【What the Reader Says】
Author: Chen Nanxian (Member of China Writers Association, Professor of Guangdong Technical Normal University)
Why is the highest award in China's brewing industry "Yidi Award"? Who in the history of the continent was enfeoffed for invention? What is the ancestor of China's automotive industry? These questions can be found in the book "Chinese Craftsmen in the Classics". Recently, I have studied this book repeatedly and believe that there is a lot to say about it.
"Chinese Craftsmen" Zhan Chuanhai by Shanghai Science and Technology Education Publishing House The picture is provided by Shanghai Science and Technology Education Publishing House
"Craftsman": ancient and dedicated
The whole book is divided into eleven chapters according to the theme of "Hundred Workers with Family Names", "Attacking Wood and Unique Life", "Le Pottery Memory", "Copper and Iron Age", "Cloth Splendid Embroidery", "Qingshi Left Paper", "Movable Characters For Life", "Water Conservancy Craftsman", "ShiZhen Materia Medica", "Wine Talk", etc., from all aspects of clothing, food, housing and transportation, the ancient Chinese craftsmen have been carefully portrayed or individually or grouped.
From the book, we can learn the stories of many ancient craftsmen - the Second Emperor of Yanhuang, and called the ancestors of the Chinese nation's humanities, they can also be called the ancestors of Chinese technological inventions; in the automobile exhibition hall of the German Mercedes-Benz Group, there is a statue of Xia "Chezheng" Xi Zhong more than 4,000 years ago, who invented the carriage that year, so he is regarded as the ancestor of the world; Zhuangzi left to posterity idioms such as "transporting jin into the wind", "ghostly craftsmanship", "Cuding xie niu", these idioms are actually vivid reproductions of Chinese craftsmen; Mozi is a mechanical expert born from the craftsman class. Military defense experts, social activists, thinkers, scientists; Lu Ban is a famous inventor, in addition to saws, carpenters use a full set of guys such as ink buckets, planers, drills, chisels, curved rulers, etc. are all invented by him, and Lu Ban has become the protector of the carpenter industry, and now the highest award in China's construction industry "Lu Ban Award" is the best memorial to him.
There are also some interesting stories in the book - from Jiang Wei's "Biography of Pu Yuan" during the Three Kingdoms period, it can be seen that Pu Yuan not only made a divine sword, but also a legendary carpenter. He was one of the makers of the wooden cow and the flowing horse, and Zhuge Liang's role was to affirm the bold ideas of the craftsmen based on Pu Yuan, and gave strong support; among the well-known scientists in ancient mainland China, Huang Daobo was the only woman, who had been recognized by UNESCO as a "world cultural celebrity", she made innovative contributions to textile machinery, and also made significant contributions to the whole warp and weaving; Li Bing became a scientist as an official, which is really a legend. In addition, the author also describes the group image of the winemaking masters Yi Di and Du Kang, the sword casting masters Gan generals, the hammers, etc., as well as ceramics and smelting workers.
The development of the times is inseparable from craftsmen, and the construction of a prosperous, strong, democratic, and civilized modern country is also inseparable from craftsmen. Tracing the soul of craftsmen to ancient history and carrying forward the spirit of craftsmen is the original intention of the book "Chinese Craftsmen in Classics".
The picture of the Zenghou Yizun disk cast by Chinese craftsmen using the lost wax method is provided by the Shanghai Science and Technology Education Publishing House
Technique: Deep and long
China is the only country among the four ancient civilizations where civilization has not been interrupted. The writing of "Chinese Craftsmen in the Classics" is not only for the craftsman to establish a biography, but also for the ancient Chinese scientific and technological inventions.
In the book, there are the following discussions: "Kao Gong Ji", published in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, is the earliest handicraft monograph on the mainland, and the record of bows and arrows in the book has opened a precedent for human cognition of aerodynamics. The Book of Ink has a total of 8 records of geometric optical knowledge, which is more than a hundred years earlier than the optical record of the ancient Greek great mathematician Euclid. Li Jie's "Construction of the French Style", published in 1103, is a code book on architectural design and construction promulgated by the Northern Song Dynasty, the most complete architectural technology book in ancient mainland China, and also a world-class architectural work at that time. Song Yingxing's Tiangong Kaiwu, first published in 1637, is the world's first comprehensive work on agriculture and handicraft production. The earliest pharmaceutical classics in the mainland are the Shennong Materia Medica written in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and later there is the "Shennong Materia Medica Collection" written by Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasty, and the "New Cultivation of Materia Medica" by Su Jing of the Tang Dynasty. Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" of the Ming Dynasty can be called the first pharmacopoeia work in China.
In addition to the traceability of the classics, the combing of many techniques in the book is also quite solid.
The level of craftsmanship of ancient craftsmen on the mainland can start from the pottery making in ancient times. The faience pottery of "Yangshao culture", the black pottery of "Longshan culture", and the white pottery of "Xiaotun culture" are all splendid and outstanding representatives, and have also become synonymous with related cultures. As for porcelain, it appeared at the latest in the middle of the Shang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was a period of comprehensive development of the porcelain industry, with five famous kilns of "Jun, Ru, Guan, Ge and Ding". Porcelain, representing the highest level of technology and craftsmanship in China's daily manufacturing, is the product with the largest number of exports made in China, and is also the most advanced and universal presentation of the wisdom of Chinese craftsmen to the world. During the Three Dynasties of Kang Yongqian, the level of Chinese porcelain craftsmanship and output reached the highest peak in history.
