was the first literary figure in China to mention the use of the [[drydock]] to repair boats suspended out of water, and also wrote of the effectiveness of the relatively new invention of the canal [[pound lock]]. Although not the first to invent [[camera obscura]], Shen noted the relation of the [[Focus (optics)|focal point]] of a [[concave mirror]] and that of the pinhole. Shen wrote extensively about [[movable type]] [[printing]] invented by [[Bi Sheng]] (990–1051), and because of his written works the legacy of Bi Sheng and the modern understanding of the earliest movable type has been handed down to later generations.<ref name="bowman 2000 105"/> Following an old tradition in China, Shen created a [[raised-relief map]] while inspecting borderlands. His description of an ancient crossbow mechanism he unearthed as [[History of Chinese archaeology|an amateur archaeologist]] proved to be a [[Jacob's staff]], a [[surveying]] tool which was not known in Europe until described by [[Levi ben Gerson]] in 1321.

Shen Kuo wrote several other books besides the ''Dream Pool Essays'', yet much of the writing in his other books has not survived. Some of Shen's [[Chinese poetry|poetry]] was preserved in posthumous written works. Although much of his focus was on technical and scientific issues, he had an interest in [[divination]] and the supernatural, the latter including his vivid description of [[unidentified flying objects]] from eyewitness testimony. He also wrote commentary on ancient [[Taoism|Daoist]] and [[Confucianism|Confucian]] texts.

== Life ==
=== Birth and youth ===
[[File:Pen ts'ao, woodblock book 1249-ce.png|thumb|right|The ''Bencao'' on [[traditional Chinese medicine]]; [[woodblock printing|printed with woodblock printing press]] in 1249; Shen grew ill often as a child, and so developed an interest in medicinal cures.]]
Shen Kuo was born in Qiantang (modern-day [[Hangzhou]]) in the year 1031. His father Shen Zhou ({{lang|zh|沈周}}; 978–1052) was a somewhat lower-class [[Gentry (China)|gentry]] figure serving in official posts on the provincial level; his mother was from a family of equal status in [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]], with her maiden name being [[Xǔ (surname)|Xu]] ({{lang|zh|許}}).<ref name="sivin 1995 III 1">Sivin (1995), III, 1.</ref> Shen Kuo received his initial childhood education from his mother, which was a common practice in China during this period.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 1"/>{{efn|See the article [[Society of the Song dynasty]]}} She was very educated herself, teaching Kuo and his brother Pi ({{lang|zh|披}}) the military doctrines of her own elder brother Xu Dong ({{lang|zh|許洞}}; 975–1016).<ref name="sivin 1995 III 1"/> Since Shen was unable to boast of a prominent familial clan history like many of his elite peers born in the north, he was forced to rely on his wit and stern determination to achieve in his studies, subsequently passing the [[imperial examinations]] and enter the challenging and sophisticated life of an [[Scholar-bureaucrat|exam-drafted state bureaucrat]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 1"/>

From about 1040 AD, Shen's family moved around [[Sichuan]] province and finally to the international seaport at [[Xiamen]], where Shen's father accepted minor provincial posts in each new location.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 5">Sivin (1995), III, 5.</ref> Shen Zhou also served several years in the prestigious capital [[judiciary]], the equivalent of a national supreme court.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 1"/> Shen Kuo took notice of the various towns and rural features of China as his family traveled, while he became interested during his youth in the diverse [[topography]] of the land.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 5"/> He also observed the intriguing aspects of his father's engagement in administrative governance and the managerial problems involved; these experiences had a deep impact on him as he later became a government official.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 5"/> Since he often became ill as a child, Shen Kuo also developed a natural curiosity about medicine and pharmaceutics.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 5"/>

Shen Zhou died in the late winter of 1051 (or early 1052), when his son Shen Kuo was 21 years old. Shen Kuo grieved for his father, and following [[Confucianism|Confucian]] ethics, remained inactive in a state of mourning for three years until 1054 (or early 1055).<ref name="sivin 1995 III 6">Sivin (1995), III, 6.</ref> As of 1054, Shen began serving in minor local governmental posts. However, his natural abilities to plan, organize, and design were proven early in life; one example is his design and supervision of the hydraulic drainage of an [[Levee|embankment]] system, [[land reclamation|which converted]] some one hundred thousand [[acre]]s (400&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of [[swamp]]land into prime [[farmland (farming)|farmland]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 6"/> Shen Kuo noted that the success of the [[silt]] [[fertilization]] method relied upon the effective operation of [[sluice gate]]s of irrigation [[canal]]s.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 230 231">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 230–231.</ref>

=== Official career ===
[[File:Shenzong of Song.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Shen's confidant, [[Emperor Shenzong of Song]] (r. 1067–1085), a Song era portrait painting.]]
In 1063 Shen Kuo successfully passed the [[imperial examinations]], the difficult national-level standard test that every high official was required to pass in order to enter the governmental system.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 6"/> He not only passed the exam however, but was placed into the higher category of the best and brightest students.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 6"/> While serving at [[Yangzhou]], Shen's brilliance and dutiful character caught the attention of Zhang Chu ({{lang|zh|張蒭}}; 1015–1080), the Fiscal Intendant of the region. Shen made a lasting impression upon Zhang, who recommended Shen for a court appointment in the financial administration of the central court.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 6"/> Shen would also eventually marry Zhang's daughter, who became his second wife.

In his career as a [[Scholar-bureaucrats|scholar-official]] for the central government, Shen Kuo was also an ambassador to the [[Western Xia]] dynasty and [[Liao dynasty]],<ref name="steinhardt 1997 316">Steinhardt (1997), 316.</ref> a military commander, a director of hydraulic works, and the leading chancellor of the [[Hanlin Academy]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 1 135">Needham (1986), Volume 1, 135.</ref> By 1072, Shen was appointed as the head official of the Bureau of Astronomy.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 6"/> With his leadership position in the bureau, Shen was responsible for projects in improving calendrical science,<ref name="bowman 2000 105">Bowman (2000), 105.</ref> and proposed many reforms to the [[Chinese calendar]] alongside the work of his colleague [[Wei Pu]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 18">Sivin (1995), III, 18.</ref> With his impressive skills and aptitude for matters of economy and finance, Shen was appointed as the Finance Commissioner at the central court.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/>

As written by Li Zhiyi, a man married to Hu Wenrou (granddaughter of Hu Su, a famous minister of the Song dynasty), Shen Kuo was Li's mentor while Shen served as an official.<ref name="tao 2004 19">''nn'' (2004), 19.</ref> According to Li's epitaph for his wife, Shen would sometimes relay questions via Li to Hu when he needed clarification for his mathematical work, as Hu Wenrou was esteemed by Shen as a remarkable female mathematician.<ref name="tao 2004 19"/> Shen lamented: "If only she were a man, Wenrou would be my friend."<ref name="tao 2004 19"/>

While employed by the central government, Shen Kuo was also sent out with others to inspect the granary system of the empire, investigating problems of illegal tax-collection, negligence, ineffective disaster relief, and inadequate water-conservancy projects.<ref name="hymes schirokauer 1993 109">''nn'' (1993), 109.</ref> While Shen was appointed as the regional inspector of Zhejiang in 1073, the Emperor requested that Shen pay a visit to the famous poet [[Su Shi]] (1037–1101), then an administrator in Hangzhou.<ref name="hartman 1990 22">Hartman (1990), 22.</ref> Shen took advantage of this meeting to copy some of Su's poetry, which he presented to the Emperor indicating that it expressed "abusive and hateful" speech against the Song court; these poems were later politicized by Li Ding and Shu Dan in order to level a court case against Su. (The [[Crow Terrace Poetry Trial]], of 1079.)<ref name="hartman 1990 22"/> With his demonstrations of loyalty and ability, Shen Kuo was awarded the honorary title of a State Foundation [[Viscount]] by [[Emperor Shenzong of Song]] (r. 1067–1085), who placed a great amount of trust in Shen Kuo.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/> He was even made 'companion to the heir apparent' (太子中允; 'Taizi zhongyun').<ref name="yao 2003 544"/>

[[File:Wang Anshi.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Portrait painting of [[Wang Anshi]].]]
At court Shen was a political favorite of the Chancellor [[Wang Anshi]] (1021–1086), who was the leader of the political faction of Reformers, also known as the New Policies Group ({{lang|zh|新法}}, Xin Fa).<ref name="sivin 1995 III 3">Sivin (1995), III, 3.</ref>{{efn|Refer to the ''[[History of the Song dynasty#Partisans and factions, reformers and conservatives|Partisans and factions, reformers and conservatives]]'' section of the article [[History of the Song dynasty]].}} Shen Kuo had a previous history with Wang Anshi, since it was Wang who had composed the funerary [[epitaph]] for Shen's father, Zhou.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 7"/> Shen Kuo soon impressed Wang Anshi with his skills and abilities as an administrator and government agent. In 1072, Shen was sent to supervise Wang's program of surveying the building of silt deposits in the [[Grand Canal of China|Bian Canal]] outside the capital city. Using an original technique, Shen successfully dredged the canal and demonstrated the formidable value of the silt gathered as a [[fertilizer]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 7"/> He gained further reputation at court once he was dispatched as an envoy to the [[Khitan people|Khitan]] Liao dynasty in the summer of 1075.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 7"/> The Khitans had made several aggressive negotiations of pushing their borders south, while manipulating several incompetent Song ambassadors who conceded to the Liao Kingdom's demands.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 7"/> In a brilliant display of diplomacy, Shen Kuo came to the camp of the Khitan monarch at Mt. Yongan (near modern [[Pingquan]], [[Hebei]]), armed with copies of previously archived diplomatic negotiations between the Song and Liao dynasties.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 7"/> Shen Kuo refuted [[Emperor Daozong of Liao|Emperor Daozong's]] bluffs point for point, while the Song reestablished their rightful border line.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 7"/> In regard to the [[Lý dynasty]] of [[Đại Việt]] (in modern northern [[Vietnam]]), Shen demonstrated in his ''Dream Pool Essays'' that he was familiar with the key players (on the Vietnamese side) in the prelude to the [[History of the Song dynasty#Relations with Lý of Vietnam and border conflict|Sino-Vietnamese War of 1075–1077]].<ref>Anderson (2008), 202.</ref> With his reputable achievements, Shen became a trusted member of Wang Anshi's elite circle of eighteen unofficial core political loyalists to the New Policies Group.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 7"/>

