Compass Introduction Compass, called Sina in ancient times, is mainly composed of magnetic needles installed on the shaft. Under the action of natural geomagnetic field, the magnetic needle can rotate freely and keep in the tangential direction of magnetic meridian. The north pole of the magnetic needle points to the geographical north pole, and the direction can be distinguished by using this property.
It is often used in navigation, geodesy, tourism and military affairs. The invention of the compass with physical direction indication has three parts, namely Sina, compass and magnetic needle, all of which belong to the invention of China. According to ancient mine records, it first appeared in the Cishan area during the Warring States Period.
The history of the invention of compass in the Warring States Period
According to ancient mine records, it first appeared in the Cishan area during the Warring States Period. The predecessor of compass is Sina, one of the four great inventions in ancient China.
According to March 1982 Guangming Daily, Cishan (in present-day Wu 'an, Handan City, Hebei Province) is the birthplace of the compass, one of the four great inventions in China. According to ancient mine records, Geography of Ming Dynasty said that there was a magnetic mountain in the southwest of Wu 'an County, Cizhou, which produced magnetite. The Ming Yi Award also states that there is a magnetic mountain in the southwest of Wu 'an County, Cizhou, which produces magnetite. "Ancient Mine Records" also records the theory of "Ming Yi Governance": Cishan, 30 miles southwest of the county seat, is a primary mine, hence the name Zhou. Cishan, the hometown of compass.
One of the ideas is that
Wang Zhenduo's view that the invention of the compass did not exceed the Song Dynasty at the earliest was reflected in his series of research results. As stated in the article Sina, Compass and Compass (I): What did the ancients call it from the weekend to Li Tang? Sina? Or? A tour guide? It is an instrument to identify the direction, which is very convenient to carry and test, just like a compass. Wang Zhenduo believes that in the Tang Dynasty, portable instruments similar to compasses have appeared, but they are by no means compasses. Wang Zhenduo regards this object as a transitional form of compass. Wang Zhenduo did not clearly judge the specific time when the compass was invented. Due to the lack of materials and scientific rigor, he did not make a judgment easily. In Sina, Compass and Compass (I), he said: The method of (guiding) fish is about half a century earlier than the method of acupuncture, but the relationship between them remains to be discovered and explained by historical evidence. That's what I said in this situation. In addition, in the same paper, it is said that in ancient China, the magnetic field was artificially transmitted by sewing steel needles, but no historical evidence of adults making magnetic compasses was found before 1 1 century. This is based on Shen Kuo's Meng Qian Bitan Magazine I and Meng Qian Bitan Supplement in the Northern Song Dynasty. These two articles record this kind of artificial magnetic compass. In addition, in this article, Wang Zhenduo criticized the misunderstanding that the eminent monk and his party in the Tang Dynasty noticed that the magnetic needle pointed in a different direction from the North Pole in The Study of China written by Alexanderwylie. Finally, the paper solemnly puts forward: According to the records of magnetic needle bias in China, no historical evidence earlier than Meng Qianbitan has been found, should it be kept in mind? Slightly east? , KouZongShuang remember? East? , that is, the deflection angle of the magnetic needle. This is because due to the so-called material limitation, Wang Zhenduo can't have an exact understanding of the discovery time of China magnetic declination. Regarding the invention of the compass, Wang Zhenduo only gave a rough guess. In Sina Compass and Compass (I), Wang Zhenduo said: In the era of the invention of the compass, people thought that the magnetic needle used by Cotan in Zhou Ping and the magnetic needle made in Shen Kuo were early. The invention of the compass should be the result of gradual improvement over a long period of time, and the forms in different periods should also appear in different forms. Mr. Wang Can only gave a time interval.
The second view
Needham's point of view, the magnetic declination of the sequence, first east and then west, is reflected in the concentric circles designed by China Kanyu compass, and these concentric circles have been preserved until now. Needless to say, the magnetic compass was used for navigation long after it was used for geomantic purposes in China. However, the navigation compass was invented by China people, and it may have happened some time before 1 1 century or earlier. Needham clearly discussed the compass, magnetic declination, compass and other issues in this paragraph. Although some conclusions were too arbitrary, he made a concluding conclusion about the invention of China's compass.