As for the construction process, mainland craftsmen had already mastered the "arching technique" during the Qin and Han dynasties, and they built the top of the tomb into the form of an arch circle. "Arch technology" is also widely used in bridges. Zhao Zhou Bridge, built during the Sui Dynasty, has been more than 1400 years ago. Why does it "arch"? Because it conforms to the dissipation principle of force. The design innovation of Zhaozhou Bridge is first reflected in the fact that its arch is circular instead of semicircular, making the bridge as low and flat as possible, so that cars and horses can easily pass. Its second design innovation is the single arch. This kind of bridge does not fake piers, soaring like a rainbow, overriding the north and south, which is a bold and unprecedented creation in the history of bridges. Zhaozhou Bridge has two small arches on the left and right shoulders of the big arch, that is, an open-shoulder arch bridge, which is the third design innovation of Zhaozhou Bridge, which is a perfect combination of mechanics and aesthetics.
From this, it can be seen that "Chinese Craftsmen in the Classics" is a concise history of Chinese science and technology.
The construction of ancient Chinese wooden buildings is provided by Shanghai Science and Technology Education Publishing House
Achievements: Outstanding and brilliant
In 2021, CCTV launched a large-scale cultural program "China in the Classics". Through the form of time and space dialogue, the program shows the Chinese wisdom contained in the classics. And Zhan Chuanhai's "Chinese Craftsmen in the Classics" makes people more firm in "cultural self-confidence". For example, the following examples.
Simu Peng Da Fang Ding is the largest and most important bronze ceremonial vessel unearthed in the world so far. Dating back more than 3,200 years, it can be called "the treasure of the town and the country".
Paper is a gift contributed by the continent to the world. In 105 AD, it was called the "first year of paper" in history by experts in the history of science and technology. In March 1983, the Chicago Tribune in the United States reported on the achievements of ancient Chinese science and technology: "China's Cai Lun invented papermaking, which spread to Europe, which was shocking, comparable to the exploration of sending people to the moon now." ”
Unearthed in 1972 in Mawangdui, Changsha, the plain gauze garment weighs only 48 grams, making it the earliest, most completely preserved, most refined and lightest piece of clothing in the world. What underpins the "world's lightest" is the mainland's technology of using pancreatic enzymes to practice silk, which Western countries did not begin to use until 1931, at least 1200 years later than China.
Dujiangyan is the water conservancy project that has been built for the longest time in the world, purely for the benefit of the people, and has been used so far.
The steep gate of the Lingqu Canal, which is the same principle as the Gezhouba of the Yangtze River, is the earliest canal lock technology used in the world, which can be called the "father of the lock".
The "Compendium of Materia Medica", the earliest scientific classification of plant medicine (grass), predates the book "Natural Systems" by Linnaeus, the founder of plant taxonomy, more than 160 years ago and is far more perfect than the latter. The Ming Dynasty literary scholar Wang Shizhen spoke highly of the book in the preface to the Compendium of Materia Medica: "If you enter the Garden of the Golden Valley, the color is dazzling; if you are in the palace of the Dragon King, the treasure is Chen; if you are curling jade, the hair can be indexed." ”
Cultural self-confidence is a more basic, deeper and more lasting force in the development of a country and a nation. "Chinese Craftsmen in the Classics" This is a good book that firmly adheres to "cultural self-confidence".
The Eastern Han Dynasty wheel portrait stone rubbing picture is provided by Shanghai Science and Technology Education Publishing House
epilogue
When reading this book, the author can still feel the accumulation of the author's pen.
The author said that this book contains his childhood learning and life memories and current production life experience. Speaking of the relationship between winemaking and women, the author said: "Isn't our home-brewed wine made by our mother? The fine wine brewed by the Hakka in Meizhou, Guangdong Is called 'Hakka Niangjiu'. It can be seen that what is written in the book comes from his life.
When talking about the difference between pottery and porcelain, he said: "Pottery is more grounded, and porcelain is more connected to the sky. Pottery volkswagen, elegant porcelain. The pottery is simple and the porcelain is gorgeous. Pottery is more practical, porcelain is more aesthetic. Porcelain firing has a higher level of science and technology and ingenuity than pottery firing. However, porcelain is the inheritance, innovation and development of pottery. Such insights abound in books of insight.
The book "Chinese Craftsmen in Classic Books" is full of admiration for the craftsmen of big countries and Chinese civilization. However, the author did not blindly worship, but adhered to an objective and fair stance. For example, he sees some of the places in the Compendium of Materia Medica that are criticized by today's people as follows—those bizarre "healing texts" bear witness to the ancient times when medicine and witchcraft are not distinguished, and the footprints of medicine developed from witchcraft, which can be used for our research from various perspectives such as cultural anthropology, folklore, and psychology. The author's argument is objective and rational.
Although this book is a history of science and technology, it is very interesting to read. Mr. Zhan Chuanhai said in the preface that he wanted to "open up the separation of literature and science, integrate popular science into literature and history, see skills and people more, introduce knowledge, and strive for more aesthetic prose works." After reading through this book several times, I deeply feel that this goal has been achieved.
Guangming Daily ( 2022-05-02 07 edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily