Lesson 20 Technology and Culture in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Jia Sixie and the "Essentials of Qi Min

The earliest surviving complete book on agriculture in China is "The Essential Techniques of Qi Min" written by Jia Sixie in the Northern Dynasty. Jia Sixie was the governor of a county and attached great importance to agricultural production. He compiled the agricultural knowledge recorded in ancient books, collected folk songs and proverbs, and drew on the production experience of farmers, which he himself proved and enriched in production practice. The book "The Essential Techniques of Qimin" summarizes the production techniques of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, vice and fishery, and is very rich in content. The book emphasizes the importance of following the laws of nature in agricultural production, and that crops must be grown in accordance with local conditions, so as not to miss the farming season; improving production techniques and tools, and putting forward valuable ideas such as diversified business and commodity production.

This work on agricultural science and technology highlights the pragmatic spirit of ancient Chinese scientists who put people's livelihood at the center of their work, and reflects the high level of agricultural production technology at that time. This agricultural book has had a profound influence on the development of future generations of agronomy and occupies an important position in the history of world agronomy.

Scientist Zu Chongzhi

Zu Chongzhi was an outstanding scientist of the Southern Dynasty who made significant achievements in mathematics, astronomy, calendrics and mechanical engineering. He was a rigorous scholar and never followed blindly. During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Hui, a mathematician from the state of Wei, was the first to propose a correct method of calculating the circumference of the circle with "limit" thinking, and obtained the circumference of the circle as 3.1416. Using Liu Hui's method, Zu Chongzhi was able to calculate the circumference of the circle to the seventh digit after the decimal point, i.e., between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927. This achievement was almost a thousand years ahead of the world.

Zu Chongzhi also made fine observations and calculations of the calendar, and the time of year he measured was only 50 seconds different from the results of modern astronomical science. He developed the most advanced calendar of his time, the Da Ming Calendar, and submitted a petition to the court requesting the implementation of a new calendar. The court ministers did not believe in this young man's new calendar, and accused him of slandering the heavens and abandoning the classics, and refused to implement it. It was not until 510 that the Da Ming Calendar was officially issued, 10 years after the death of Zu Chongzhi.

Zu Chongzhi was also very good at mechanical engineering, and he designed and built a guiding car, a water pestle mill, and a thousand-mile boat. He designed and built the guide car, the water pestle mill, the thousand-mile boat, and so on. The historical books say that the thousand-mile boat he built could travel "more than a hundred miles a day", and the guide car "turned endlessly in a circle, and the division was as one".

Calligraphy, Painting and Sculpture

The invention of paper during the Han Dynasty made writing a quick and convenient vehicle and provided the material conditions for the further development of the art of calligraphy. People's relentless pursuit of calligraphic beauty contributed to the lasting development of the art of calligraphy.

After the Eastern Han Dynasty, calligraphy became a specialized art for people to enjoy. Zhong Yao and Hu Zhao were the most famous calligraphers of the Cao Wei Dynasty, and they both excelled in calligraphy in the late Han Dynasty. Zhong Yao created his own regular script calligraphy, which is both rigid and flexible, and has many different interests between the dots and the drawings, and later people called his regular script a masterpiece. In the Western Jin Dynasty, a doctor of calligraphy was established to teach students calligraphy, and Zhong and Hu calligraphy were prescribed as the standard calligraphic style.

In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi took the art of calligraphy to a new stage. He studied calligraphy diligently and inherited the advantages of various calligraphic styles, and his regular, running, and cursive calligraphy was particularly masterful. His regular and running calligraphy was free from the traces of clerical and seal script, and his calligraphy was praised as the best in the ancient and modern worlds, with strokes that "float like floating clouds and are as straight as a dragon. Wang Xizhi's masterpiece is the "Preface to the Lanting Collection", which is a masterpiece of his art. Wang Xizhi was known as the "Sage of Calligraphy" due to his outstanding achievements in the art of calligraphy.

The rulers of the Northern Wei dynasty were devoted to Han Chinese culture, and the art of calligraphy was valued, and the calligraphic style of the inscriptions handed down to them is strong, heavy, and bold.

The art of Chinese calligraphy is not only a cultural treasure of the Chinese nation, but is also unique in the world's cultural and artistic treasures.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, religious painting dominated due to the prevalence of Buddhism. Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was the most famous painter at that time, and he was good at figure painting, with beautiful and lively lines, and the figures were subtle and full of personality. Gu Kai-zhi produced many works during his life, and the works that have come down to us include the copies of "The Proverbs of Women" and "The Picture of Luo Shen Fu". At the same time, landscape painting began to take shape due to the increase of landscape poetry.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the ruling class, in order to promote Buddhism, in some places on the cliffs, carved many grottoes. The most famous of these are the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan. In these two grottoes, thousands of Buddha statues are carved. These statues, which inherit the fine traditions of Chinese sculpture since the Qin and Han dynasties, also absorb the characteristics of foreign Buddhist plastic arts, are magnificent and exquisitely carved works of art.（1045words）