[[File:China 11a.jpg|thumb|right|Boundaries of the [[Northern Song dynasty]], the [[Liao dynasty]], and the [[Western Xia]].]]
Although much of Wang Anshi's reforms outlined in the [[New Policies (Song dynasty)|New Policies]] centered on state finance, land tax reform, and the Imperial examinations, there were also military concerns. This included policies of raising [[militia]]s to lessen the expense of upholding a million soldiers,<ref name="ebrey walthall palais 2006 164">Ebrey et al. (2006), 164.</ref> putting government monopolies on [[Potassium nitrate|saltpetre]] and [[sulphur]] production and distribution in 1076 (to ensure that [[gunpowder]] solutions would not fall into the hands of enemies),<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 7 126">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 126.</ref><ref name="zhang 1986 489">Zhang (1986), 489.</ref> and aggressive military policy towards Song's northern rivals of the Western Xia and Liao dynasties.<ref name="sivin 1995 III, 4-5">Sivin (1995), III, 4–5.</ref> A few years after Song dynasty military forces had made victorious territorial gains against the [[Tangut people|Tangut]]s of the Western Xia, in 1080 Shen Kuo was entrusted as a military officer in defense of Yanzhou (modern-day [[Yan'an]], [[Shaanxi]] province).<ref name="sivin 1995 III 8">Sivin (1995), III, 8.</ref> During the autumn months of 1081, Shen was successful in defending Song dynasty territory while capturing several fortified towns of the Western Xia.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9">Sivin (1995), III, 9.</ref> The Emperor Shenzong of Song rewarded Shen with numerous titles for his merit [[Song-Xia wars|in these battles]], and in the sixteen months of Shen's military campaign, he received 273 letters from the Emperor.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/> However, Emperor Shenzong trusted an arrogant military officer who disobeyed the emperor and Shen's proposal for strategic fortifications, instead fortifying what Shen considered useless strategic locations. Furthermore, this officer expelled Shen from his commanding post at the main [[citadel]], so as to deny him any glory in chance of victory.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/> The result of this was nearly catastrophic, as the forces of the arrogant officer were decimated;<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/> Xinzhong Yao states that the death toll was 60,000.<ref name="yao 2003 544"/> Nonetheless, Shen was successful in defending his fortifications and the only possible Tangut invasion-route to Yanzhou.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/>

=== Impeachment and later life ===
[[File:Liu Songnian-Luohan.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Painting of a Buddhist [[arhat|luohan]], by [[Liu Songnian]], painted in 1207; Shen Kuo not only listed literati painting as one of his cherished pastimes, but also [[Buddhist meditation]].<ref name="lian 2001 20"/>]]
The new Chancellor Cai Que ({{lang|zh|蔡確}}; 1036–1093) held Shen responsible for the disaster and loss of life.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/> Along with abandoning the territory which Shen Kuo had fought for, Cai ousted Shen from his seat of office.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/> Shen's life was now forever changed, as he lost his once reputable career in state governance and the military.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/> Shen was then put under [[probation]] in a fixed residence for the next six years. However, as he was isolated from governance, he decided to pick up the [[ink brush]] and dedicate himself to intensive scholarly studies. After completing two [[geographical]] [[atlas]]es for a state-sponsored program, Shen was rewarded by having his sentence of probation lifted, allowing him to live in a place of his choice.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/> Shen was also pardoned by the court for any previous faults or crimes that were claimed against him.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/>

In his more idle years removed from court affairs, Shen Kuo enjoyed pastimes of [[Gentry (China)|the Chinese gentry and literati]] that would indicate his intellectual level and cultural taste to others.<ref name="lian 2001 24">Lian (2001), 24.</ref> As described in his ''Dream Pool Essays'', Shen Kuo enjoyed the company of the "nine guests" (九客, ''jiuke''), a figure of speech for the [[Guqin|Chinese zither]], the older 17x17 line variant of [[weiqi]] (known today as [[weiqi|go]]), [[Zen]] [[Buddhist meditation]], ink ([[Chinese calligraphy|calligraphy]] and [[Chinese painting|painting]]), [[Chinese tea|tea drinking]], [[alchemy]], [[Chinese poetry|chanting poetry]], conversation, and [[Wine in China|drinking wine]].<ref name="lian 2001 20">Lian (2001), 20.</ref> These nine activities were an extension to the older so-called [[Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar]].

In the 1070s, Shen had purchased a lavish garden estate on the outskirts of modern-day [[Zhenjiang]], [[Jiangsu]] province, a place of great beauty which he named "Dream Brook" ("Mengxi") after he visited it for the first time in 1086.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/> Shen Kuo permanently moved to the Dream Brook Estate in 1088, and in that same year he completed his life's written work of the ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'', naming the book after his garden-estate property. It was there that Shen Kuo spent the last several years of his life in leisure, isolation, and illness, until his death in 1095.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 9"/>

== Scholarly achievements ==
{{further|Science and technology of the Song dynasty}}
Shen Kuo wrote extensively on a wide range of different subjects. His written work included two geographical [[atlas]]es, a treatise on [[music]] with mathematical [[harmonics]], governmental administration, mathematical astronomy, astronomical instruments, martial [[military strategy|defensive tactics]] and [[fortification]]s, [[painting]], [[tea]], [[medicine]], and much [[Chinese poetry|poetry]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 10">Sivin (1995), III, 10.</ref> His scientific writings have been praised by [[sinologist]]s such as [[Joseph Needham]] and [[Nathan Sivin]], and he has been compared by Sivin to polymaths such as his Song dynasty Chinese contemporary [[Su Song]], as well as to [[Gottfried Leibniz]] and [[Mikhail Lomonosov]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 11">Sivin (1995), III, 11.</ref>

=== Raised-relief map ===
[[File:FFM-HanWeingefäß.JPG|thumb|upright|A [[Han dynasty]] incense burner, showing artificial mountains as a lid decoration, which may have influenced the invention.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 580 581">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 580–581.</ref>]]
{{Further|Raised-relief map#History|History of cartography#China|Science and technology of the Han dynasty#Cartography}}

Joseph Needham suggests that certain pottery vessels of the [[Han dynasty]] (202 BC – 220 AD) showing artificial mountains as lid decorations may have influenced the development of the [[raised-relief map]] in China.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 580 581"/> The Han dynasty general [[Ma Yuan (Han dynasty)|Ma Yuan]] (14 BC – 49 AD) is recorded as having made a raised-relief map of valleys and mountains in a rice-constructed model of 32 AD.<ref name="crespigny 2007 659">Crespigny (2007), 659.</ref> Shen Kuo's largest atlas included twenty three maps of China and foreign regions that were drawn at a uniform scale of 1:900,000.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 22"/> Shen also created a raised-relief map using sawdust, wood, beeswax, and wheat paste.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 22"/><ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 579 580">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 579–580.</ref> [[Zhu Xi]] (1130–1200) was inspired by the raised-relief map of Huang Shang and so made his own portable map made of wood and clay which could be folded up from eight hinged pieces.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 580.</ref>

=== Pharmacology ===
{{Further|Traditional Chinese medicine}}
For [[pharmacology]], Shen wrote of the difficulties of adequate [[medical diagnosis|diagnosis]] and [[Pharmacotherapy|therapy]], as well as the proper selection, preparation, and administration of drugs.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 29">Sivin (1995), III, 29.</ref> He held great concern for detail and [[philology|philological]] accuracy in identification, use and cultivation of different types of medicinal herbs, such as in which months medicinal plants should be gathered, their exact ripening times, which parts should be used for therapy; for domesticated herbs he wrote about planting times, fertilization, and other matters of [[horticulture]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 30 31"/> In the realms of [[botany]], [[zoology]], and [[mineralogy]], Shen Kuo documented and systematically described hundreds of different plants, agricultural crops, rare vegetation, animals, and [[mineral]]s found in China.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 6 part 1 475">Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 1, 475.</ref><ref name="needham 1986 volume 6 part 1 499">Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 1, 499.</ref><ref name="needham 1986 volume 6 part 1 501">Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 1, 501.</ref><ref name="sivin 1995 III 30">Sivin (1995), III, 30.</ref> For example, Shen noted that the mineral [[orpiment]] was used to quickly erase writing errors on paper.<ref>Cherniack (1994), 95–96.</ref>

