Tiangong Kaiwu (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature)
Tiangong Kaiwu was the world's first comprehensive work on agriculture and handicraft production. It was first published in 1637 by the Ming Dynasty scientist Song Yingxing (1587- c.1666). The book covers 18 fields, documents over 130 techniques and tools, and features 123 vivid illustrations.
Regarding agriculture, the book discusses the impact of soil, climate conditions, and cultivation methods on the evolve- ment of crop varieties. On handicraft making, the book covers the main industries of the time, such as textiles, ceramics, metallurgy, and machinery. It records many technological achievements that were world-leading at the time, such as a textile machine called "flower machine", a metalwork technique that combined pig iron, wrought iron, and steel, and an advanced air blowing device – piston bellows – among others.
Known as the "Encyclopedia of Crafts in 17th Century China", the book was widely disseminated in East Asia and Europe and had a significant impact. It was instrumental in promoting the agricultural revolution in Europe and alleviating the raw material crisis in European papermaking. The concept of "unity of heaven and man" and the humanistic ethical ideas of science and technology contained in the book still provide inspiration for today's exploration of the relationship between humanity, nature, and technology.
《天工開物》
《天工開物》是世界上第一部關(guān)于農(nóng)業(yè)和手工業(yè)生產(chǎn)的綜合性著作，初刊于1637年，作者是明代科學(xué)家宋應(yīng)星（1587—約1666）。該書涉及18個(gè)生產(chǎn)領(lǐng)域，記錄了130 多項(xiàng)生產(chǎn)技術(shù)和工具，并繪制123幅精美的插圖進(jìn)行生動(dòng)呈現(xiàn)。
在農(nóng)業(yè)方面，該書論述了土壤、氣候條件以及栽培方法對(duì)農(nóng)作物品種變化的影響。在手工業(yè)方面，書中內(nèi)容涵蓋了紡織業(yè)、陶瓷生產(chǎn)、冶煉業(yè)、機(jī)械制造業(yè)等當(dāng)時(shí)主要生產(chǎn)行業(yè)。書中記錄了諸多當(dāng)時(shí)處于世界領(lǐng)先地位的技術(shù)成就，比如最先進(jìn)的紡織機(jī)械“花機(jī)”，從生鐵到熟鐵再合煉成鋼的生產(chǎn)系統(tǒng)，以及最先進(jìn)的鼓風(fēng)設(shè)備“活塞式風(fēng)箱圖”，等等。
該書在東亞和歐美都有著廣泛的傳播和影響，被譽(yù)為“中國(guó)17世紀(jì)的工藝百科全書”， 曾直接推動(dòng)歐洲農(nóng)業(yè)革命，并幫助緩解歐洲造紙業(yè)的原料危機(jī)。該書蘊(yùn)含的“天人合一”理念和人本主義科技倫理思想，對(duì)于當(dāng)今人與自然、人與科技的探討依然具有啟示意義。
