roccoschili Chapter 88 0086 [An Ordinary Winter Day That Will Be Remembered]
Chapter 88 0086 [An Ordinary Winter Day That Will Be Remembered]
Chapter 88 0086 [An Ordinary Winter Day That Will Be Remembered]
Shen Kuo was a great conversationalist.
Because he travels to many places, likes to inquire about things, and has a strong desire to express himself.
The two talked about physics until late at night, and then lay down on the same bed and fell asleep fully clothed. Shen Kuo, however, was still too excited to sleep, so he started telling stories of the strange things he had encountered in the past.
"Do you have large crocodiles in Guangdong?" Shen Kuo asked.
Xu Lai replied, "I haven't seen it. But there are elephants in the mountains of Guangdong."
Shen Kuo said, "When I was a teenager, I went to Quanzhou with my father to serve as an official. At that time, Wang Juzhi was the prefect of Chaozhou. He caught a crocodile that was bigger than a small fishing boat and specially asked someone to draw it."
"Bigger than a small fishing boat?" Xu Lai confirmed.
Shen Kuo said, "I didn't see the actual object, but I saw the painting. There was also a preface by Wang Juzhi on the painting. That kind of crocodile generally looks like a Chinese alligator, but its mouth is particularly long, its teeth are like saws, and it has a hook on its tail. The local people use pigs as bait, and many people working together can catch this kind of crocodile."
Xu Lai asked with a smile, "Have you read Han Changli's 'Crocodile Writings'?"
"No," Shen Kuo replied.
Xu Lai said, "Han Changli also served as an official in Chaozhou back then. One of his duties was to lead officials and people to drive away and kill crocodiles."
Shen Kuo was very surprised: "Is that so? Then I must go and see Han Changli's collected works."
Han Yu, the Chinese crocodile poet.
Later, the remains of this crocodile were discovered in many places in Lingnan. Many of the crocodile bones showed signs of being hacked with knives and axes, and one of them even had its head cut off.
At first, it was mistaken for a Malayan crocodile because of its long snout and saw-like teeth. Later, it was identified as a new species, and its body length was estimated to exceed six meters. In 2022, it was officially named "Chinese Hanyu Crocodile".
The physical characteristics of this crocodile are basically consistent with the description in Shen Kuo's "Dream Pool Essays," indicating that it was not yet extinct in the Northern Song Dynasty!
Using pigs to catch crocodiles over six meters long —
After discussing crocodiles, Shen Kuo went on to talk about other sightings, such as his discovery of a UFO in Yangzhou. This strange UFO had been appearing and disappearing intermittently for over ten years, and later, when Su Shi was demoted to Hangzhou, he also spotted it while passing through. Both of them recorded their observations in writing.
They chatted until midnight, then Xu Laixian couldn't stay awake any longer and went to sleep.
As Shen Kuo was speaking, he realized that Xu Lai was not responding, so he also stopped talking and went to sleep.
No matter how late she went to bed, her biological clock would wake her up naturally. Xu Lai got up and washed up, yawning. Then she kneaded dough to make breakfast. This time, instead of making wide sheets of dough, she cut it into thin strips.
He cooked several bowls, using up all the meat sauce, and will have to find time to stir-fry it again.
While having breakfast, Shen Kuo asked Yu Shuying, "Brother Zehan, Xingyi and I hit it off immediately. Could you move into your residence for a couple of months? I will pay the rent."
Yu Shuying said, "Anyway, the house is empty, so Brother Cunzhong can stay if he wants. There's no need to pay rent."
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"It must be given, otherwise it would be too much of a bother," Shen Kuo insisted.
Yu Shuying did not refuse again, since it would only be two or three months before Shen Kuo was to be transferred to a post outside the capital.
After breakfast, Xu Lai, Yu Shuying, and Yu Sigong went to the Imperial Academy for classes.
Shen Kuo then strolled back to Lin Yi's house.
Lin Yi was his former classmate at the state school, and they had known each other for more than ten years.
Lin Yi passed the imperial examination at a young age and is currently proofreading medical books at the Medical Book Bureau. His colleagues at the bureau include Su Song and others.