=== Civil engineering ===
[[File:Canal lock.svg|thumb|upright|A side view of a [[pound lock]] for canals, invented in China in the 10th century and described by Shen.]]
[[File:Yingzao Fashi 5 desmear.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Five bracket arm bases and two cantilever arms, from the ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]'' of 1103.]]
The writing of Shen Kuo is the only source for the date when the [[drydock]] was first used in China.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 660"/> Shen Kuo wrote that during the Xi-Ning reign (1068–1077), the court official Huang Huaixin devised a plan for repairing 60&nbsp;m (200&nbsp;ft) long [[palace|palatial]] boats that were a century old; essentially, Huang Huaixin devised the first Chinese drydock for suspending boats out of water.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 660"/> These boats were then placed in a roof-covered dock warehouse to protect them from weathering.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 660">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 660.</ref> Shen also wrote about the effectiveness of the new invention (i.e. by the 10th century engineer [[Technology of the Song dynasty|Qiao Weiyue]]) of the [[pound lock]] to replace the old [[flash lock]] design used in canals.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 352"/> He wrote that it saved the work of five hundred annual labors, annual costs of up to 1,250,000 strings of cash, and increased the size limit of boats accommodated from 21 [[ton]]s/21000 [[kg]] to 113 [[ton]]s/115000 [[kg]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 352">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 352.</ref>

If it were not for Shen Kuo's analysis and quoting in his ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'' of the writings of the [[architect]] [[Yu Hao]] ([[floruit|fl.]] 970), the latter's work would have been lost to history.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 141">Needham (1986), Volume 4, 141.</ref>{{efn|For more, see [[Architecture of the Song dynasty]]}} Yu designed a famous wooden [[Chinese pagoda|pagoda]] that burned down in 1044 and was replaced in 1049 by a brick pagoda (the '[[Iron Pagoda]]') of similar height, but not of his design. From Shen's quotation—or perhaps Shen's own paraphrasing of Yu Hao's ''Timberwork Manual'' (木經; ''Mujing'')—shows that already in the 10th century there was a graded system of building unit proportions, a system which Shen states had become more precise in his time but stating no one could possibly reproduce such a sound work.<ref name="ruitenbeek 1996 26"/><ref name="chung 2004 19">Chung (2004), 19.</ref> However, he did not anticipate the more complex and matured system of unit proportions embodied in the extensive written work by scholar-official Li Jie (1065–1110), the ''[[Yingzao Fashi|Treatise on Architectural Methods]]'' (營造法式; ''Yingzao Fashi'') of 1103.<ref name="chung 2004 19"/><ref>Ruitenbeek (1996), 26–27.</ref> Klaas Ruitenbeek states that the version of the ''Timberwork Manual'' quoted by Shen is most likely Shen's summarization of Yu's work or a corrupted passage of the original by Yu Hao, as Shen writes: "According to some, the work was written by Yu Hao."<ref name="ruitenbeek 1996 26">Ruitenbeek (1996), 26.</ref>

=== Anatomy ===
The Chinese had long taken an interest in examining the human body. For example, in 16 AD, the [[Xin dynasty]] usurper [[Wang Mang]] called for the dissection of an executed man, to examine his arteries and viscera in order to discover cures for illnesses.<ref>Bielenstein (1986), 239.</ref> Shen also took interest in human [[anatomy]], dispelling the long-held Chinese theory that the throat contained three valves, writing, "When liquid and solid are imbibed together, how can it be that in one's mouth they sort themselves into two throat channels?"<ref name="sivin 1995 III 30 31">Sivin (1995), III, 30–31.</ref> Shen maintained that the [[larynx]] was the beginning of a system that distributed vital ''[[qi]]'' from the air throughout the body, and that the [[esophagus]] was a simple tube that dropped food into the stomach.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 31">Sivin (1995), III, 31.</ref> Following Shen's reasoning and correcting the findings of the [[dissection]] of executed bandits in 1045, an early 12th-century Chinese account of a bodily dissection finally supported Shen's belief in two throat valves, not three.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 30 31 footnote">Sivin (1995), III, 30–31, Footnote 27.</ref> Also, the later Song dynasty judge and early [[forensic]] expert [[Song Ci]] (1186–1249) would promote the use of [[autopsy]] in order to solve [[homicide]] cases, as written in his ''[[Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified]]''.<ref name="Sung 1981 12, 19, 20, 72">Sung (1981), 12, 19, 20, 72.</ref>

=== Mathematics ===
{{Further|Chinese mathematics}}
[[File:Yanghui triangle.gif|right|thumb|upright|[[Yang Hui]] triangle ([[Pascal's triangle]]) using [[Counting rods|rod numerals]], from a book by mathematician [[Zhu Shijie]], 1303]]
[[File:Camera obscura.png|thumb|right|upright|An 18th-century diagram of [[camera obscura]]]]
In the broad field of [[mathematics]], Shen Kuo mastered many practical mathematical problems, including many complex formulas for [[geometry]],<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 39">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 39.</ref> [[circle packing]],<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 145">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 145.</ref> and chords and arcs problems employing [[trigonometry]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 109">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 109.</ref> Shen addressed problems of writing out very large numbers, as large as (10<sup>4</sup>)<sup>43</sup>.<ref name="katz 2007 308"/> Shen's "technique of small increments" laid the foundation in Chinese mathematics for packing problems involving equal difference series.<ref name="katz 2007 308">Katz (2007), 308.</ref> Sal Restivo writes that Shen used summation of higher series to ascertain the number of kegs which could be piled in layers in a space shaped like the [[frustum]] of a rectangular pyramid.<ref name="restivo 1992 32">Restivo (1992), 32.</ref><ref name="breard 2008">Bréard (2008).</ref> In his formula "technique of intersecting circles", he created an approximation of the arc of a circle ''s'' given the diameter ''d'', [[sagitta (geometry)|sagitta]] ''v'', and length of the chord ''c'' subtending the arc, the length of which he approximated as ''s'' = ''c'' + 2v<sup>2</sup>/d.<ref name="katz 2007 308"/> Restivo writes that Shen's work in the lengths of arcs of circles provided the basis for [[spherical trigonometry]] developed in the 13th century by [[Guo Shoujing]] (1231–1316).<ref name="restivo 1992 32"/> He also simplified the [[counting rods]] technique by outlining short cuts in algorithm procedures used on the counting board, an idea expanded on by the mathematician [[Yang Hui]] (1238–1298).<ref name="katz 2007 308 309">Katz (2007), 308–309.</ref> Victor J. Katz asserts that Shen's method of "dividing by 9, increase by 1; dividing by 8, increase by 2," was a direct forerunner to the rhyme scheme method of repeated addition "9, 1, bottom add 1; 9, 2, bottom add 2".<ref name="katz 2007 309">Katz (2007), 309.</ref>

Shen wrote extensively about what he had learned while working for the state treasury, including mathematical problems posed by computing [[land tax]], estimating requirements, [[currency]] issues, [[metrology]], and so forth.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 12 14">Sivin (1995), III, 12, 14.</ref> Shen once computed the amount of [[terrain]] space required for battle formations in [[military strategy]],<ref name="sivin 1995 III 14">Sivin (1995), III, 14.</ref> and also computed the longest possible military campaign given the limits of human carriers who would bring their own food and food for other soldiers.<ref name="ebrey 2006 162">Ebrey et al. (2006), 162.</ref> Shen wrote about the earlier [[Yi Xing]] (672–717), a Buddhist monk who applied an early [[escapement]] mechanism to a water-powered [[celestial globe]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 473–475.</ref> By using mathematical [[permutation]]s, Shen described Yi Xing's calculation of possible positions on a [[go (game)|''go'' board game]]. Shen calculated the total number for this using up to five rows and twenty five game pieces, which yielded the number 847,288,609,443.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 15">Sivin (1995), III, 15.</ref><ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 139">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 139.</ref>

=== Optics ===
Shen Kuo experimented with the [[pinhole camera]] and [[Burning glass|burning mirror]] as the ancient Chinese [[Mohist]]s had done in the 4th century BC, as [[Mozi]] of China's [[Warring States period]] was perhaps the first to describe the concept of [[camera obscura]], if not his Greek contemporary [[Problems (Aristotle)|Aristotle]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 97–98.</ref> The [[Iraq]]i [[Muslim]] scientist [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (965–1039) further experimented with camera obscura and was the first to attribute [[geometrical]] and [[Quantitative property|quantitative]] properties to it, but Shen was first to note the relationship of the three separate radiation phenomena: the focal point, burning point, and pinhole.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 1 98–99">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 98–99.</ref> Using a fitting metaphor, Shen compared optical image inversion to an [[oarlock]] and [[waisted drum]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 34"/> Along with [[Focus (optics)|focal point]]s, he also noted that the image in a [[Curved mirror|concave mirror]] is inverted.<ref name="sarkar salazar-palma sengupta 2006 21"/> Shen, who never asserted that he was the first to experiment with camera obscura, hints in his writing that camera obscura was dealt with in the ''[[Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang]]'' written by [[Duan Chengshi]] (d. 863) during the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907), in regard to the inverted image of a [[Chinese pagoda]] by a seashore.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 1 98">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 98.</ref> Chinese authors from the 12th to 17th centuries would discuss the optical observations made by Shen Kuo but not advance them further, while [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (1452–1519) would be the first in Europe to make a similar observation about the focal point and pinhole in camera obscura.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 1 98–99"/>

