Chapter 329 Rejuvenating the country through science and technology
Chapter 329: Rejuvenating the Nation through Science and Technology
People in later generations will know that China is one of the four ancient civilizations in the world with a long history. The most famous of them is the so-called "four great inventions". Among these four great inventions, in addition to papermaking, gunpowder and the compass and printing were finally perfected and applied during the Song Dynasty.
The philosopher Marx once said that gunpowder blew the knightly class to pieces, the compass (another name for the compass or its extension) opened the world market and established colonies, and printing became a tool of Protestantism.
There is no doubt that the science and technology of the Song Dynasty was definitely ahead of the world at that time. Relatively speaking, the spirit of exploration of the unknown world by people during the Song Dynasty was second to none in the entire ancient times. In addition to the four great inventions, the Song Dynasty also had many Although his inventions are not as well-known as the four great inventions, they still occupy a very important position in the history of science in our country.
He has made impressive achievements in astronomy, mathematics, calendar, medicine, architecture, shipbuilding, commerce and many other fields.
However, China's rulers since ancient times have only recognized power. To them, those so-called creations and inventions are just insignificant gadgets. Since the Yuan Dynasty, this concept has become more and more ingrained, and the emperor is aloof. They all agreed that China was the center of the world, and that other places were just uncivilized barbaric lands. Until hundreds of years later, when the Western powers used foreign guns and cannons to forcibly open our door, our emperor He also condescendingly called those red-haired Japanese devils "barbarians" in the Forbidden City.
Ridiculous or sad, the development process of Chinese history has actually ended with the collapse of the Song Dynasty.
Perhaps, this is the reason why the guardians sent me to the late Song Dynasty. As the guardians of the Chinese clan, their responsibility is to inherit the continuation of civilization and protect the integrity of history. With the development of society, these guardians finally found I found a way to travel through time and space, so I was "luckily" selected by the guardian.
Or maybe, I am also one of the guardians, and it is my fate and responsibility to travel to the late Southern Song Dynasty.
In accordance with the unified arrangements of the relevant departments of the imperial court, since late February, various major newspapers and tabloids in Lin'an City have used a quarter of their page to publish various reports on Science and Technology Month activities. By the end of March, every day The headlines of an issue of a newspaper must be related to the Science and Technology Month activities. In addition to the publicity and reporting of the news, it must also publish the relevant policies and measures of the court for the development of science and technology. In addition, all major newspapers must open columns to publish A simple popular science knowledge lecture. The content mainly includes what science is, why science and technology should be developed, what benefits the development of science and technology will bring to people, and an introduction to natural sciences such as mathematics, physics and chemistry. These materials are all provided by Lin'an University Relevant distinctions are provided by the Royal Academy of Sciences.
As the Royal Newspaper of the Song Dynasty led by myself, I spared no effort to publicize this technological revolution. Because the news I know is faster than others, the content is wider, and the Royal Newspaper represents the royal family, so since its establishment The sales have always been very good. In just a few months, it has become the largest newspaper in Lin'an City, surpassing the official newspaper run by the imperial court. In order to cooperate with this event, the Royal Daily has specially added a supplement, all of which are used to publish relevant information. The content of the scientific and technological revolution, and for the first time in the newspaper, there was a prize-winning quiz activity on related knowledge. Of course, these questions and answers are extremely simple. The people of Lin'an City only need to fill in the answers, write their names and addresses, and submit them to various places in the Royal News You can apply at the issuing point or the Royal Newspaper. After the newspaper staff have verified it, the winners will be published in the next two issues of the newspaper. The winners can go to the issuing point to claim their prizes with their identity certificates issued by the government.
Although the prizes are not very expensive, because the topic is simple, participants only need to carefully read the contents of the scientific and technological revolution and popular science knowledge lectures published in newspapers, and they can easily get rewards. Therefore, this method has aroused great interest from people. .
Starting from the first supplement issued in late February, the supplements of Royal Daily News have been sold out almost as soon as they come out. As long as you answer the questions correctly, the amount of prizes you get is far greater than the amount of a newspaper. Why not? Woolen cloth.
No one thought that the seven-day supplement would become one of the "items" in high demand in Lin'an City throughout March. The only ones who were a little depressed were the editors-in-chief of the Royal Newspaper Company. Although the sales volume of the newspaper in March reached It reached the peak since its inception, but March was also the only month that suffered losses, and it was a month with huge losses.
"Why can't these questions be difficult?" Huang Yong and Liu Fu, the two editors-in-chief of Royal News, thought, but these were all after the end of March.
For the common people, terms such as science, technology, and scientists are all new terms. Out of curiosity, these terms have become the most popular chat content among the people in Lin'an City before and after meals, replacing what once occupied the An unsolved case of major importance.
