Kuo Shen

Kuo Shen (1031–1095), nicknamed Cunzhong, was a native of Qiantang in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. He was a scientist during the Northern Song Dynasty. He studied loess in North China and Shaanxi Province and fossil oil in northern Shaanxi. He wrote the 26 volumes of ‘Meng Xi Bi Tan (Dream Pool Essays)’. He performed in-depth studies of astronomy, geography, geology and medicine. He studied astronomy, drew numerous astrological maps and promulgated a new calendar. In his studies of physics, he discovered the existence of geomagnetic declination 400 years before the Europeans. Based on his studies of geology, he inferred the changes of the sea and land from the presence of fossils in the rocks of Mount Taihang. He was the first person to use the term fossil oil. He explained the process of water erosion 600 years earlier than J. Hutton in England. He wrote many books that survive today, including ‘Dream Pool Essays’, ‘Bu Bi Tan (Supplement to Dream Pool Essays)’, ‘Xu Bi Tan...