Mr. Pan Jixing summarized the research of Mr. Wang Zhenduo and Mr. Needham, but obviously he agreed with Mr. Li's point of view, and elaborated several materials mentioned by Mr. Needham in his book The Origin and Spread of four great inventions of ancient china and Its World Influence. But at the same time, like Mr. Needham, he is too arbitrary on some issues and obviously lacks evidence, which is unbelievable.
As he said in his book, there have been several technical changes from Sina instrument to compass, which occurred in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to Tang Dynasty. His conclusion is not supported by much material. But this conclusion is generally correct. Like Joseph Needham, Mr. Pan Jixing compared tadpoles, frogs and frogs in Cui Bao's Notes on Ancient and Modern Times, A Hanging Needle and abstruse fish. As a transition from spoon to needle. He said: the combination of the magnetic needle in the air and the azimuth disk was used in the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, which really played a guiding role, thus realizing the transformation from the ship to the needle as Mr. Needham said. In the same book, Mr. Pan Jixing also made a judgment on the appearance of the water compass. He said: There is evidence that the maker of the Kanyu compass in the Tang Dynasty in the 9th century A.D. has taken this decisive step. On the same page, he once again stressed that the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties began to improve Sina's technology, but by the end of the Tang Dynasty, the transformation from Sina to compass was completed. People in the Northern Song Dynasty enjoyed these scientific and technological achievements and carried them forward. This should be the context of historical development. The development of compass is further expounded. On the basis of Mr. Needham's research, Pan Jixing absorbed some views of Mr. Wang Zhenduo and redefined the time and process of the invention of the compass. Although there are still some shortcomings, on the whole, this is a progress in the history of science and technology. There are also some scholars who either make amazing conclusions without new materials or lack of materials, and make new conclusions based on a certain material, but in general, they fail to convince everyone and have little influence. The origin of the compass was judged in the Tang Dynasty. Whether this assertion is correct or not, it is impossible to draw such an assertion only from this material.
The third view
In the collection of Chengdu folk collectors, a jade (stone) with great academic research value was found. It consists of seven jade (stone) boards, with figures on the front and ancient Chinese characters on the back. Especially in the middle of the fourth jade (stone) plate, there is a circular pattern with something similar to half the world on it. At the top of the earth (North Pole), there is a small hole with a diameter of 4cm. A jade (stone) compass is inserted in the hole, and there are four ancient characters of east, south, west and north on the circular pattern. According to the analysis of the professional knowledge of the existing disciplines, these four ancient characters are the same as the east, south, west and north characters on the compass we use in geological mapping today. Except East, the other three characters, South, West and North, are different from Oracle Bone Inscriptions. It is very important to find the compass on the jade (stone) in Sanxingdui, and the view that the compass first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period will be completely overthrown. The discovery of the compass on Sanxingdui jade (stone) pushed the discovery history of China compass to Fuxi era. The compass found by Sanxingdui is jade (stone) and can't turn. This is symbolic.
In China's azimuth culture, the early form of compass has gone through three stages, from astronomical positioning to magnetic Sina, and finally from Sina to compass, followed by the continuous progress of azimuth determination technology.
compass
Sina is the earliest magnetic conductor. Sina's name began in the Warring States Period (22 1 in 475 BC) and ended in the Tang Dynasty (6 18 in 907 AD). Because Sina's ancient meaning has been constantly evolving, it has forged an indissoluble bond with a series of ancient inventions.
The earliest document that recorded Sina was Guiguzi, which wrote: When Zheng people take jade, they must carry Sina's car, because they are not confused. As can be seen from the records in Guiguzi, Zheng people must take Sina with them to get jade, just to avoid getting lost.
Among the references to Sina, Wang Chong's account is the most important. He clearly pointed out that Sina's shovel is a guide on the ground. A long spoon refers to a spoon. Sina, which has this guiding performance, should be a magnetic director. However, the land here refers to the territory of ancient mechanical disks. The mechanical disk was invented in Qin and Han dynasties and used for games or divination. There are 24 directions around the site, and the symbol of the Big Dipper is engraved in the center. According to these records, Wang Zhenduo, a famous modern historian of science and technology and expert in cultural relics reproduction in China, successfully restored Sina in the Han Dynasty (as shown in figure 1).
