1031Shen Kuo's Scientific and Technological Advancements

In 1095, Shen Kuo made significant scientific advances, incl...
Timelines Logo
Year
-780
1031
1054
1070
1077
1088

☀️ First Recorded Solar Eclipse in China

The first historic solar eclipse is recorded in China.
First Recorded Solar Eclipse in China (-780)
AstronomyEclipseZhou DynastyCosmologyCelestial EventsHistorical Records
ChinaChina

🔭 Shen Kuo's Scientific and Technological Advancements

In 1095, Shen Kuo made significant scientific advances, including theories on land formation, climate change, and true north, along with improvements to astronomical instruments, hypotheses on planetary motion, and the spherical nature of the sun and moon, and he conducted early experiments with camera obscura and archaeology.
Shen Kuo's Scientific and Technological Advancements (1031)
AstronomyClimate ChangeArchaeologyScientific RevolutionSong DynastyShen Kuo
ChinaChina

💥 Observation of Supernova Explosion Forming the Crab Nebula

a large supernova is observed by astronomers, the remnants of which would form the Crab Nebula.
Observation of Supernova Explosion Forming the Crab Nebula (1054)
AstronomySupernovaCelestial EventsCosmologyScientific ObservationMiddle AgesAstrophysics
ChinaChina

🌿 Su Song Publishes Ben Cao Tu Jing

– With a team of scholars, the Chinese official Su Song also published the Ben Cao Tu Jing in 1070, a treatise on pharmacology, botany, zoology, metallurgy, and mineralogy. Some of the drug concoctions in Su's book included ephedrine, mica minerals, and linaceae.
Su Song Publishes Ben Cao Tu Jing (1070)
PharmacologyBotanyZoologyMetallurgySong DynastySu Song
ChinaChina

🕰️ Su Song's Diplomatic Mission and the Development of Astronomical Technology

Chinese official Su Song is sent on a diplomatic mission to the Liao dynasty and discovers that the Khitan calendar is more mathematically accurate than the Song calendar; Emperor Zhezong later sponsors Su Song's astronomical clock tower in order to compete with Liao astronomers.
Su Song's Diplomatic Mission and the Development of Astronomical Technology (1077)
AstronomySong DynastyLiao DynastySu SongCultural Exchange
ChinaChina

🧭 Shen Kuo's First Reference to Magnetic Compass

the renowned polymath Chinese scientist and official Shen Kuo made the world's first reference to the magnetic compass in his book Dream Pool Essays, along with encyclopedic documentation and inquiry into scientific discoveries.
Shen Kuo's First Reference to Magnetic Compass (1088)
NavigationShen KuoSong Dynasty
ChinaChina