On March 1st, the headlines of major newspapers all published the four characters "Rejuvenate the Country with Science and Technology" inscribed by Xie Daoqing, the Empress Dowager of the Song Dynasty. I originally wanted to try it myself, but I really couldn't use calligraphy, so I used a hard pen to inscribe it. Since it was not effective, we had to ask Xie Daoqing, who was very good at calligraphy, to take action. Whether in government or in opposition, Xie Daoqing's reputation and reputation were among the best, so he could naturally take on this important task.
The four characters "Rejuvenating the Country through Science and Technology" written by Queen Mother Xie Daoqing officially kicked off the first scientific and technological revolution in the Song Dynasty.
On the same day, based on the candidates proposed by Lin'an University and the Royal Academy of Sciences, and after my review, the Government Affairs Council announced the list of National Scholars of Science in the Song Dynasty.
There are a total of 16 scientists who were awarded the title of National Scholar of Science in the first batch. Among them, the highest level is the third-grade National Scholar of Science. There are three in total. They are Shen Yiqiu, Vice President of Lin'an University, Yun Bofei, Master of Gunpowder Control and Firearms, and Yang Hui, director of the Department of Mathematics at Lin'an University. Among the three, Shen Yiqiu was rated as a third-grade national scholar for his many inventions. One of his inventions was the improvement of deep well drilling technology. This improved drilling technology is almost the same as that of later generations. The same drilling technology as before, and iron tools were used for the first time to replace the original wooden drill barrel. However, later drill barrels used more advanced alloy copper. This technology was even called "the ancient Chinese drill barrel" by later generations. "The Fifth Great Invention", Yang Hui is because of his achievements in the field of mathematics. His invention of "Yang Hui's Triangle" alone is an amazing achievement, so I have appointed him to be promoted from the original fourth-grade national scholar to a third-grade, Yun Bo Flying is because of firearms research, but because the field he studies is a state secret, the published achievements only vaguely mention that he has made unique contributions to the development of weapons, so he is ranked third grade.
In the first nominations, Lin'an University and the Royal Academy of Sciences only recommended starting with the fourth-grade Guoshi. Although I have reiterated the importance of science and technology many times, scientists including Shen Yiqiu believe that the value of science is not enough to compete with the third-grade. In the eyes of the people, third-rank officials are indeed high-ranking ministers of the DPRK, just like the minister of the Ministry of Industry, who is only a third-rank official. Even the great scientist Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty said that his research inventions were just Gadgets, it can be seen that ancient society’s awareness of science was quite low.
Originally, I wanted to directly promote Yun Bofei and others to the rank of second-grade National Scholars of Science, but after a long examination, I decided to start from the third-rank National Scholars.
There are also three fourth-grade science scholars, headed by Quanjue, and there are two fifth-grade scholars, four sixth-grade scholars, and four seventh-grade scholars. I know these four seventh-grade science scholars. They are Huang Daopo, who improved the textile machine, and Yang Xiaozhi, who invented the clock, warship designer Song Wuxin, and imperial physician Zhou Hui, an expert in acupuncture. Yang Xiaozhi was originally nominated as a sixth-grade national scholar for his invention of the clock, but he insisted that when the error of the clock can be controlled to one word (five minutes), you will be eligible to be promoted to the sixth rank of national scholar.
In the square in front of Lin'an University (formerly Gongyuan), the Government Affairs Council posted the list of sixteen national scholars and their basic achievements at the original red list distribution office.
The names of these sixteen people are very unfamiliar to the common people. Except for families with children studying at Lin'an University, they almost know nothing about them. As for their inventions and achievements, they are even less clear about them.
Under the bulletin board, there were many students from Lin'an University, distributing leaflets about the Science and Technology Month activities, while constantly explaining and answering questions to the people watching. What interested the people the most was not these people and the achievements themselves, but the National Scholars in Science. a matter of taste.
"You can become an official by inventing a gadget, and you can even become a third-rank official,"
"Brother, you see clearly, it is equivalent to the salary and treatment of an official of the same level. It is not a real official."
"It's almost the same, it was also awarded by the imperial court,"
"That's true,"
"Why don't you, brother, invent something? Isn't it written above? The imperial court encourages people all over the world to participate in scientific and technological activities. They can declare relevant inventions or academic articles on their own. Once selected, they can get the corresponding Awards, or employment at the Royal Academy of Sciences, and scientific research funds issued by the court, etc."
"Hey, brother, you don't know something. Although your elder brother and I are rich in knowledge, I am only limited to poems, books and scriptures. I know nothing about these natural sciences."
The other side of the red list is a display of some scientific and technological achievements. There are new fireworks, small "machine" people, textile machines, acupuncture bronze figures, and of course a large number of models. Among the exhibits, the most attractive What attracts the most attention is undoubtedly the big clock invented by Yang Xiaozhi. It is large in size, heavy in weight, and can tell the time relatively accurately and intuitively.
There are a lot more people watching here. It doesn't matter whether you understand it or not. The ability to watch the excitement is innate. Moreover, these are extremely new things that I have never seen before.
As evening approached, a staff member shouted loudly: "There will be a fireworks show below. Please stand at the edge of the square."