=== Magnetic needle compass ===
{{Further|List of Chinese inventions}}
Since the time of the engineer and inventor [[Ma Jun (mechanical engineer)|Ma Jun]] (c. 200–265), the Chinese had used the [[south-pointing chariot]], which did not employ magnetism, as a compass. In 1044 the ''[[Wujing Zongyao|Collection of the Most Important Military Techniques]]'' ({{lang|zh|武經總要}}; ''Wujing Zongyao'') recorded that fish-shaped objects cut from sheet iron, magnetized by [[wikt:en:thermoremanence|thermoremanence]] (essentially, heating that produced weak magnetic force), and placed in a water-filled bowl enclosed by a box were used for directional pathfinding alongside the south-pointing chariot.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 21"/><ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 1 252">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 252.</ref>

[[File:Model Si Nan of Han Dynasty.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Han dynasty]] (202 BC–220 AD) ladle-and-basin [[lodestone]] south-pointing [[compass]], used by ancient Chinese [[geomancer]]s, but not for navigation.]]
However, it was not until the time of Shen Kuo that the earliest [[magnetic]] [[compass]]es would be used for [[navigation]]. In his written work, Shen Kuo made the first known explicit reference to the magnetic compass-needle and the concept of [[true north]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 1 135"/><ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 1 249 250">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 249–250.</ref><ref name="hsu 1988 102">Hsu (1988), 102.</ref> He wrote that steel needles were magnetized once they were rubbed with [[lodestone]], and that they were put in floating position or in mountings; he described the suspended compass as the best form to be used, and noted that the magnetic needle of compasses pointed either south or north.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 21">Sivin (1995), III, 21.</ref><ref name="elisseeff 2000 296">Elisseeff (2000), 296.</ref> Shen Kuo asserted that the needle will point south but with a deviation,<ref name="elisseeff 2000 296"/> stating "[the magnetic needles] are always displaced slightly east rather than pointing due south."<ref name="sivin 1995 III 21"/>

Shen Kuo wrote that it was preferable to use the twenty-four-point rose instead of the old eight compass cardinal points — and the former was recorded in use for navigation shortly after Shen's death.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 22"/> The preference of use for the twenty-four-point-rose compass may have arisen from Shen's finding of a more accurate [[Meridian (astronomy)|astronomical meridian]], determined by his measurement between the pole star and true north;<ref name="sivin 1995 III 22"/> however, it could also have been inspired by [[geomantic]] beliefs and practices.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 22"/> The book of the author [[Zhu Yu (author)|Zhu Yu]], the ''Pingzhou Table Talks'' published in 1119 (written from 1111 to 1117), was the first record of use of a compass for seafaring navigation.<ref name="hsu 1988 102"/><ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 1 279">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 279.</ref> However, Zhu Yu's book recounts events back to 1086, when Shen Kuo was writing the ''Dream Pool Essays''; this meant that in Shen's time the compass might have already been in navigational use.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 1 279"/> In any case, Shen Kuo's writing on magnetic compasses has proved invaluable for understanding China's earliest use of the compass for seafaring navigation.

=== Archaeology ===
{{Further|Song dynasty#Archaeology|History of Chinese archaeology|History of archaeology}}
[[File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - bronze zun.jpg|upright|thumb|right|[[Bronze Age#China|Bronzeware]] from the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600–1046 BC); Song era antiquarians and archeologists in search of antiques for reviving ancient rituals claimed to have found bronzewares dated as far back as the Shang era, which contained written inscriptions.<ref>Fairbank & Goldman (1992), 33.</ref>]]
Many of Shen Kuo's contemporaries were interested in [[antiquarian]] pursuits of collecting old artworks.<ref name="ebrey 2006 163">Ebrey et al. (2006), 163.</ref> They were also interested in [[History of Chinese archaeology|archaeological]] pursuits, although for rather different reasons than why Shen Kuo held an interest in [[History of archaeology|archaeology]]. While Shen's educated [[Confucianism|Confucian]] contemporaries were interested in obtaining ancient relics and antiques in order to revive their use in rituals, Shen was more concerned with how items from archeological finds were originally manufactured and what their functionality would have been, based on [[empirical evidence]].<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227">''nn'' (1986), 227.</ref> Shen Kuo criticized those in his day who reconstructed ancient ritual objects using only their imagination and not the tangible evidence from archeological digs or finds.<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> Shen also disdained the notion of others that these objects were products of the "sages" or the [[Four occupations|aristocratic class of antiquity]], rightfully crediting the items' manufacture and production to the common working people and artisans of previous eras.<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> Some author writes that Shen Kuo "advocated the use of an [[Interdisciplinarity|interdisciplinary]] approach to archaeology and practiced such an approach himself through his work in [[History of ferrous metallurgy|metallurgy]], optics, and geometry in the study of ancient measures."<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/>

While working in the Bureau of Astronomy, Shen Kuo's interest in archaeology and old relics led him to reconstruct an armillary sphere from existing models as well as from ancient texts that could provide additional information.<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> Shen used ancient mirrors while conducting his optics experiments.<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> He observed ancient weaponry, describing the [[Sight (device)|scaled sight devices]] on ancient [[crossbow]]s and the ancients' production of swords with composite blades that had a midrib of [[wrought iron]] and [[decarburization|low-carbon]] [[steel]] while having two sharp edges of [[Carburization|high-carbon]] steel.<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> Being a knowledgeable musician, Shen also suggested suspending [[Bianzhong|an ancient bell]] by using a hollow handle.<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> In his assessment of the carved [[relief]]s of the ancient Zhuwei Tomb, Shen stated that the reliefs demonstrate genuine [[Society of the Han dynasty|Han dynasty era clothing]].<ref name="rudolph 1963 176">Rudolph (1963), 176.</ref>

After unearthing an ancient crossbow device from a house's garden in Haichow, Jiangsu, Shen discovered that the cross-wire grid sighting device, marked in graduated measurements on the stock, could be used to calculate the height of a distant mountain in the same way that mathematicians could apply right-angle triangles to measure height.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 574">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 574.</ref> Needham asserts Shen had discovered the survey device known as [[Jacob's staff]], which was not described elsewhere until the [[Provence|Provençal]] Jewish mathematician [[Levi ben Gerson]] (1288–1344) wrote of it in 1321.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 573">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 573.</ref> Shen wrote that while viewing the whole of a mountain, the distance on the instrument was long, but while viewing a small part of the mountainside the distance was short due to the device's cross piece that had to be pushed further away from the observer's eye, with the graduation starting on the further end.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 574"/> He wrote that if one placed an arrow on the device and looked past its end, the degree of the mountain could be measured and thus its height could be calculated.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 574"/>

=== Geology ===
[[File:TaihangMountain8.jpg|thumb|upright|left|View of the [[Taihang Mountains]], where Shen Kuo had his [[Epiphany (feeling)|epiphany]] about [[geomorphology]].]]
The ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[Aristotle]] (384 BC–322 BC) wrote in his ''[[Meteorology (Aristotle)|Meteorology]]'' of how the earth had the potential for physical change, including the belief that all rivers and seas at one time did not exist where they were, and were dry. The Greek writer [[Xenophanes]] (570 BC–480 BC) wrote of how inland [[Marine (ocean)|marine]] [[fossil]]s were evidence that massive periodic [[flood]]ing had wiped out mankind several times in the past, but never wrote of land formation or shifting seashores.<ref name="desmond 1975 692-707">Desmond (1975), 692–707.</ref> [[Du Yu]] (222–285) a Chinese [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin dynasty]] officer, believed that the land of hills would eventually be leveled into valleys and valleys would gradually rise to form hills.<ref>Rafferty (2012), 9.</ref> The Daoist alchemist [[Ge Hong]] (284–364) wrote of the legendary immortal [[Magu (deity)|Magu]]; in a written dialogue by Ge, Ma Gu described how what was once the Eastern Sea (i.e. [[East China Sea]]) had transformed into solid land where [[Morus (plant)|mulberry trees]] grew, and would one day be filled with mountains and dry, dusty lands.<ref>Schottenhammer (2012), 72.</ref> The later [[Persian Empire|Persian]] [[Muslim]] scholar [[Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]] (973–1048) hypothesized that [[Indian subcontinent|India]] was once covered by the [[Indian Ocean]] while observing rock formations at the mouths of rivers.<ref name="salam 1984 179-213">Salam (1984), 179–213.</ref>

[[File:Likan Bamboo and Rocks.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Bamboo and rocks by [[Li Kan (painter)|Li Kan]] (1244–1320); using evidence of fossilized bamboo within China's dry northwestern climate zone, Shen Kuo hypothesized that [[Climate change (general concept)|climates naturally shifted geographically over time]].]]

