文档介绍：Dream Pool Essays 1
Dream Pool Essays
The Dream Pool Essays (Pinyin: Mèng Xī Bǐ Tán; Wade-Giles: Meng⁴
Hsi¹ Pi³-t'an²; Chinese: 夢溪筆談/ 梦溪笔谈) was an
extensive book written by the Chinese polymath, scientist and
statesman Shen Kuo (1031-1095) by 1088 AD, during the Song
Dynasty (960-1279) of China. Although Shen was previously a highly
renowned government official and military general, piled this
enormous written work while virtually isolated on his lavish garden
estate near modern-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province. He named the
book after the name he gave to his estate, the "Dream Brook". The
literal translated meaning is Brush Talks from a Dream Brook, and in
his biography in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York
1970-1990), Shen Kuo is quoted as saying:
Because I had only my writing brush and ink slab to
Shen Kuo (沈括) (1031-1095 AD)
converse with, I call it Brush Talks.
History
As the historian Chen Dengyuan points out, much of Shen Kuo's written work was probably purged under the
leadership of minister Cai Jing (1046-1126).[1] For example, only six of Shen's books remain, and four of these have
been significantly altered since the time they were penned by the author.[2] The Dream Pool Essays was first quoted
in a Chinese written work of 1095 AD, showing that even towards the end of Shen's life his final book was ing
widely p