Figure 1 Sina model (restored by Wang Zhenduo) The spoon-shaped Sina has not yet been unearthed.
However, there are pictures similar to Sina's spoon-shaped image on the stone reliefs in the Han Dynasty (Figure 2), which shows that Wang Chong's records should be credible. In this stone statue, we can see that the main body of the picture is the magician and acrobat who are performing, and the people above are the aristocratic audience. There is a long-handled spoon suspected of Sina on the small square in the upper right corner (see the small illustration outside the picture), and a person is kneeling to observe.
Fig. 2 Stone reliefs of the Han Dynasty in the Ritterburg Museum in Zurich (this picture is quoted from Joseph Needham's China History of Science and Technology Physics Volume). Judging from the remaining materials, SiNa, which uses magnets to point to polarity, is the earliest form of magnetic director.
The appearance of magnetic orientation instrument makes people change from passive orientation of observing celestial bodies to active orientation using geomagnetism. The earliest magnet orientation device of mankind is Sina made of natural bar magnets, which was further developed in the Han Dynasty at the end of the Warring States period (the first three centuries). The appearance of Sinan instrument is of great historical significance, because it is a new guiding device based on the magnetic principle completely different from the astronomical orientation principle. It can work day and night in any weather conditions, quickly point out the direction, and is easy to operate and carry.
At first, SiNa refers to the surface pole of shadow measurement. For example, there is a saying that "everything is measured", so Wang Li first went to Sina to seize the day. The end of the sky is the right thing, which means to determine the direction of east, west, north and south. Lisner originated from Jong Li in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty and Li Riming in Warring States Period. They are all going to build a watch to measure the shadow of the sun.
Magnetic spoon
Magnetic spoon is a spoon-shaped director made of natural magnets. When it was discovered, it was in the shape of the Big Dipper and its name was Sina. At least four records can be inferred as magnetic spoons: Guiguzi, Lun Heng, Xuanlan Fu and Gone with the Wind Fu. Song Zhi quoted Guiguzi as saying: When a Zheng man takes jade, he must carry Sina, because he is not confused. Gui Gu Zi Mou Pian was written at the latest in the Western Han Dynasty, probably in the pre-Qin period. Among them, the legend that Zheng people must recite Sina when taking jade implies the connection between magnetic spoon and jade industry. The difficult-to-machine magnetic spoon should be a masterpiece of jade workers.
Wang Chong in the Eastern Han Dynasty said in Lun Heng is an application: Sina's spoon is a guide to the ground. Land in the sentence is generally interpreted as site, or the word pool is misspelled. This sentence should be interpreted as: spoon-shaped Sina, when placed on the ground (or in a container filled with a proper amount of liquid (such as mercury), its spoon handle must automatically point south.
After that, Xiao Yi, Emperor of Liang Yuan, wrote Xuanlan Fu: Seeing Lingwu occupied and seeing Sina leave. Tang Zhaowei's "Gone with the Wind" cloud: Drinking to the sky (Beidou) is different; If you play well, the school Sina thinks it's ok. Introduce the function and shape of SiNa again.
Although the physical object of the magnetic spoon has not been found so far, at least two cultural relics are related to it. One is a stone carving of the Eastern Han Dynasty 1 14 in the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, Switzerland. In the upper right corner, a person is observing what may be a Sina spoon. The second piece is a piece of Sinanpei ancient jade recorded in the first volume of Na Zhiliang's Jade Interpretation. This jade is only one inch long. Cut one end into a small spoon, the other end into a small round dish with a cross in the middle. Si Nanpei's production date is unknown, presumably belonging to the Tang Dynasty.