It was Shen Kuo who formulated a hypothesis about the process of land formation ([[geomorphology]]) based upon several observations as evidence. This included his observation of [[fossil]] shells in a [[geological]] stratum of a mountain hundreds of miles from the ocean. He inferred that the land was reshaped and formed by [[soil erosion|erosion]] of the mountains, uplift, and the deposition of [[silt]], after observing strange natural erosions of the [[Taihang Mountains]] and the Yandang Mountain near [[Wenzhou]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 603 604">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 603–604.</ref> He hypothesized that, with the inundation of silt, the land of the continent must have been formed over an enormous span of time.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 23"/> While visiting the Taihang Mountains in 1074, Shen Kuo noticed strata of [[bivalvia|bivalve]] shells and [[ovoid]] rocks in a horizontal-running span through a cliff like a large belt.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 23">Sivin (1995), III, 23.</ref> Shen proposed that the cliff was once the location of an ancient seashore that by his time had shifted hundreds of miles east.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 23"/> Shen wrote that in the Zhiping reign period (1064–1067) a man of Zezhou unearthed an object in his garden that looked like a serpent or dragon, and after examining it, concluded the dead animal had apparently turned to "stone".<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 618">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 618.</ref><ref name="chan 2002 15">nn (2002), 15.</ref> The magistrate of [[Jincheng]], Zheng Boshun, examined the creature as well, and noted the same scale-like markings that were seen on other marine animals.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 618"/><ref name="chan 2002 15"/> Shen Kuo likened this to the "stone crabs" found in China.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 618"/><ref name="chan 2002 15"/>

Shen also wrote that since petrified bamboos were found underground in a climatic area where they had never been known to be grown, the [[Climate change (general concept)|climate there must have shifted geographically over time]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 614">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 614.</ref> Around the year 1080, Shen Kuo noted that a landslide on the bank of a large river near Yanzhou (modern [[Yan'an]]) had revealed an open space several dozens of feet under the ground once the bank collapsed.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 614"/> This underground space contained hundreds of petrified bamboos still intact with roots and trunks, "all turned to stone" as Shen Kuo wrote.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 614"/> Shen Kuo noted that bamboos do not grow in Yanzhou, located in northern China, and he was puzzled during which previous dynasty the bamboos could have grown.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 614"/> Considering that damp and gloomy low places provide suitable conditions for the growth of bamboo, Shen deduced that the climate of Yanzhou must have fit that description in very ancient times.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 614"/> Although this would have intrigued many of his readers, the study of [[paleoclimatology]] in medieval China did not develop into an established discipline.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 614"/>

The Song dynasty philosopher [[Zhu Xi]] (1130–1200) wrote of this curious natural phenomenon of fossils as well. He was known to have read the works of Shen Kuo.<ref name="chan 2002 15"/> Shen's description of soil erosion and weathering predated that of [[Georgius Agricola]] in his book of 1546, ''[[De Natura Fossilium|De veteribus et novis metallis]]''.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 604"/> Furthermore, Shen's theory of sedimentary deposition predated that of [[James Hutton]], whose groundbreaking work was published in 1802 (considered the foundation of modern geology).<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 604">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 604.</ref> Historian [[Joseph Needham]] likened Shen's account to that of the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] scientist [[Roderick Murchison]] (1792–1871), who was inspired to become a geologist after observing a providential landslide.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 604"/>

=== Meteorology ===
[[File:Double-Rainbow.jpg|thumb|right|Shen accurately hypothesized that [[rainbow]]s were caused by sunlight passing through rain droplets.]]
Early speculation and hypothesis pertaining to what is now known as [[meteorology]] had a long tradition in China before Shen Kuo. For example, the Han dynasty scholar [[Wang Chong]] (27–97) accurately described the process of the [[water cycle]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 468.</ref> However, Shen made some observations that were not found elsewhere in [[Chinese literature]]. For instance, Shen was the first in East Asia to describe [[tornado]]es, which were thought to exist only in the [[Western Hemisphere]] until their observation in China during the first decade of the 20th century.<ref>Sivin (1995), III, p. 25.</ref>

Shen gave reasoning (earlier proposed by Sun Sikong, 1015–1076) that [[rainbow]]s were formed by the shadow of the sun in rain, occurring when the sun would shine upon it.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 24">Sivin (1995), III, 24.</ref><ref name="sivin 1984 534">Sivin (1984), 534.</ref><ref>Kim (2000), 171.</ref> Paul Dong writes that Shen's explanation of the rainbow as a phenomenon of [[atmospheric refraction]] "is basically in accord with modern scientific principles."<ref name="dong 2000 72"/> In Europe, [[Roger Bacon]] (1214–1294) was the first to suggest that the colors of the rainbow were caused by the reflection and refraction of sunlight through rain drops.<ref name="sarkar salazar-palma sengupta 2006 21">Sarkar, Salazar-Palma, Sengupta (2006), 21.</ref><!-- I did not check if this is indeed in that source; that text was part of a sentence that referred to Sarkar, so I kept the reference in both places. I also added "was the first" although I have no reference for it, because it's needed for the sentence to make sense in this context. -->

Shen hypothesized that rays of sunlight refract before reaching the surface of the Earth, hence people on Earth observing the Sun are not viewing it in its exact position, in other words, the altitude of the apparent Sun is higher than the actual altitude of the Sun.<ref name="dong 2000 72"/> Dong writes that "at the time, this discovery was remarkably original."<ref name="dong 2000 72"/> [[Ibn al-Haytham]], in his ''[[Book of Optics]]'' (1021), also discussed atmospheric refraction in regard to [[twilight]].<ref name="sarkar salazar-palma sengupta 2006 21"/>

=== Astronomy and instruments ===
{{Further|Chinese astronomy}}
[[File:Su Song Star Map 1.JPG|thumb|right|One of the five [[star map]]s published in 1092 AD for [[Su Song]]'s horological and astronomical treatise, featuring Shen Kuo's corrected position of the [[pole star]].]]
Being the head official for the Bureau of Astronomy, Shen Kuo was an avid scholar of medieval astronomy, and improved the designs of several astronomical instruments. Shen is credited with making improved designs of the [[gnomon]], [[armillary sphere]], and [[Water clock|clepsydra]] clock.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 17">Sivin (1995), III, 17.</ref> For the clepsydra he designed a new overflow-tank type, and argued for a more efficient higher-order [[interpolation]] instead of linear interpolation in calibrating the measure of time.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 17"/> Improving the 5th century model of the astronomical [[sighting tube]], Shen Kuo widened its diameter so that the new calibration could observe the [[pole star]] indefinitely.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 17"/> This came about due to the position of the pole star shifting in position since the time of [[Zu Geng (mathematician)|Zu Geng]] in the 5th century, hence Shen Kuo diligently observed the course of the pole star for three months, plotting the data of its course and coming to the conclusion that it had shifted slightly over three degrees.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 17"/> Apparently this astronomical finding had an impact upon the intellectual community in China at the time. Even Shen's political rival and contemporary astronomer [[Su Song]] featured Shen's corrected position of the pole star (halfway between Tian shu, at −350 degrees, and the current [[Polaris]]) in the fourth [[star map]] of his celestial atlas.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 278">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 278.</ref>

The astronomical phenomena of the [[solar eclipse]] and [[lunar eclipse]] had been observed in the 4th century BC by astronomers [[Gan De]] and [[Shi Shen]]; the latter gave instructions on predicting the eclipses based on the relative position of the Moon to the Sun.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 411">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 411.</ref> The philosopher Wang Chong argued against the 'radiating influence' theory of [[Jing Fang]]'s writing in the 1st century BC and that of [[Zhang Heng]] (78–139); the latter two correctly hypothesized that the brightness of the Moon was merely light reflected from the Sun.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 413 414">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 413–414.</ref> Jing Fang had written in the 1st century BC of how it was long accepted in China that the Sun and Moon were [[spherical]] in shape ('like a [[crossbow]] bullet'), not flat.<ref name="needham volume 3 227">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 227.</ref> Shen Kuo also wrote of solar and lunar eclipses in this manner, yet expanded upon this to explain why the celestial bodies were spherical, going against the '[[flat Earth]]' theory for celestial bodies.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 415 416">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 415–416.</ref> However, there is no evidence to suggest that Shen Kuo supported a round earth theory, which was introduced into Chinese science by [[Matteo Ricci]] and [[Xu Guangqi]] in the 17th century.<ref name="fan 1996 431 432">Jin (1996), 431–432.</ref> When the Director of the Astronomical [[Observatory]] asked Shen Kuo if the shapes of the Sun and Moon were round like balls or flat like fans, Shen Kuo explained that celestial bodies were spherical because of knowledge of waxing and waning of the Moon.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 415 416"/> Much like what Zhang Heng had said, Shen Kuo likened the Moon to a ball of silver, which does not produce light, but simply reflects light if provided from another source (the Sun).<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 415 416"/> He explained that when the Sun's light is slanting, the Moon appears full.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 415 416"/> He then explained if one were to cover any sort of sphere with white powder, and then viewed from the side it would appear to be a crescent, hence he reasoned that celestial bodies were spherical.<ref name="dong 2000 72">Dong (2000), 72.</ref><ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 415 416"/> He also wrote that, although the Sun and Moon were in conjunction and opposition with each other once a month, this did not mean the Sun would be eclipsed every time their paths met, because of the small obliquity of their orbital paths.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 415 416"/><ref name="dong 2000 71 72">Dong (2000), 71–72.</ref>
[[File:Clock Tower from Su Song's Book desmear.JPG|thumb|left|upright|The original diagram of [[Su Song]]'s book of 1092 showing the inner workings of his [[clocktower]]; a [[Escapement|mechanically rotated]] [[armillary sphere]] crowns the top.]]

