中英雙語話史記 第71期:南北朝科技成就

Achievement on Science and Technology

南北朝時期的科技成就

During this period of near-constant political and military strife, achievements on agriculture,chronometer and mechanical manufacture found a farther way.

在這個充滿了不斷的政治與軍事衝突的年代，農業、計時器和機械製造上卻取得了更加深入的成就。

Jia Sixie who is a viceroy of Northern Wei compiled a book named Essential Skills in Improving People’s Life in which he summed up laboring people’s experience and skills in farming and husbandry.

北魏官員賈思勰一本名爲《齊民要術》的書，在書中他總結了勞動人民在農業與飼養方面的經驗與技能。

The practice of some advanced skill of planting and drought control narrated in the book had been proved to be effective.

其中一些有關種植與乾旱控制的先進技術被驗證了是行之有效的。

Another important geographic work.is Notes on Water Classic, written by Li Daoyuan.

另一本重要的地理學著作是酈道元的《水經注》。

The comprehensive geographic work recorded the hydrology of the Yangtze River area including detailed records of the source, vegetation, relief and networks of 1252 rivers and watercourses with ample illustrations and maps.

這本綜合性的地理學書籍記錄了揚子江流域的水文地理，其中包含詳盡的水源、植被、賑濟與1252條河流和水道之間關係的記錄並配有豐富的例證與地圖。

Ancient watermarks in the form of 14—scaled fish and inscriptions have been found in White Crane Ridge in today’s Chongqing.

以擁有14片鱗片的魚爲圖樣的古老水位標示和刻印在今天重慶的白鶴橋被發現。

Those records of the hydrology of the Yangtze River accord with the narration in this book.

那些揚子江的水位記錄與這本書中所描繪的一致。

Zu Chongzhi (429—500), an outstanding scientist invented a kind of millstone driven by water power.

祖沖之（429——500）是一位傑出的科學家，他發明了一種由水力驅動的磨石。

This mill effectively relieved people of the heavy and inefficient handiwork.

這種磨可以有效地將人們從沉重低效的手工勞動中解放出來。

What makes him known is that he had correctly placed the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927 while the western mathematician didn’t figure it out until several centuries later.

讓他聞名於世的一件事是他正確的算出了圓周率的數值爲3.1415926到3.1415927之間，而西方的數學家直到7個世紀之後才計算了出來。