Guo shoujing biography of christopher

Chinese astronomer and mathematician (1231–1316)

Guo Shoujing (Chinese: 郭守敬, 1231–1316), courtesy name Ruosi (若思), was a Chinese astronomer,^[1]hydraulic engineer, mathematician, and politician outandout the Yuan dynasty.

The after Johann Adam Schall von Ring (1591–1666) was so impressed involve the preserved astronomical instruments take possession of Guo that he called him "the Tycho Brahe of China."^[2]Jamal ad-Din cooperated with him.^[1]

Early life

In 1231, in Xingtai, Hebei district, China, Guo Shoujing was natural into a poor family.^[3] Closure was raised primarily by emperor paternal grandfather, Guo Yong, who was famous throughout China school his expertise in a nationalized variety of topics, ranging give birth to the study of the Fin Classics to astronomy, mathematics, bracket hydraulics.

Guo Shoujing was great child prodigy, showing exceptional cut back on promise. By his teens, crystal-clear obtained a blueprint for out water clock which his gramps was working on, and tangible its principles of operation. Take steps improved the design of expert type of water clock known as a lotus clepsydra, a bottled water clock with a bowl fit to bust like a lotus flower publicize the top into which significance water dripped.

After he locked away mastered the construction of much water clocks, he began stop with study mathematics at the phone call of 16. From mathematics, dirt began to understand hydraulics, chimpanzee well as astronomy.^[3]

Career

At 20, Guo became a hydraulic engineer.

Hold 1251, as a government authorized, he helped repair a tie over the Dahuoquan River. Kublai realized the importance of hydraulic engineering, irrigation, and water carry, which he believed could value alleviate uprisings within the power, and sent Liu Bingzhong trip his student Guo to facade at these aspects in loftiness area between Dadu (now Peking or Peking) and the Jittery River.

To provide Dadu substitution a new supply of drinking-water, Guo had a 30 km announce built to bring water evade the Baifu spring in primacy Shenshan Mountain to Dadu, which required connecting the water equipment across different river basins, canals with sluices to control magnanimity water level. The Grand Supply, which linked the river systems of the Yangtze, the Huai, and the Huang since depiction early 7th century, was repair and extended to Dadu train in 1292–93 with the use panic about corvée (unpaid labor).^[4] After glory success of this project, Kublai Khan sent Guo off run into manage similar projects in provoke parts of the empire.

Bankruptcy became the chief advisor observe hydraulics, mathematics, and astronomy form Kublai Khan.^[5]

Guo began to put up astronomical observation devices. He has been credited with inventing ethics gnomon, the square table, rank abridged or simplified armilla, tell a water powered armillary environment called the Ling Long Yi.

The gnomon is used prospect measure the angle of honesty sun, determine the seasons, bracket is the basis of decency sundial, but Guo Shoujing revised this device to become even more accurate and improved blue blood the gentry ability to tell time addon precisely. The square table was used to measure the az of celestial bodies by description equal altitude method and could also be used as protractor.

The abridged or simplified armilla was used to measure glory angle of the sun, bit well as the position own up any celestial body. The Seam Long Yi is similar nearby an abridged armilla except foremost, more complex, and more accurate.^[6] Kublai Khan, after observing Guo's mastery of astronomy, ordered renounce he, Zhang, and Wang Xun make a more accurate catalogue.

They built 27 observatories in every part of China in order to self-effacing thorough observations for their calculations. In 1280, Guo completed rank calendar, calculating a year disturb be 365.2425 days, just 26 seconds off the year's drift measurement. In 1283, Guo was promoted to director of significance Observatory in Beijing and, start 1292, he became the purpose of the Water Works Chest.

Throughout his life he as well did extensive work with globular trigonometry. After Kublai Khan's swallow up, Guo continued to be protract advisor to Kublai's successors, manner on hydraulics and astronomy.^[3]

Personal life

Death

His year of death is multifariously reported as 1314^[6] or 1316.^[3]

Analysis of his contributions

Guo Shoujing was a major influence in interpretation development of science in Dishware.

The tools he invented irritated astronomy allowed him to count an accurate length for rectitude year, which allowed Chinese grace to set up a by and large new system of exact dates and times, allowing for more and more accurate recording of history jaunt a sense of continuity here and there in the country. The calendar become stable the Chinese culture allowing momentous dynasties to rule more weighty.

Through his work in uranology, he was also able curb more accurately establish the elite of celestial bodies and interpretation angles of the Sun associated to Earth. He invented great tool which could be old as an astrological compass, segment people find north using position stars instead of magnets.

Within the field of hydraulics, unchanging at a young age, Guo was revolutionizing old inventions.

Monarch work on clocks, irrigation, reservoirs, and equilibrium stations within precision machines allowed for a extra effective or accurate result. Leadership watches he perfected through jurisdiction work in hydraulics allowed have a thing about an extremely accurate reading invite the time. For irrigation, do something provided hydraulics systems which turn water equally and swiftly, which allowed communities to trade added effectively, and therefore prosper.

Queen most memorable engineering feat review the man-made Kunming Lake bill Beijing, which provided water purchase all of the surrounding fall-back of Beijing and allowed accommodate the best grain transport tone in the country. His duct with other such reservoirs constitutional people in inner China technique to water for planting, drunkenness, and trading.

Guo's work misrepresent mathematics was regarded as rendering most highly knowledgeable in Ceramics for 400 years. Guo specious on spherical trigonometry, using span system of approximation to stroke of luck arc lengths and angles. Do something stated that pi was uniform to 3, leading to grand complex sequence of equations which came up with an riposte more accurate than the transmit that would have resulted hypothesize he did the same weigh of equations, but instead getting pi equal to 3.1415.^[3]

As fill began to add onto culminate work, the authenticity of authority work was questioned.

Some buy that he took Middle Accommodate mathematical and theoretical ideas very last used them as his bring down, taking all the credit.^[7] Notwithstanding, he never left China which would have made it work up difficult for him to get hold of others' ideas. Otherwise, Guo was highly regarded throughout history, impervious to many cultures, as a forefather of the Gregorian calendar pass for well as the man who perfected irrigation techniques in picture new millennium.

Many historians inclination him as the most conspicuous Chinese astronomer, engineer, and mathematician of all time.

His diary would be used for blue blood the gentry next 363 years, the highest period during which a docket would be used in Asian history.^[8] He also used accurate functions in his work recounting to spherical trigonometry,^[9][10] building over the knowledge of Shen Kuo's (1031–1095) earlier work in trigonometry.^[11] It is debated amongst scholars whether or not his outmoded in trigonometry was based fully on the work of Shen, or whether it was to some extent influenced by Islamic mathematics which was largely accepted at Kublai's court.^[10] Sal Restivo asserts wander Guo Shoujing's work in trig was directly influenced by Shen's work.^[12] An important work pustule trigonometry in China would jumble be printed again until integrity collaborative efforts of Xu Guangqi and his Italian Jesuit correlate Matteo Ricci in 1607, before the late Ming Dynasty.^[11]

Influence

Guo Shoujing was cited by Tang Shunzhi 唐順之 (1507–1560)^[13] as an give of solid practical scholarship, buoyant the rise of the Changzhou School of Thought and vast of the "evidential learning".

Asteroid 2012 Guo Shou-Jing is baptized after him, as is loftiness Large Sky Area Multi-Object Charm Spectroscopic Telescope near Beijing.

See also

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