Shen is also known for his [[cosmological]] hypotheses in explaining the variations of [[planetary motion]]s, including [[Apparent retrograde motion|retrogradation]].<ref name="sivin 1995 III 16">Sivin (1995), III, 16.</ref> His colleague Wei Pu realized that the old calculation technique for the mean Sun was inaccurate compared to the [[Solar time|apparent Sun]], since the latter was ahead of it in the accelerated phase of motion, and behind it in the retarded phase.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 19">Sivin (1995), III, 19.</ref> Shen's hypotheses were similar to the concept of the [[epicycle]] in the [[Greco-Roman]] tradition,<ref name="sivin 1995 III 16"/> only Shen compared the side-section of [[orbit]]al paths of planets and variations of planetary speeds to points in the tips of a [[willow]] leaf.<ref name="sivin 1995 II 71-72">Sivin (1995), II, 71–72.</ref><ref name="henderson 1986 128"/> In a similar rudimentary physical analogy of celestial motions, as John B. Henderson describes it, Shen likened the relationship of the Moon's path to the ecliptic, the path of the Sun, "to the figure of a rope coiled about a tree."<ref name="henderson 1986 128">Henderson (1986), 128.</ref>

Along with his colleague [[Wei Pu]] in the Bureau of Astronomy, Shen Kuo planned to plot out the exact coordinates of planetary and lunar movements by recording their astronomical observations three times a night for a continuum of five years.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 18"/> The Song astronomers of Shen's day still retained the lunar theory and coordinates of the earlier [[Yi Xing]], which after 350 years had devolved into a state of considerable error.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 18"/> Shen criticized earlier Chinese astronomers for failing to describe celestial movement in spatial terms, yet he did not attempt to provide any reasoning for the motive power of the planets or other celestial movements.<ref name="henderson 1986 128"/> Shen and Wei began astronomical observations for the Moon and planets by plotting their locations three times a night for what should have been five successive years.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 18"/> The officials and astronomers at court were deeply opposed to Wei and Shen's work, offended by their insistence that the coordinates of Yi Xing were inaccurate.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 18 19">Sivin (1995), III, 18–19.</ref> They also slandered Wei Pu, out of resentment that a commoner had expertise exceeding theirs.<ref name="sivin 1995 II 73">Sivin (1995), II, 73.</ref> When Wei and Shen made a public demonstration using the gnomon to prove the doubtful wrong, the other ministers reluctantly agreed to correct the lunar and solar errors.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 18 19"/><ref name="sivin 1995 II 72">Sivin (1995), II, 72.</ref> Despite this success, they eventually dismissed Wei and Shen's tables of planetary motions.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 7">Sivin (1995), III, 7.</ref> Therefore, only the worst and most obvious planetary errors were corrected, and many inaccuracies remained.<ref name="sivin 1995 II 73"/>

=== Movable type printing ===
{{Main|History of typography in East Asia}}
[[File:Jingangjing.jpg|right|thumb|The Chinese ''[[Diamond Sutra]]'', the oldest known printed book in world history (868), using [[woodblock printing]].]]
Shen Kuo wrote that during the Qingli reign period (1041–1048), under [[Emperor Renzong of Song]] (1022–1063), an obscure commoner and [[artisan]] known as [[Bi Sheng]] (990–1051) invented ceramic [[movable type]] [[printing]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 201">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 201.</ref><ref>Gernet (1996), 335.</ref> Although the use of assembling individual characters to compose a piece of text had its origins in [[Ancient history|antiquity]], Bi Sheng's methodical innovation was something completely revolutionary for his time. Shen Kuo noted that the process was tedious if one only wanted to print a few copies of a book, but if one desired to make hundreds or thousands of copies, the process was incredibly fast and efficient.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 201"/> Beyond Shen Kuo's writing, however, nothing is known of Bi Sheng's life or the influence of movable type in his lifetime.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 202 203">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 202–203.</ref> Although the details of Bi Sheng's life were scarcely known, Shen Kuo wrote:
<blockquote>When Bi Sheng died, his [[typeface|fount of type]] passed into the possession of my followers (i.e. one of Shen's nephews), among whom it has been kept as a precious possession until now.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 2 33"/><ref name="sivin 1995 III 27">Sivin (1995), III, 27.</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Chinese movable type 1313-ce.png|thumb|left|upright|A revolving table typecase with individual [[movable type]] characters arranged primarily by rhyming scheme, from [[Wang Zhen (official)|Wang Zhen]]'s book of agriculture published in 1313.]]
There are a few surviving examples of books printed in the late Song dynasty using movable type printing.<ref name="Wu 1943 211 212">Wu (1943), 211–212.</ref> This includes Zhou Bida's ''Notes of The Jade Hall'' ({{lang|zh|玉堂雜記}}) printed in 1193 using the method of baked-clay movable type characters outlined in the ''Dream Pool Essays''.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Xu |first1=Yinong |trans-title=Moveable Type Books |title=活字本|date=2002 |publisher=江苏古籍出版社 |isbn=7-80643-795-9}} The Chinese name of the author is 徐忆农.</ref> Yao Shu (1201–1278), an advisor to [[Kublai Khan]], once persuaded a disciple Yang Gu to print [[philological]] [[Textbook|primers]] and Neo-Confucian texts by using what he termed the "movable type of Shen Kuo".<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 203">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 203.</ref> [[Wang Zhen (official)|Wang Zhen]] (fl. 1290–1333), who wrote the valuable agricultural, scientific, and technological treatise of the ''Nong Shu'', mentioned an alternative method of baking [[earthenware]] type with earthenware frames in order to make whole blocks.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 203"/> Wang Zhen also improved its use by inventing wooden movable type in the years 1297 or 1298, while he was a magistrate of [[Jingde County|Jingde]], [[Anhui]] province.<ref name="Needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 206">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 206.</ref> The earlier Bi Sheng had experimented with wooden movable type,<ref name="Needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 205-206">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 205–206.</ref> but Wang's main contribution was improving the speed of typesetting with simple mechanical devices, along with the complex, systematic arrangement of wooden movable type involving the use of revolving tables.<ref name="Needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 208">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 208.</ref> Although later metal movable type would be used in China, Wang Zhen experimented with [[tin]] metal movable type, but found its use to be inefficient.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 217">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 217.</ref>

By the 15th century, metal movable type printing was developed in [[Ming dynasty]] China (and earlier in [[Goryeo]] [[Korea]], by the mid 13th century), and was widely applied in China by at least the 16th century.<ref name="Needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 211">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 211.</ref> In [[Jiangsu]] and [[Fujian]], wealthy Ming era families sponsored the use of metal type printing (mostly using [[bronze]]). This included the printing works of [[Hua Sui]] (1439–1513), who pioneered the first Chinese bronze-type movable printing in the year 1490.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 212">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 212.</ref> In 1718, during the mid [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1912), the scholar of [[Tai'an]] known as Xu Zhiding developed movable type with [[Vitreous enamel|enamelware]] instead of earthenware.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 203"/> There was also Zhai Jinsheng (b. 1784), a teacher of [[Jing County, Anhui|Jingxian]], [[Anhui]], who spent thirty years making a font of earthenware movable type, and by 1844 he had over 100,000 Chinese writing characters in five sizes.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 203"/>

Despite these advances, movable type printing never gained the amount of widespread use in East Asia that [[woodblock printing]] had achieved since the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] in the 9th century. With [[written Chinese]], the vast amount of written [[morpheme]] characters impeded movable type's acceptance and practical use, and was therefore seen as largely unsatisfactory.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 201"/> Furthermore, the European [[printing press]], first invented by [[Johannes Gutenberg]] (1398–1468), was eventually wholly adopted as the standard in China, yet the tradition of woodblock printing remains popular in East Asian countries.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 1 201"/>

=== Other achievements in science and technology ===
Shen Kuo described the phenomena of natural [[predator]] [[insect]]s controlling the population of pests, the latter of which had the potential to wreak havoc upon the agricultural base of China.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 6 part 1 545">Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 1, 545.</ref>

Shen also wrote about [[History of metallurgy in China|advancements in metallurgy]]. While visiting the iron-producing district at Cizhou in 1075, Shen described the "partial [[decarburization]]" method of reforging cast iron under a cold blast, which Hartwell, Needham, and [[Theodore Wertime|Wertime]] state is the predecessor of the [[Bessemer process]].<ref name="hartwell 1966 54">Hartwell (1966), 54.</ref> Shen was worried about [[deforestation]]{{efn|For deforestation due to the Song dynasty iron industry and efforts to curb it, refer to [[Economy of the Song dynasty]]}} due to the needs of the [[Economy of the Song dynasty|iron industry]] and ink makers using pine soot in the production process, so he suggested for the latter an alternative of [[petroleum]], which he believed was "produced inexhaustibly within the earth".<ref name="sivin 1995 III 24"/><ref>Menzies (1994), 24.</ref> Shen used the soot from the smoke of burned petroleum fuel (石油 ''Shíyóu'', "rock oil" as Shen called it) to invent a new, more durable type of writing ink; the [[Ming dynasty]] pharmacologist [[Li Shizhen]] (1518–1593) wrote that Shen's ink was "lustrous like [[lacquer]], and superior to that made from pinewood lamp-black," or the soot from pinewood.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 75–76.</ref><ref>Deng (2005), 36.</ref>

