Wujing Zongyao ( Chinese trade. 武 經 總 要 , ex. 武 经 总 要 , pinyin : wǔ jīng zǒng yào , literally: “a collection of the most important military methods”) is a Chinese military treatise published in 1044 during the Northern Song Dynasty . Its compilers are renowned scientists Zeng Gongliang, Ding Du and Yang Weide. The treatise covers a wide range of issues related to military technology, in particular, it considers warships, throwing machines, a compass, a flamethrower. [1] This work is the first manuscript in the world to list gunpowder recipes. [2]
Content
History
The treatise was compiled during the reign of Emperor Renjong (1022-1063) by a group of Chinese scientists in 1040-1044. The main author is Zeng Gongliang ( Chinese. 曾 公 亮 ), his assistants are astronomer Yang Weide ( Chinese. 楊 惟 德 ) and the scientist Ding Du ( Chinese. 度 度 ). [3] Wujing Zongyao is mentioned among the other 347 treatises listed in the Song Shi , a chronicle of the Song Dynasty, which is part of the collection of Twenty-Four Stories . Of these treatises, to our days, in addition to Wujing Zunyao, only Hutsianjing (1004, Xu Dong) and fragments of some texts included in Yunlo datian have survived. The original Wujing Zongyao, which was kept in the Kaifeng Imperial Library, was lost after the Jurchen took the city in 1126, however, several lists of the treatise have been preserved. In 1231, based on the preserved manuscripts, the book was reprinted in South Song. The treatise, with some changes, was reprinted during the Ming Dynasty - in 1439 and 1510, and the publication of 1510 is the most complete. Editions printed later were copies of the 1510 edition. These include 3 reprints of the Ming era, 2 - Qing and the Shanghai edition of 1934. [four]
Contents
Compass and Navigation
The treatise mentions a complex mechanical compass - the Chariot pointing to the south . In addition to him, a new device is mentioned, based on the principle of thermo-residual magnetization. It consisted of a thin iron plate in the shape of a fish, which was specially heated and immersed in water, so that the head of the fish always pointed south. Such compasses, however, were supplanted by more efficient magnetic compasses , first mentioned in 1088, in the work of the Chinese scientist Shen Ko . [five]
Gunpowder and gunpowder
Gunpowder weapons in China were first used at the end of the 9th or beginning of the 10th century. The book of Wujing Zongyao contains 3 recipes for gunpowder. The first was intended for the manufacture of an exploding bomb thrown by means of a catapult. The second was intended to create an incendiary bomb equipped with hooks so that it could catch on wooden structures. The third recipe described the creation of a chemical checker that emits toxic substances when burned. Gunpowder, according to these recipes, besides sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal also contained many other ingredients. [6]
Flamethrowers
The treatise describes the design and operation of the flamethrower , similar to the Byzantine Greek fire . These weapons may have come to China in the 10th century through trade contacts with Arabs. It consisted of a brass tank filled with a combustible liquid, to which a metal pipe was attached. Through it, liquid was pumped out through a pump. For ignition, a hot iron rod served. [7]
Notes
- ↑ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 83
- ↑ Ebrey, 138.
- ↑ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 601
- ↑ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 19-21.
- ↑ Needham, Volume 4, Part 1, 252-253.
- ↑ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 70-71, 117.
- ↑ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 81-84.
Literature
- Ebrey, Patricia Buckley (1999). The Cambridge Illustrated History of China . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43519-6 (hardback); ISBN 0-521-66991-X (paperback).
- Feng Jiasheng (1954). The Invention of Gunpowder and Its Spread to The West . Shanghai: Shanghai People's Press. TQ56-09 / 1
- Liang, Jieming. Chinese Siege Warfare: Mechanical Artillery & Siege Weapons of Antiquity. - 2006. - ISBN ISBN 981-05-5380-3 .
- Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 1, Physics . Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.
- Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic . Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.