In addition to the watches and magnetic spoons mentioned above, Sina also has nicknames for South Locomotive, Ship Guide and Time Leak. The South Locomotive mentioned by Ge Hong from A Jin in Miscellanies of Xijing is a semi-automatic mechanical device. According to Records of Officials in the Song Dynasty, there was another guide ship in the Jin Dynasty. Ren Fang's poem "The Wind and Climbing Jingyang Mountain" in the Southern Dynasties chants: Running whales and spitting waves, Sina is light. Sina in the poem refers to the guide boat in the imperial garden pool, but how to sail the guide boat is still a mystery. Du Fu, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, chanted "Chicken" as a poem: Qi Jieting nurtures the world, Wu Xia leaks Sina. It means that at midnight, the poet just heard the sound of Sina time.
The invention of magnetic needle
The invention of compass should be the result of gradual improvement over a long period of time, and the forms in different periods should appear in different forms. In the Tang Dynasty, the activities of scholars of geomancy were quite active, and they began to emphasize the choice of direction, so it became a top priority to find a more convenient pointing device than a magnetic spoon. So the iron pointer and floating magnetic needle in the shape of iron guide fish or tadpole came into being.
Qiu Yanhan, a Feng Shui master in Shaanxi Province who lived in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty (765,438+037,465,438+0), was praised by later Feng Shui masters as the earliest founder of the theory of three needles (straight needle, sewing needle and middle needle) in Feng Shui. Zhu Quan, Ning Xianwang of Yahao Science and Technology in Ming Dynasty, said in his Secret Book of Magical Machines: The acupuncture method has never been handed down, but it was made from the past. He was a Taoist priest named Zhang (about 730+00) in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province in the Tang Dynasty. His Taoist name is Xuanzhenzi, and he wrote twelve volumes of Xuanzhenzi, with three volumes left. From this remnant, I know that he is quite good at physics, but I can't find any records directly related to compass or needling. But this street sign can't help but remind people of the old title Jin Cuibao's Notes on Ancient and Modern Times, in which tadpoles are called mysterious needles. Its words say: Squid, Tadpole, Mysterious Needle and abstruse fish, round in shape, with a big tail, which falls off and gives birth to feet. In the 10th century, there was a similar record in Ma Su's Notes on China in Ancient and Modern Times. This record seems to link the invention and application of the magnetic needle with the compass fish in shape and performance.
The method of making guide fish can be found in The General Theory of Jason Wu compiled by Ceng Gongliang and others in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the fifteenth year of the first volume of "Wu Yao", the law said: cut it with thin iron leaves, two inches long and five minutes wide, with a sharp head and tail like fish, and burn it with charcoal to make it red. Take the iron pot and the fish in the iron pot as the initial fire, put the tail in the right position, dip it in the basin, and stop it with a dense device. This method is to magnetize the iron sheet by using the geomagnetic field. It is known that the fish-shaped iron sheet is slightly inclined downward, which is beneficial to magnetization. In fact, the influence of the so-called magnetic dip angle in modern science has been discovered. When in use, the compass fish floats on the water, which conforms to the principle of water floating magnetic needle.
The manufacturing method of floating magnetic needle was first seen in Shen Kuo's Meng Qian Bi Tan (Volume 24) in the Northern Song Dynasty. The article said: Fang Jia can rub his head with a magnet to guide us. This method of magnetizing steel needles, which was summarized by experts in practice, was published internationally by Shen Kuo, which effectively promoted the application and popularization of magnetic needles in geomantic omen, navigation and other fields. Compass has entered the stage of practical magnetic needle, and the research of device method has been put on the agenda. Shen Kuo comprehensively studied and compared the advantages and disadvantages of Shui Piao method, finger and claw method, bowl and lip method and thread hanging method, and thought that thread hanging method was the best. The method is to take a single cocoon from a new cocoon, use mustard seed as wax and put it on the waist of the needle. If you hang it in a windless place, the needle will always be a guide. Small magnets suspended in modern magnetometers also adopt this similar method. The precision of magnetic needle finger is not the same as that of Siena and compass, so the invention of magnetic needle soon led to the discovery of magnetic declination.
In the troubled times of the Five Dynasties, Guan's geography refers to the eighth place, saying: the magnetic needle is light and the diameter refers to the end where qi must be weighed, and the ground is in the middle and sideways. Compared with Xuanyuan's age, he is still in the sky. The author thought that the magnetic declination in Xuanyuan Huangdi era was still in the direction of the stars (noon) and the stars (children), but at that time, the needle and finger were separated from the dividing line between yin and yang, and the case was biased towards the exploration of gold teeth. The southeast deflection angle becomes 15? .
