Her name is too unfamiliar to the Chinese, however, strange places have scenery;
She lived only 29 years in her life, prematurely, but this did not prevent her research from having a profound impact, so much so that the authoritative journal Nature once selected her as one of the "female scientists who laid the foundations for scientific development".
In the vast starry sky above us, a certain asteroid and a crater on Venus, named after her—
Her name is Wang Zhenyi.
Wang Zhenyi was born in qianlong in the 33rd year of the Qing Dynasty, in 1768.
The word "Zhenyi" makes people think that this girl was born in a family of scholars.
Yes, Wang Zhenyi was not born ordinary, her grandfather was an official, with a large collection of books and proficiency in calendars, while her father was proficient in medicine. With such an intellectual's family background, coupled with Wang Zhenyi's travels to the north and south of the great river when she was young, so "reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles", Wang Zhenyi's insight, personality, and ambition are different.
She had studied riding and archery, and her archery skills were first-class; she was fluent in medical science and engineering poetry, and praised her in the "Biography of Lady Deqing", that is, "concurrently literate and martial arts, six arts bypass, bo and able to be refined".
Wang Zhenyi, who can write "the first letter and eyebrows, who says that children are not heroes", naturally will not be like the young girls of the same era as the young women of the same era as the wives of others - others began to study "creating people" in their teens, and Wang Zhenyi began to study "astronomy" in her teens.
In the "prosperous world" at that time, which was "closed to the country, imprisoned in thought, blindly arrogant, and contemptuous of science", Wang Zhenyi's proficiency in natural sciences such as medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and geography was almost all self-taught.
At the same time as learning mathematics by herself, Wang Zhenyi also "incidentally" compiled a "simplified version" of "Calculation" - "Calculation is easy to know", which can be regarded as the "mathematical popular science reading" of that era.
In addition to "Easy to Know", other works such as "Pythagorean Trigonometry", "Simple Calculation of Calendars", and "Elephant Number Peeping Yu" are all derivatives of her self-taught.
When it comes to "Elephant Counting Peeping Yu", it is inevitable that there is a preface in the book - "Make sure that it is well understood and simply clear." In short, her original intention in doing mathematical science was to "simplify knowledge as much as possible."
Another reason for self-study is that ordinary people in the feudal era were not allowed to "study astronomy privately", and they were more serious than heads!
Therefore, the girl's possession of astronomical instruments can only appear in fantasy and standing painting.
However, none of this was difficult for Wang Zhenyi. If you lack props, you can make some yourself, or by using something that is within reach around you.
For example, in her book "Lunar Eclipse Solution", she mentions that the formation process of solar and lunar eclipses was successfully simulated through lamps, mirrors, and round tables.
Surprisingly, she has noticed the correctness of the theory of the earth circle and the heliocentric theory very early on, and naturally has such works as "Huang Chi Er Dao Discernment", "The Theory of the Circle of the Earth", "The Theory of the Earth Than the Nine Heavens", "The Theory of the Wheel of the Year Set on the Earth's Center", "Astrological Illustrations" and other works.
Self-taught, beautiful girl, knowledgeable, writings and other elements are mixed together, and today, it is the top of the circle of contemporary knowledge creators!
If there is a gimmick, there is another one - these academic achievements were completed before Wang Zhenyi was 30 years old.
Wang Zhenyi did not get married until the age of 25, which is a negative example of "late marriage" in that era.
Although Lang Jun Zhan Ming's family situation is average, he is very willing to support his wife's "scientific research career", such as "The First Collection of Defeng Pavilion" was published with the help of Zhan Ming's collation.
However, the real world is more of a tragedy, and this pair of sympathetic ones has only been sweet for 4 years.
In 1797, the talented woman died of a tragic illness.
Therefore, the lower original painting is not only a long leg that makes people intoxicated, you can also interpret it as "incense and jade death".
It is said that after Wang Zhenyi's death, the manuscript works left behind were compiled by posterity to a staggering 5 or 60 volumes. Unfortunately, not many have survived to this day, and the Defeng Pavilion Collection, which is currently in the Jinling Series, contains some of the contents of volumes 5, 6 and 7.
Wang Zhenyi's achievements in the "astronomical calendar" are indeed called "the arrogance of not letting the eyebrows be shaved", and the stargazing and looking at the moon are all at the peak of a woman's Fanghua, and this "Fang Nian Wangxing" also has her charm.
However, she who once wrote the phrase "the husband's ambition is talented, who says that the daughter is not a hero", in the feudal era of "macroscopic look at the taiping and prosperous world, microscopic look at thousands of holes", is destined to be just a "point of light" that is not conspicuous at all.
Because of a postcard, because it was mentioned by an international authoritative academic journal, because it was named a celestial body, because it was interpreted by "National Treasure", this strange woman who lived two centuries ago, extremely intelligent, talented and sincere, finally let her own excellence surpass her own era.
Looking back at Wang Zhenyi's life, it was short but shining--the red face of heavenly jealousy was false, it was true that she withered away when Fanghua was in its prime, and in the feudal, backward, and decadent Qing Dynasty more than 200 years ago, she had to live as a legend.
I will never see my own Zhu Yan ci mirror, I am afraid that our descendants understand this, another kind of pleasant sadness!
Due to space limitations, Wang Zhenyi's legend can only be pointed out. Interested parties can learn more about it through the web and books.