Tao Te Ching
Shen Kuo 沈括
(Mengxi)
1031 – 1095 CE
Greatest scientist of his age, statesman, inventor, poet, finance minister, horticulturalist, engineer, art critic, diplomat, military general, musician, and commentator on ancient Daoist texts; Shen Kuo discovered the magnetic compass needle and the concept of true north which revolutionized navigation 400 years before known in Europe, popularized Bi Sheng’s invention of moveable type 400 years before Gutenberg, researched and described climate change, made the first raised-relief map, described UFOs and beneficial insects, re-discovered an ancient Chinese surveying tool unknown in Europe until 1321. Politically aligned to Wang Anshi, he was impeached, exiled and spent his older years with the "nine guests" — playing music, weiqi (Go), Chan meditation, painting, tea, alchemy, poetry, conversation and wine.
Lineages
Politicians Scientists Taoist
Eras
Chinese
5 Kingdom of Dali 大理国 (937 – 1253 CE)Northern Song (960 – 1127 CE)
Liao dynasty (907 – 1125 CE)
Western Xia 西夏 (1038 – 1227 CE)
Sources
Quotes by Shen Kuo (6 quotes)
“Those who speak of the regularities underlying phenomena only apprehend their crude traces.”
Chapters:
65. Simplicity: the Hidden Power of Goodness
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“Too strong a weapon will cut and destroy its own edge.”
Chapters:
9. Know When to Stop
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“Astronomy is nothing more than the outcome of conjecture.”
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“This spiritual state by which foreknowledge is attained can hardly be sought through changes.”
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“Most people can only judge of things by the experiences of ordinary life, but phenomena outside the scope of this are really quite numerous.”
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“How insecure it is to investigate natural principles using only the light of common knowledge, and subjective ideas.”
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