Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 271 Embracing the Universe
While indoors, Lu Beigu didn't feel it, but as soon as he stepped outside, he felt as if the December wind was wrapped in fine needles, pricking his cheeks painfully.

He pulled his collar up even higher, and his breath instantly frosted off his eyelashes.

Zhang Zai walked briskly, the hem of his robe splattered with mud, presumably from when he was swerving to avoid vehicles as he crossed the main street inside the Zhuque Gate.

"I need to go to Hongqiao. Thank you for your help."

The coachman from the Imperial College didn't say anything, harnessed the mule, and the group set off.

Leaving the relatively quiet East Street and crossing the Zhou Bridge, the hustle and bustle immediately hit us, and we could clearly feel it even inside the mule cart.

The shops on both sides were packed tightly together, and the wine flags were stretched straight by the north wind, their corners striking the wooden eaves with a "crackling" sound.

Although it was afternoon, there were still many food vendors. The aroma of spicy soup mixed with the smoky fragrance of roasted mutton wafted into people's noses from the steamer opening.

Further east, past the East Water Gate, you can see the cargo boats crowding together in the river as you lift the curtain of the mule cart. The porters are shouting as they pass grain sacks, their noses red from the cold with icicles hanging from them, glistening in the sunlight.

They walked for a while longer.

“That must be the Rainbow Bridge,” Zhang Zai suddenly said.

Lu Beigu looked up and saw a vermilion wooden bridge, like a rainbow lying across the gray river. This was the second time he had seen a rainbow bridge.

However, his mood at this moment was naturally completely different from when he first arrived in Kaifeng.

The Rainbow Bridge was as bustling as ever, its entrance packed with people. An old man carrying a load of fresh fish was arguing with a young woman wearing a veiled hat, while two bluefish struggled to swim in the basket. A merchant from the Central Plains, leading a camel, was stuck in the middle of the bridge, his camel bells ringing frantically. Several scholars in traditional Chinese robes rode donkeys, weaving left and right, the donkeys' ears snapping impatiently.

As the mule cart followed the route indicated by Zhang Zai across the Rainbow Bridge, a sudden, urgent whistle sounded from below the bridge.

A cargo ship was furling its sails and barely grazed under the bridge.

The old boatman stood barefoot at the bow, scolding the young sailor: "What's the rush! You think you'll hit your head?"

Before he could finish speaking, a loud "thump" echoed across the river. It turned out that a grain sack had fallen into the water, startling the white geese under the bridge who flapped their wings and squawked wildly.

On and off the Rainbow Bridge, a myriad of people are on display.

The painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" seems to have come to life.

When they arrived near their destination, the buildings were too dense and there were too many stalls on the street, so the mule cart could not move forward. The two had to ask the driver to find a place to park the cart and wait while they walked to find Shen Kuo.

"Make way!"

Zhang Zai, who had just gotten off the car, pulled Lu Beigu aside to avoid the charcoal transport convoy.

Row after row of wheelbarrows creaked and rolled by, leaving dark tracks of charcoal residue on the frosty ground.

Amidst the creaking of the axle, Lu Beigu caught a glimpse of a beggar huddled in the shadows of the bridge pier. The beggar crouched low and quickly ran out, picked up some small pieces of fallen charcoal, stuffed them into his pocket, and then vanished in a flash.

Various smells also unceremoniously rushed into his nostrils. With just a sniff, he could smell the fishy smell of the river, the salty smell of the fish market, the smell of charcoal smoke, and the aroma of mutton soup wafting over.

“It’s right in front of us.” Even though it was right in front of him, Zhang Zai’s voice still sounded somewhat muffled amidst the noise.

Lu Beigu followed closely behind, his gaze sweeping over the cramped shops on both sides. There were pottery sellers, letter writers, flatbread makers, and a simple foot shop where the sounds of drinking games could be heard.

Zhang Zai walked a few dozen more steps and stopped at an inconspicuous alleyway.

The alley is even narrower, with low brick and earthen walls on both sides.

"This is it."

At the end of the alley, Zhang Zai pointed to an inconspicuous black lacquered wooden door deep inside the alley. The door was tightly closed, contrasting sharply with the hustle and bustle at the alley entrance.

Zhang Zai stepped forward and knocked on the door.

His knuckles tapped on the thick wooden door, producing a dull "thump-thump" sound.

A moment later, footsteps and the soft clicking of the door latch came from inside.

With a creak, the wooden door opened a crack, revealing a face that exuded both scholarly air and quick wit, appearing to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He wore a neat, dark blue robe, a typical scholar's attire, and his hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, with a few stray strands falling across his forehead. This man was none other than Shen Kuo.