=== Beliefs and philosophy ===
{{Further|Chinese philosophy}}
[[File:Half Portraits of the Great Sage and Virtuous Men of Old - Meng Ke (孟軻).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Ideas of the philosopher [[Mencius]] deeply influenced Shen.]]
Shen Kuo was much in favor of philosophical [[Daoist]] notions which challenged the authority of empirical science in his day. Although much could be discerned through empirical observation and recorded study, Daoism asserted that the secrets of the universe were boundless, something that scientific investigation could merely express in fragments and partial understandings.<ref name="ropp 1990 170">Sivin (1990), 170.</ref> Shen Kuo referred to the ancient Daoist ''[[I Ching]]'' in explaining the spiritual processes and attainment of foreknowledge that cannot be attained through "crude traces", which he likens to mathematical astronomy.<ref name="ropp 1990 170"/> Nathan Sivin proposes that Shen was the first in history to "make a clear distinction between our unconnected experiences and the unitary causal world we postulate to explain them," which Biderman and Scharfstein state is arguably inherent in the works of [[Heraclitus]], [[Plato]], and [[Democritus]] as well.<ref>Biderman & Scharfstein (1989), xvii.</ref> Shen was a firm believer in destiny and prognostication, and made rational explanations for the relations between them.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 34 35">Sivin (1995), III, 34–35.</ref> Shen held a special interest in fate, mystical divination, bizarre phenomena, yet warned against the tendency to believe that all matters in life were preordained.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 35">Sivin (1995), III, 35.</ref> When describing an event where [[lightning]] had struck a house and all the wooden walls did not burn (but simply turned black) and [[lacquerware]]s inside were fine, yet metal objects had melted into liquid, Shen Kuo wrote:

<blockquote>Most people can only judge of things by the experiences of ordinary life, but phenomena outside the scope of this are really quite numerous. How insecure it is to investigate natural principles using only the light of common knowledge, and subjective ideas.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 3 482">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 482.</ref></blockquote>

In his commentary on the ancient Confucian philosopher [[Mencius]] (372–289 BC), Shen wrote of the importance of choosing to follow what one knew to be a true path, yet the heart and mind could not attain full knowledge of truth through mere sensory experience.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 34">Sivin (1995), III, 34.</ref> In his own unique way but using terms influenced by the ideas of Mencius, Shen wrote of an autonomous inner authority that formed the basis for one's inclination towards moral choices, a concept linked to Shen's life experiences of surviving and obtaining success through self-reliance.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 34"/> Along with his commentary on the [[Chinese classic texts]], Shen Kuo also wrote extensively on the topics of supernatural [[divination]] and [[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[meditation]].<ref name="ebrey 1999 148">Ebrey (1999), 148.</ref>

In the "Strange Happenings" passage of the ''Dream Pool Essays'', Shen offered accounts of an [[unidentified flying object]] that occurred during the reign of Emperor Renzong (1022–1063). An object as bright as a pearl was said to occasionally hover over the city of [[Yangzhou]] at night, and was previously described by local inhabitants of eastern [[Anhui]] and then in [[Jiangsu]].<ref name="dong 2000 69">Dong (2000), 69. (Professor Zhang Longqiao of the Chinese Department of Peking Teachers College, who popularized this account in Beijing's ''Guang Ming Daily'' on February 18, 1979, in an article called "Could It Be That A Visitor From Outer Space Visited China Long Ago?", states is "a clue that a flying craft from some other planet once landed somewhere near [[Yangzhou]] in China.")</ref> A man near [[Khanka Lake|Xingkai Lake]] observed the same object, alleging that it emitted powerful lights from its interior like sunbeams illuminating the woods over a ten-mile radius before departing at tremendous speeds.<ref>Dong (2000), 69–70.</ref> Shen recorded that Yibo, a poet of [[Gaoyou]], wrote a poem about this "pearl" after witnessing it and that locals around Fanliang in Yangzhou erected a "Pearl Pavilion" where spectators on boats hoped to spot the mysterious flying object again.<ref name="dong 2000 70 71">Dong (2000), 70–71.</ref>

=== Art criticism ===
[[File:Dong Yuan Mountain Hall.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A painting by [[Dong Yuan]], who Shen praised for his ability to portray landscapes and natural scenery in a grand but realistic style.]]

As an [[art critic]], Shen criticized the paintings of [[Li Cheng (painter)|Li Cheng]] (919–967) for failing to observe the principle of "''seeing the small from the viewpoint of the large''" in portraying buildings and the like.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 115">Needham (1986), Volume 4, 115.</ref> He praised the works of [[Dong Yuan]] (c. 934–c. 962); he noted that although a close-up view of Dong's work would create the impression that his brush techniques were cursory, seen from afar his landscape paintings would give the impression of grand, resplendent, and realistic scenery.<ref>Stanley-Baker (1977), 23.</ref><ref name="barnhart 1970 25">Barnhart (1970), 25.</ref><ref>Li (1965), 61.</ref> In addition, Shen's writing on Dong's artworks represents the earliest known reference to the [[Jiangnan]] style of painting.<ref name="barnhart 1970 24">Barnhart (1970), 24.</ref> In his "Song on Painting" and in his ''Dream Pool Essays'', Shen praised the creative artworks of the Tang painter [[Wang Wei (Tang dynasty)|Wang Wei]] (701–761); Shen noted that Wang was unique in that he "penetrated into the mysterious reason and depth of creative activity," but was criticized by others for not conforming his paintings to reality, such as his painting with a banana tree growing in a snowy, wintry landscape.<ref name="li 1965 37 38 footnote">Li (1965), 37–38, Footnote 98.</ref><ref>Li (1974), 149.</ref><ref>Parker (1999), 175.</ref>

== Written works ==
Much of Shen Kuo's written work was probably purged under the leadership of minister [[Cai Jing]] (1046–1126), who revived the New Policies of Wang Anshi, although he set out on a campaign of attrition to destroy or radically alter the written work of his predecessors and especially Conservative enemies.<ref name="Dengyuan cited in sivin 1995 III 44">Chen Dengyuan, cited in Sivin (1995), III, 44.</ref> For example, only six of Shen's books remain, and four of these have been significantly altered since the time they were penned by the author.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 44 45">Sivin (1995), III, 44–45.</ref>

In modern times, the best attempt at a complete list and summary of Shen's writing was an appendix written by Hu Daojing in his standard edition of ''Brush Talks'', written in 1956.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 44">Sivin (1995), III, 44.</ref>

=== ''Dream Pool Essays'' ===
{{Main|Dream Pool Essays|l1=''Dream Pool Essays''}}

Shen Kuo's ''Dream Pool Essays'' consists of some 507 separate essays exploring a wide range of subjects.<ref name="bodde 1991 86">Bodde (1991), 86.</ref> It addressed scientific knowledge in areas including physics, astrology, mathematics, and medicine; it contended that there was no contradiction between technology and Confucian precepts.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Greenspan |first1=Anna |title=Machine Decision is Not Final: China and the History and Future of Artificial Intelligence |last2=Konior |first2=Bogna |publisher=Urbanomic, [[MIT Press]] |year=2025 |isbn=9781913029999 |editor-last=Bratton |editor-first=Benjamin |chapter=Introduction: Fleeting Forces and Clever Machinations |editor-last2=Greenspan |editor-first2=Anna |editor-last3=Ireland |editor-first3=Amy |editor-last4=Konior |editor-first4=Bogna}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=5}} The text was Shen's ultimate attempt to comprehend and describe a multitude of various aspects of nature, science, and reality, and all the practical and profound curiosities found in the world. The literal translation of the title, ''Dream Brook Brush Talks'', refers to his Dream Brook estate, where he spent the last years of his life. About the title, he is quoted as saying: "Because I had only my writing brush and ink slab to converse with, I call it Brush Talks."{{efn|From his biography in the ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' (New York 1970–1990)}}

The book was originally 30 chapters long, yet an unknown Chinese author's edition of 1166 edited and reorganized the work into 26 chapters.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 45">Sivin (1995), III, 45.</ref>

=== Other written works ===
[[File:Su shi.jpg|thumb|left|Poet and statesman [[Su Shi]], whose pharmaceutical work was combined with Shen Kuo's in 1126, in a [[Yuan dynasty]] portrait by [[Zhao Mengfu]].]]

Although the ''Dream Pool Essays'' is certainly his most extensive and important work, Shen Kuo wrote other books as well. In 1075, Shen Kuo wrote the ''Xining Fengyuan Li'' ({{lang|zh|熙寧奉元曆}}; ''The Oblatory Epoch astronomical system of the Splendid Peace reign period''), which was lost, but listed in a 7th chapter of a Song dynasty bibliography.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 46">Sivin (1995), III, 46.</ref> This was the official report of Shen Kuo on his reforms of the Chinese calendar, which were only partially adopted by the Song court's official calendar system.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 46"/> During his years of retirement from governmental service, Shen Kuo compiled a [[formulary (pharmacy)|formulary]] known as the ''Liang Fang'' ({{lang|zh|良方}}; ''Good medicinal formulas'').<ref name="sivin 1995 III 47"/> Around the year 1126 it was combined with a similar collection by the famous [[Su Shi]] (1037–1101), who was ironically a political opponent to Shen Kuo's faction of Reformers and New Policies supporters at court,<ref name="sivin 1995 III 47">Sivin (1995), III, 47.</ref> yet it was known that Shen Kuo and Su Shi were nonetheless friends and associates.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 1 137">Needham (1986), Volume 1, 137.</ref> Shen wrote the ''Mengqi Wanghuai Lu'' ({{lang|zh|夢溪忘懷錄}}; ''Record of longings forgotten at Dream Brook''), which was also compiled during Shen's retirement. This book was a treatise in the working since his youth on rural life and ethnographic accounts of living conditions in the isolated mountain regions of China.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 48">Sivin (1995), III, 48.</ref> Only quotations of it survive in the ''Shuo Fu'' ({{lang|zh|說郛}}) collection, which mostly describe the agricultural implements and tools used by rural people in high mountain regions. Shen Kuo also wrote the ''Changxing Ji'' ({{lang|zh|長興集}}; ''Collected Literary Works of [the Viscount of] Changxing''). However, this book was without much doubt a posthumous collection, including various poems, prose, and administrative documents written by Shen.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 48"/> By the 15th century (during the [[Ming dynasty]]), this book was reprinted, yet only the 19th chapter remained.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 48"/> This chapter was reprinted in 1718, yet poorly edited.<ref name="sivin 1995 III 48"/> Finally, in the 1950s the author Hu Daojing supplemented this small yet valuable work with additions of other scattered poems written by Shen, in the former's ''Collection of Shen Kua's Extant Poetry'' (Shanghai: Shang-hai Shu-tian, 1958).<ref name="sivin 1995 III 48"/> In the tradition of the popular Song era literary category of 'travel record literature' ('youji wenxue'),<ref name="hargett 1985 67">Hargett (1985), 67.</ref> Shen Kuo also wrote the ''Register of What Not to Forget'', a [[travel literature|traveler's guide]] to what type of [[carriage]] is suitable for a journey, the proper foods one should bring, the special clothing one should bring, and many other items.<ref name="hargett 1985 71">Hargett (1985), 71.</ref>