"Is Cunzhong moving out?" Lin Yi's wife, Gao, asked.
Shen Kuo packed his luggage and said, "I feel really bad for troubling my sister-in-law for a year. I recently met a friend who has many empty rooms, so I'll move in and discuss various subjects with him."
Gao didn't try to persuade her to stay, only saying, "Have dinner before you leave."
This is to wait until Lin Yi gets off work so that things can be explained clearly; otherwise, a conflict between the couple is inevitable. Lin Yi will think that his wife drove Shen Kuo away.
Shen Kuo said, "I should bid farewell to my brother. Tonight, I'll treat everyone to dinner at a restaurant."
After their conversation, Shen Kuo continued packing his luggage.
Then he took out paper and pen and used everyday objects to conduct mechanics experiments.
Unfortunately, there was no force gauge.
Last night he discussed with Xu Lai that it is difficult to measure subtle changes in force using the "testing the bow's strength" method.
Xu Lai also tried to make a spring balance, but the spring material was always a problem. It was either too soft or too hard, and it was also very easy to deform.
It would require a great deal of money to have a top blacksmith forge the flexible steel.
If it were really that easy to forge, Xu Lai would have already created a force measuring instrument and presented it to Yu Jing. Master Yu is still waiting for it.
In the evening, Lin Yi bid farewell to Su Song and other colleagues, and strolled home.
Upon learning that Shen Kuo was leaving, Lin Yi asked, "Is he moving to Xu Xingzhi's place?"
"Indeed," Shen Kuo said to Lin Yi, "Xingzhi is young, but his knowledge is unfathomable. He is not only talented in poetry, but also proficient in the study of things! Before my term of office ends, I will move in with him to discuss scholarship every day."
"Have you received the complete manuscript of 'A New Method of Mathematics'?" Lin Yi asked again.
Shen Kuo took out the manuscript: "After reading this book, I am amazed."
Facing his longtime friend, Lin Yi didn't stand on ceremony: "Lend me a copy, Su Zirong (Su Song) is waiting for it too."
Xu Lai's book, *A New Method of Mathematics*, though not officially promoted, spread very quickly behind the scenes. However, many people only received incomplete manuscripts and were eager to complete the text.
Su Song and Shen Kuo were also very close at this time. They met through their mutual friend Lin Yi and were both studying medicine and astronomy, so they hit it off immediately.
However, when Wang Anshi implemented his reforms, they were on opposing sides, and their friendship gradually faded.
During Wang Anshi's reforms, countless fathers and sons, uncles and nephews, brothers, teachers and students, and friends turned against each other due to their conflicts.
Shen Kuo's personality was too weak; he always tried to befriend everyone, which ultimately made him disliked by everyone.
Given his relationship with Wang Anshi and his own abilities, if he had been a little more hard-hearted, he would definitely have been a core figure in the reform faction.
As night fell, Shen Kuo hired a cart to move his luggage to Yu's residence.
As soon as he saw Xu Lai, he said, "I asked around today, and no one has ever made a coil spring before, and I estimate it would be very difficult. But we can use a leaf spring. With a clever design, we can greatly reduce the friction on the leaf spring."
This is a great idea.
Ancient China had a very sophisticated technology for making reeds, and many machines, including locks, used reeds.
So Xu lit an oil lamp and worked with Shen Kuo to design a reed force gauge.
They discussed it for a full hour, but Xu Lai couldn't take it anymore and wanted to sleep because he had class the next day.
Shen Kuo asked, "Does Xingzhi know who Wang Anshi (Prime Minister Wang) is?"
Xu Lai nodded: "I know."
Shen Kuo said, "Prime Minister Wang values financial management and once submitted a ten-thousand-word memorial explaining the principles of financial management. I plan to send Prime Minister Wang Xingzhi's 'New Methods of Mathematics'."
"Does elder brother know Prime Minister Wang?" Xu Lai asked.
Shen Kuo said, "My father's epitaph was written by Minister Wang. Minister Wang was also my mentor. Minister Wang's younger brother, Anli, married my cousin last year."
How should this generational ranking be determined?