“Brother Cunzhong, I’m sorry to bother you,” Zhang Zai said.

"Brother Zihou?" Shen Kuo said with a distinct Wu accent, "I happen to have some new insights that might corroborate your theory of the universe. I was just about to come into the city to find you."

Zhang Zai's face also showed great interest: "Brother, you just mentioned 'new gains'? Could it be that you have made further progress in stargazing?"

"Exactly! Please come in, it's windy outside."

As Shen Kuo spoke, he fully opened the door and stepped aside to make way. Only then did his gaze fall upon Lu Beigu behind Zhang Zai.

Shen Kuo took the initiative to cup his hands and said, "I am Shen Kuo from Qiantang, courtesy name Cunzhong."

"My name is Lu Beigu, a native of Hejiang County, Luzhou, Zizhou Road."

"Wait a minute. Could it be the one who recently defeated Liu Ji in the competition between the Imperial Academy and the National University, and whose essay 'On Zhongda' shook the scholars of Kaifeng?"

Feeling a little embarrassed by the praise, Lu Beigu quickly returned the compliment: "Brother Shen, you flatter me. My little reputation is nothing to boast about."

Shen Kuo's tone was filled with sincere admiration: "I also praised that article highly after reading it! I never expected to see it in your humble abode today! My apologies for not being here sooner!"

He cupped his hands in greeting again, his attitude noticeably warmer.

Shen Kuo led the two through the courtyard and pushed open the door of the main house.

A mixed aroma, a blend of ink, wood varnish, faint pine resin, and a stronger scent of ink, wafts towards you.

The room was simply furnished, with bookshelves crammed full of books, including classics and history, as well as books on mathematics, calendars, and other subjects.

A large desk pieced together occupies nearly half of the space, with scattered counting rods and several magnets on it. The most eye-catching item is a rotating wooden armillary sphere that occupies a significant portion of the tabletop.

Shen Kuo appears to be improving the components of the armillary sphere, which looks like some of the rings have been simplified, and a bronze sight tube with a significantly enlarged diameter is placed next to it, not yet on the stand.

"Look at my armillary sphere."

Shen Kuo pointed to the components on the table and proudly introduced, "The previous armillary sphere had overlapping rings that obscured the view and were extremely cumbersome to use. After much consideration, I realized that the trajectory marked by the lunar ring was quite different from the actual movement of the moon, which only added to the interference. It would be better to simply eliminate it! Considering the difficulty of observing the North Star, I specially enlarged the diameter of this sighting tube by several degrees. In this way, the light is gathered more effectively, the celestial phenomena are clearer, and the location of the North Star can be determined with several times the accuracy."

When discussing these astronomical and cosmological matters, Shen Kuo became animated and spoke at a rapid pace.

As he spoke, he picked up a thin, long sight tube and gestured, "And this gnomon for measuring shadows."

Shen Kuo then pointed to several stone tablets of different sizes in the corner of the wall, and a sketch on the table with three shadows drawn on it.

"I noticed that the difference in atmospheric conditions has a significant impact on the shadow, especially at dawn and dusk when the shadow is faint and blurry. If we rely on only one gnomon, errors are inevitable. I proposed that if we set up three gnomons with fixed intervals at the observation point and measured their shadow lengths at the same time, and took the difference, we could offset most of the interference from the difference in atmospheric conditions and make the gnomon's shadow scale more accurate."

The term "poor atmospheric refraction" refers to atmospheric refraction.

"It seems Shen Kuo truly has a talent for science; he was able to figure these things out on his own without any guidance."

Lu Bei looked around at the scientific research equipment that Shen Kuo had made himself, and pondered to himself.

Zhang Zai listened attentively because his "theory of the nature of qi" was materialistic, so observations of the universe in the real world were very helpful for him to improve his theory, and he became acquainted with Shen Kuo because of this.

"Is there any new evidence regarding the length of the time interval between the two consecutive times the sun reaches its zenith?"

"Have!"

With a heart that held the universe in his mind, Shen Kuo's eyes shone even brighter as he picked up a notebook, opened it, and spoke.

“I used a sundial and a water clock to calibrate and made continuous observations, which confirmed that the time interval between the sun’s two consecutive zeniths in a year is not equal! Although the difference is small, it accumulates to a considerable amount. This is not a mistake in the calendar, but a manifestation of the subtle and mysterious workings of the heavens.”

"In addition, I have observed that the trajectories of the five planets are not completely smooth. Their speed, trajectory, and direction are consistent with mathematical principles. Last month, I even witnessed a meteor streaking across the sky. All these celestial phenomena are confirming that the vast sky has its own constant laws of motion."

(End of this chapter)