Shen Kuo

Shen Kuo (1031 to 1095) was a Chinese polymath and statesman of the Northern Song dynasty who served as a finance minister, head of the Bureau of Astronomy and academic chancellor. For the Technology Atlas he matters as an observer and designer of instruments and works. In his Dream Pool Essays of 1088 he gave the first description of the magnetic needle compass and of magnetic declination, the difference between magnetic and true north that made the compass far more useful for navigation. For his astronomical work he improved the designs of the armillary sphere, the gnomon and the sighting tube, and he invented a new type of inflow water clock. He also wrote about the drydock for repairing boats, the canal pound lock, and the movable type printing of Bi Sheng, which is largely why that earlier invention is known today. His wider work in geology, climate and mathematics belongs to the science atlas.