Regardless of the circumstances, Xu Lai was still very happy to have been able to connect with Wang Anshi through Shen Kuo's introduction.
The next day, Xu Lai continued his studies at the Imperial Academy.
Shen Kuo stayed at the Yu residence and continued to refine the design of the reed force gauge.
Several days later, heavy snow fell.
The original version of the reed force gauge was finally assembled by Shen Kuo.
Old Shen has extremely strong research and development capabilities.
Take the famous Divine Crossbow as an example. Initially, it was not only expensive and time-consuming to manufacture, but the crossbow body was also prone to breakage and had uneven tension. The yield rate was extremely low.
Later, Shen Kuo was transferred to oversee weapons forging, where he quickly improved upon the shortcomings of the Divine Arm Bow, reducing costs and shortening the production time.
Improve yield rate. Increase production efficiency by more than ten times, enabling the widespread adoption of the Shenbi Bow.
Rest day.
Lin Yi brought Su Song to visit Shen Kuo to catch up, and also to discuss mathematics with Xu Lai.
Su Song is 43 years old this year, has experience in local governance, and has a rather impressive track record. This may be one of the reasons why he later resisted the new law.
Everyone gathered around the stove, eating the dumplings that Xu Lai had made himself.
Su Song took out several sheets of paper, which turned out to be his solution to the geometric problems in the "Mathematical Classic" using Xu Lai's "New Method of Mathematics".
Furthermore, Xu Lai's definitions, theorems, formulas, and other concepts were introduced.
In fact, various mathematical classics have long contained these descriptions, but they are all very vague and have always lacked a systematic expression.
Mathematical classics generally follow three modes: question, answer, and method.
That is, to pose a question, provide a specific answer, and describe the solution steps and algorithm.
Concepts such as definitions, theorems, and formulas are all vaguely hidden within the descriptions of "techniques".
For example, the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art explains positive and negative numbers, and its definition of positive and negative numbers is indirectly expressed in the art (problem-solving ideas and processes).
While eating wontons and reading Su Song's geometry manuscript, Xu Lai couldn't help but say, "These terms are so confusing. Take area, for example. Sometimes it's called 'power,' sometimes 'product step.' 'Power' also has different meanings. When calculating the area of a triangle, 'power' can refer to both area and the power of a side length. Why not just keep one? From now on, just call it 'area'?"
Su Song, Shen Kuo, and Lin Yi all nodded.
Xu Lai said, "Triangles and rectangles are called areas, while spheres, cylinders, and prisms are called volumes and capacities. We'll only keep volume and capacity, and discard all the other miscellaneous terms!"
These terms are found in ancient mathematical texts, but there are too many similar expressions and they are too varied.
It's dizzying to look at.
Xu Lai pointed to Su Song's geometry manuscript and said bluntly, "If we want to create a new discipline, we should start with the simplest things."
"End and point, only the point is retained."
"The word 'straight' is unclear. It can be broken down into straight lines, rays, and line segments. A straight line is composed of countless points and has no end, extending indefinitely from both ends. A ray is part of a straight line, with one end and no end. A line segment is also part of a straight line, with endpoints on both sides."
"Let's talk about the two-dimensional plane again—"
At first, only Xu Lai was speaking, but gradually Su Song, Shen Kuo, and Lin Yi also joined in.
They redefined the geometric terminology and provided clear definitions for it.
This approach then extends to mathematics, similarly discarding all the cumbersome terminology and retaining only one for definition.
Finally, Xu Lai suggested, "Why don't the four of us work together on the books 'Mathematics' and 'Geometry,' and also write 'A New Method of Arithmetic'?"
It was expanded into "Mathematics," and the mathematical texts related to geometry were compiled into "Geometry."
Su Song stroked his beard and laughed, "That's very true. If these two books are completed, the four of us will surely usher in a new era in mathematics!"
It was an ordinary winter day in the eighth year of the Jiayou era.
But in the scientific history of this time and space, this day is extremely special, and can even be described as sacred.
Because it is the origin of modern science.
The initiator made dumplings for himself that day and took three other people with him to wash the dishes, discussing various definitions while washing the dishes.