Due to the mystery of geomantic theory, China's geomantic works in Tang and Song Dynasties influenced each other in spreading, adding and deleting. It is not easy to sort out the invention and discovery dates of magnetic needle, magnetic declination and compass from many early works of Kan Yu. However, in the first year (104 1), Yang, a military supervisor in the Northern Song Dynasty, was ordered to compile the photo-tomb encyclopedia "General Ihara", saying: The guest should mainly take the positive four points, and when taking the afternoon needle, he should take the positive, middle and grid, and take the positive. There is a clear record of the noon needle here, that is, Shen Kuo later said in Volume 24 of Meng Qian's Bi Tan that the magnetic needle is often slightly east, but not completely south. In the west, it was not until the13rd century that the magnetic needle went south. When Christopher Columbus (145 1 1506) crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1429, the magnetic declination phenomenon was officially detected.
China discovered the porcelain bowl of the Yuan Dynasty float compass. 1959, two white glazed brown flower bowls were unearthed in the Yuan Dynasty tomb of Ganjingzi in Lushun, Liaoning Province. Two concentric circles are drawn at the bottom of the bowl, and three points are drawn side by side in the circle, and the middle is connected. At first glance, this figure looks like an irregular king character, so it is called a bowl with a king character pattern. There is a needle on the foot of the outer bottom ring of the bowl. According to the research of Mr. Wang Zhenduo, a historian of science and technology, this kind of bowl is the needle bowl used to indicate the direction when sailing. It is used in this way: the magnetic needle floats on the surface of the needle bowl, and the king-shaped sign at the bottom of the bowl helps to indicate the direction. First, align the narrow passage in the role of king with the centerline of the hull. If the hull turns, the magnetic needle will form an angle with the thin line, thus showing the angle of course transfer. Similar bowls were also found in the Yuan Dynasty cellar in Zhao Lin Village, Dantu, Jiangsu Province, and the Yuan Dynasty shipwreck in Zhanghe Ancient Road, Cixian County, Hebei Province.
The invention of compass and its spread to the west
After the advent of the magnetic needle, it was used for navigation and navigation. In order to make it easy to use and read, the discovery of magnetic declination put forward higher requirements for the use skills of compass. Fang Jia first created a new generation of compass through the cooperation of magnetic needle and dial. However, on some occasions, the floating magnetic needle in the bowl is still in use, so Shen Kuo's "Meng Qian Bi Tan" Volume 24 says that water floats and shakes. Jiangsu, Hebei, Liaoning and Shandong have unearthed special needle bowls for scale-free compasses in the Yuan Dynasty. When the ship is still using floating needles and needle bowls, the Kanyu compass runs far ahead.
Archaeological data show that the 24-direction representation of the tomb chosen by Kan Yujia began in the late Tang Dynasty. Hepu presided over the construction of Huizhou city in the southern Tang Dynasty, and the geomantic omen was also expressed by twenty-four ways. He Pu's "Essence of Spiritual City" said in the chapter of "Regulating Qi" that the land should be located on all sides, and the way and map of Kun should be determined, so the classics should prevail, and the reality of the land should prevail. The sky is divided into twelve points, which is the second. Therefore, taking Renzi Bingwu as the sky plate, living outside should be the sky. There are almost the same words in the book "Nine Days Xuan Nv Qing Nan Hai Jiao Jing", written by the author, and the time is unknown. Both should come from the same source.
Compasses were called snails and snails in ancient times. The meridian needle in The Record of Yin Hua (circa AD 1200) hired by Sanpin in the Southern Song Dynasty said: The snail may have a meridian needle, or sew a needle with the child at noon. Zeng Sanpin was born in Fuxian River (now West Qingjiang River in Jiangxi Province). Linchuan, Jiangxi Province, not far from Xiajiang River, unearthed the world's earliest Kanyu drought compass model in 1985, which can be mutually confirmed with the records in Yinhua Record. 1985 In May, Zhang Porcelain Servant with an ink book at the bottom was unearthed in Zhu Jinan Tomb in Linchuan, Jiangxi Province (buried in 1 198). Mr. Xian Fu Feng Shui holds a compass in his left hand. It is worth noting that the magnetic needle of a compass is essentially different from that of a water compass. The middle of the compass is enlarged into a diamond, and there is an obvious round hole in the center of the diamond, which clearly shows that this is a dry compass supported by a shaft.
