According to the original history, Fang Yizhi did not complete the first draft of "Little Knowledge of Physics" until the 16th year of Chongzhen. However, his physics is not the physics of later generations, but refers to the principles of all things in the world. Including astronomy, geography, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, agriculture, technology, philosophy, art and many other aspects.
The word physics in later generations actually came from "Little Knowledge of Physics" which was spread to Japan, and then scholars from Japan translated Physics into physics and spread it back to China.
If Fang Yizhi was not really knowledgeable, he would not have been able to write this book. Now that I have started writing, of course I am confident in this aspect. Huang Zongxi happened to come to visit and ask for advice on this topic, which scratched his itch.
After a while, the two of them arrived in the study. The guests and hosts sat down, and the servant served tea and left.
Before Huang Zongxi could speak, Fang Yizhi asked a little eagerly: "I don't know what the problem is that troubles Taichong. Why don't we talk about it and discuss it together?"
Although he said this, in his heart, he was ready to give Huang Zongxi a detailed answer, preferably one that convinced Huang Zongxi. This sense of accomplishment would be the most satisfying!
But who knows, Huang Zongxi did not immediately raise his problem, but asked Fang Yizhi another question: "Please tell me, you said these things all fall to the ground, why don't they fall to the sky?"
"..." Fang Yizhi never expected that Huang Zongxi would ask such a question, and he was immediately stunned: What is this question? Is this a problem?
Seeing Fang Yizhi's appearance, Huang Zongxi was obviously not surprised. Therefore, without waiting for Fang Yizhi's response, he continued to ask: "If a folding fan and a book fall at the same time, which thing will fall first?" Landing..."
In the study room, the only voice was Huang Zongxi's voice. He asked all the questions Zhang Mingwei asked yesterday, and finally came to the incredible conclusion.
At this time, Fang Yizhi was completely stunned. This was beyond his expectation.
At this time, he had no research on these at all. It can be seen from his "Little Knowledge of Physics" that he mainly has knowledge in the following aspects.
In terms of astronomy, it was the theory of a round earth, and even the correct guess that Venus and Mercury orbited the sun.
In terms of physics, he proposed the simple light wave theory, which was later called the "air and light wave theory", and on this basis he explained his proposition of "light is fat and shadow is thin" and so on.
In terms of medicine, it mainly discusses the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine, allowing traditional Chinese medicine to learn from each other's strengths and offset weaknesses.
In addition, his book also introduces knowledge related to life sciences, such as "the method of washing gluten", "the method of removing dirt and greasy clothes", "the method of collecting beetles in books", etc. These items add a lot to the book. "Must-have for home" practical value.
But no matter what he did, he was really shocked by the questions Huang Zongxi asked: This invisible and intangible air is actually similar to water. It is really surprising!
It must be said that Fang Yizhi is more interested in science than anyone else. Therefore, after hearing this, he was immediately overjoyed, stood up, strode to Huang Zongxi, and said with emotion: "Brother Taichong is here to ask questions, but to preach and learn karma and solve doubts! What I said today is really great. If you hear the truth in the morning, you will die in the evening!"
At this time, Fang Yizhi felt that another door to knowledge had opened, which made him feel ecstatic.
However, Huang Zongxi didn't feel proud after hearing this. He still had the same sad expression. The other party said with wisdom: "Mi Zhi misunderstood. I really came here to ask for advice today. Look at me like this, I really don't Broken?"
"Ah..." Fang Yizhi couldn't help being surprised when he heard this. Looking at Huang Zongxi, he didn't think he was lying, so he immediately asked curiously: "What problem did Brother Taichong come up with that he couldn't solve by himself?"
"Alas, I didn't come up with it myself!" Huang Zongxi sighed after hearing this, "I wanted to get the approval of my teacher, so I went to learn Taoism from my teacher, but in the end I was given such a difficult problem first. If I can't answer it, everything will be lost. Don’t mention it!”
"Oh?" Fang Yizhi couldn't help but become even more interested after hearing this, and quickly asked, "What's the difficult problem, please tell me?"
When he said this, he no longer had the confidence he had before, and his tone was a bit weaker.
"My husband told me to boil water in a kettle to see if I can understand any truth, and then I will be qualified to learn Taoism as a disciple!" Huang Zongxi said with a sigh, "From yesterday to today, I didn’t blink, but I couldn’t see any reason!”
Fang Yizhi was surprised to hear this. He really had never cared about this. So he immediately sent a servant to boil a pot of water in front of them and take a look.
The servant didn't understand how bored the two gentlemen were, but since he gave the order, he started boiling water on the spot in the study.
Then, Huang Zongxi and Fang Yizhi both stared attentively.
As a result, after a long time, the water in the pot was boiling dry. Because of the previous series of questions, they had an idea of the approximate level of the truth they had understood. Therefore, in the end, Fang Yizhi and Huang Zongxi looked at each other, and they really couldn't understand the truth.
Huang Zongxi couldn't get an answer from Fang Yizhi, so he couldn't help but said in frustration: "I saw that not a drop of water was left in the pot, and even the pot was burned red, so I didn't have any special feelings. . It seems that I am still too stupid!"
After hearing what he said, Fang Yizhi suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He clapped his hands and said excitedly to Huang Zongxi: "Brother Taichong, yes, I thought of it!"
"Ah?" Huang Zongxi was a little surprised and couldn't help but ask quickly, "What did you think of?"
"Brother Taichong, please look!" