Science and Technology in the Song and Yuan Dynasties

The Song Dynasty contributed to technological progress.Two of mankind’s most important inventions were made during this dynasty:movable-type printing and gunpowder.Two important factors contributed to the technological leap during this historical period.The first was economic development with an increasing importance of money as currency.The second was the organized civil bureaucracy that actively sought to enhance productivity in every sector of life.In this period，the great scientist Shen Kuo contributed in many fields.

A rich cultural diversity developed during the Yuan Dynasty，which greatly benefited thecountry.Kublai Khan particularly encouraged cultural exchange between China and Islamic countries，and he also improved the agriculture of China，extending the Grand Canal，highways and public granaries.7Advances were realized in the field of science and technology.The greatest Chinese scientist in this dynasty was Guo Shoujing.

Bi Sheng and Movable-type Printing

Paper made its first appearance in China.Then there was Block Printing，whereby a printer carved out characters on a piece of wood.No single individual is credited with the invention of block printing.Clearly it would constitute an improvement if，rather than carving out a block of wood every time he wanted to print something，a printer had at his disposal precast pieces of type.Then whenever he wanted to print a document，he could simply assemble the characters he needed.This was the achievement of Bi Sheng（970-1051），who developed type made out of baked clay.He placed pieces of type in an iron frame lined withwarm wax，then pressed down on them with a board until the surface was perfectly flat.After the wax cooled，he used the tray of letters to print pages.Movable-type Printing developed very fast.This technology then spread to Korea，Japan，Vietnam，and Europe.

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