China's magnetic needle and compass spread to the west by land and water successively, which had a great influence on the progress of human civilization. In the past, historians thought that the water compass with a magnetic needle in the water, like the compass, was invented by China, but the dry compass was invented in Europe and was introduced to China by Japanese ships in the16th century. Now Linchuan Compass proves that the invention right of drought compass also belongs to China.
Initial shape
Magnet refers to the understanding and application of the polarity of iron attraction of magnet and the original shape of magnetic pointer. Legend has it that Qin Gong's magnet door can prevent assassins with iron blades from entering. There are many records about the phenomenon that magnets attract iron, such as Spring and Autumn Annals written by Lu in the Warring States Period, Huainanzi in the Western Han Dynasty and Lun Heng written by Wang Chong in the Eastern Han Dynasty. These authors all mentioned the phenomenon that magnets attract iron, and objects such as tortoise shells and amber can attract some light and small objects. Wang Chong pointed out that these phenomena were caused by induction (a viewpoint of action at a distance), but he didn't seem to know the difference between induction and magnetic induction. The compass is made of natural magnets. To invent a compass, it is necessary to study the finger polarity of magnets.
Description of magnetization technology and magnetic bias phenomenon Magnetization technology made a breakthrough in the Northern Song Dynasty, which accelerated the popularization of magnetic pointer and led to the new evolution of pointer shape.
Ceng Gongliang mentioned a new type of magnetic conductivity-compass in General Theory of Jason Wu. At the same time, it can be seen that the key to making a compass is the magnetization of iron. Ceng Gongliang's account is: cut with thin iron leaves, two inches long and five minutes wide, with sharp points like fish. Put them on a charcoal fire and burn them red, so the fish in the iron pot will be served first and the tail will be right. Dip them in the basin and stop if there is no tail tip. (Volume 15) In fact, Ceng Gongliang magnetized the fish-shaped iron sheet by using the geomagnetic field, which was a breakthrough in the search for new magnetization technology in history. But the iron sheet should be as thin as possible, because it should be placed on the water when it is used. This is also an important hint.
Compass fish is very weak in magnetism. As a natural defect, the round fish head also limits its pointing accuracy. Although this simple magnetization technology makes it much easier to make guide fish, its shape is similar to that of spoon-shaped Sina.
Similarly, Shen Kuo, who was contemporary with Ceng Gongliang, also recorded the practical magnetization technology in Meng Qian's Notes. He wrote: Fang's home magnet grinding needle front can guide, but it is often slightly east, not completely south. (Volume 24) This model is simple and popular, and the magnetization effect is quite good. In particular, it produces another breakthrough needle shape for the improvement of pointer shape. Using needle points can greatly improve its pointing accuracy. In this way, Sina has evolved into a compass, and this compass is easier to popularize. Undoubtedly, this is the most important improvement of the appearance of the magnetoguide.
Due to the improvement of the pointing accuracy of the pointer, people soon noticed that when using the compass, the direction it points to is sometimes not due south, which is the phenomenon that the magnetic bias is often slightly eastward but not completely southward.
In fact, the existence of compass and magnetic declination has been recorded in the "General Records of Sanyuan" written by Yang Zaiyuan (104 1) earlier than Shen Kuo. He wrote: Kuang Si is nothing more than that, and should be taken as an afternoon needle. In the right place, in the middle and in the grid, take the square straight to the right. (Volume 1) The needle mentioned here is a magnetic needle, while the C-noon needle means that when the magnetic needle is at rest, the orientation of the needle refers to the combination of C-position and noon position in 24 directions, which is about 7 in the southeast. 5? . This is consistent with Shen Kuo's slight eastward deviation, but Yang's statement is earlier and his description is more accurate.