In his ''Sequel to Numerous Things Revealed'', the Song author Cheng Dachang (1123–1195) noted that stanzas prepared by Shen Kuo for military victory celebrations were later written down and published by Shen.<ref name="stock 1993 94">Stock (1993), 94.</ref> This includes a short poem "Song of Triumph" by Shen Kuo, who uses the musical instrument ''[[huqin|mawei huqin]]'' ('horse-tail barbarian stringed instrument' or 'horse-tail fiddle'<ref>Stock (1993), 108.</ref>) of the northwestern [[Inner Asia]]n nomads as a metaphor for prisoners-of-war led by Song troops:
{{Centered pull quote|
:The ''mawei huqin'' followed the Han chariot,
:Its music sounding of complaint to the Khan.
:Do not bend the bow to shoot the goose within the clouds,
:The returning goose bears no letter.
| author = Shen Kuo<ref name="stock 1993 94"/>
}}
Historian Jonathan Stock notes that the bent bow described in the poem above represents the arched bow used to play the ''huqin'', while the sound of the instrument itself represented the discontent expressed by the prisoners-of-war with their defeated [[Khan (title)|khan]].<ref name="stock 1993 94"/>

== Legacy ==
[[File:Shen Kua sketch.jpg|thumb|A sketch of Shen Kuo by an anonymous artist of the [[Qing dynasty]], 18th century]]

=== Praise, critique, and criticism ===
In the ''Routledge Curzon Encyclopedia of Confucianism'', Xinzhong Yao states that Shen Kuo's legacy was tainted by his eager involvement in Wang Anshi's New Policies reforms, his actions criticized in [[Twenty-Four Histories|the later traditional histories]].<ref name="yao 2003 544"/> However, Shen's reputation as a polymath has been well regarded. Joseph Needham stated that Shen Kuo was "one of the greatest scientific minds in Chinese history."<ref>''nn'' (1986), 226–227.</ref> The [[French people|French]] sinologist [[Jacques Gernet]] is of the opinion that Shen possessed an "amazingly modern mind."<ref name="gernet 1996 338">Gernet (1996), 338.</ref> Yao states of Shen's thorough recording of natural sciences in his ''Dream Pool Essays'':

<blockquote>
We must regard Shen Kuo's collection as an indispensable primary source attesting to the unmatched level of attainment achieved by Chinese science prior to the twelfth century.<ref name="yao 2003 545">Yao (2003), 545.</ref>
</blockquote>

However, Toby E. Huff writes that Shen Kuo's "scattered set" of writings lacks clear-cut organization and "theoretical acuteness," that is, [[scientific theory]].<ref name="huff 2003 303">Huff (2003), 303.</ref> Nathan Sivin wrote that Shen's originality stands "cheek by jowl with trivial didacticism, court anecdotes, and ephemeral curiosities" that provide little insight.<ref name="huff 2003 303"/> Donald Holzman writes that Shen "has nowhere organized his observations into anything like a general theory."<ref name="huff 2003 303"/> Huff writes that this was a systemic problem of early Chinese science, which lacked systematic treatment that could be found in European works such as the ''Concordance and Discordant Canons'' by the lawyer [[Gratian (jurist)|Gratian]] of [[Bologna]] (fl. 12th century).<ref name="huff 2003 303"/> In regard to an overarching concept of [[science]] which could branch together all the various sciences studied by the Chinese, Sivin asserts that the writings of Shen Kuo "do not indicate that he achieved, or even sought, an integrated framework for his diverse knowledge; the one common thread is the varied responsibilities of his career as a high civil servant."<ref>Sivin (1988), 59.</ref>

=== Burial and posthumous honors ===
Upon his death, Shen Kuo was interred in a tomb in [[Yuhang]] District of [[Hangzhou]], at the foot of the Taiping Hill.<ref name="Yuhang">
Yuhang Cultural Network (October 2003). [http://www.yhwt.com/newsshow.aspx?artid=3169 Shen Kuo's Tomb] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502074744/http://www.yhwt.com/newsshow.aspx?artid=3169 |date=2014-05-02 }}  The Yuhang District of Hangzhou Cultural Broadcasting Press and Publications Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-05-06.
</ref> His tomb was eventually destroyed, yet [[Ming dynasty]] records indicated its location, which was found in 1983 and protected by the government in 1986.<ref name="Yuhang" /> The remnants of the tomb's brick structure remained, along with Song dynasty [[glass]]wares and [[coin]]s.<ref name="Yuhang" /> The Hangzhou Municipal Committee completed a restoration of Shen's tomb in September 2001.

In addition to his tomb, Shen Kuo's ''Mengxi'' garden estate, his former two-acre (8,000 m<sup>2</sup>) property in Zhenjiang, was restored by the government in 1985.<ref name="Talking Park">
Zhenjiang.gov (October 2006). [http://www.zhenjiang.gov.cn/gb/zgzj/zjgb/lyzpd/fjjc/userobject1ai12068.html Talking Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707034017/http://www.zhenjiang.gov.cn/gb/zgzj/zjgb/lyzpd/fjjc/userobject1ai12068.html |date=2007-07-07 }}  The Zhenjiang municipal government office. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
</ref> However, the renovated Mengxi Garden is only part of the original of Shen Kuo's time.<ref name="Mengxi Garden">
The Zhenjiang Foreign Experts Bureau (June 2002). [http://www.feb.gov.cn/news1/displaynews.asp?id=139 Mengxi Garden] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929042332/http://www.feb.gov.cn/news1/displaynews.asp?id=139 |date=2007-09-29 }}  The Zhenjiang Foreign Experts Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
</ref> A [[Qing dynasty]]-era hall built on the site is now used as the main admissions gate.<ref name="Talking Park" /> In the Memorial Hall of the gardens, there is a large painting depicting the original garden of Shen Kuo's time, including wells, green bamboo groves, stone-paved paths, and decorated walls of the original halls.<ref name="Mengxi Garden" /> In this exhibition hall there stands a 1.4&nbsp;m (4.6&nbsp;ft) tall statue of Shen Kuo sitting on a platform, along with centuries-old published copies of his ''Dream Pool Essays'' in glass cabinets, one of which is from Japan.<ref name="Mengxi Garden" /> At the garden estate there are also displayed marble banners, statues of Shen Kuo, and a model of an armillary sphere; a small museum gallery depicts Shen's various achievements.<ref name="Talking Park" />

The [[Purple Mountain Observatory]] in [[Nanjing]] discovered a new [[asteroid]] in 1964 and named it after Shen Kuo ([[2027 Shen Guo]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=2027|title=2027 Shen Guo|last=|first=|date=|publisher=IAU Minor Planet Center|access-date=2018-10-01}}</ref>

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|colwidth=35em}}
* Anderson, James A. (2008). "'Treacherous Factions': Shifting Frontier Alliances in the Breakdown of Sino-Vietnamese Relations on the Eve of the 1075 Border War," in ''Battlefronts Real and Imagined: War, Border, and Identity in the Chinese Middle Period'', 191–226. Edited by Don J. Wyatt. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. {{ISBN|978-1-4039-6084-9}}.
* Barnhart, Richard. "Marriage of the Lord of the River: A Lost Landscape by Tung Yüan," ''Artibus Asiae. Supplementum'' (Volume 27, 1970): 3–5, 7, 9, 11–60.
* Biderman, Shlomo and Ben-Ami Scharfstein. (1989). ''Rationality in Question: On Eastern and Western Views of Rationality''. Leiden: E.J. Brill. {{ISBN|90-04-09212-9}}.
* Bielenstein, Hans. (1986). "Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han Dynasty, and Later Han," in ''The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220'', 223–290. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-24327-0}}.
* [[Derk Bodde|Bodde, Derk]] (1991). ''Chinese Thought, Society, and Science: The Intellectual and Social Background of Science and Technology in Pre-modern China''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-1334-5}}
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{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Shen_Kuo-article.ogg|date=2007-10-28}}
{{sister
| project = wikisource
| text    = {{nowrap|Chinese [[Wikisource]] ([[s:zh:首頁|維基文庫]])}} has original works written by or about '''[[s:zh:作者:沈括|Shen Kuo]]'''.
}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=2419| name=Kuo Shen}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070409190926/http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_madeinchina/2003-09/24/content_72415.htm Shen Kuo at Chinaculture.org]
* [http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Printonly/Shen_Kua.html Shen Kuo at MacTutor]

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