Shen Kuo

Shen Kuo was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman of the Song dynasty. He was a mathematician, astronomer, meteorologist, geologist, entomologist, anatomist, climatologist, zoologist, botanist, pharmacologist, medical scientist, archaeologist, ethnographer, cartographer, geophysicist, mineralogist, encyclopedist, military general, diplomat, hydraulic engineer, inventor, economist, academy chancellor, finance minister, governmental state inspector, philosopher, art critic, poet, and musician. Shen was the first to describe...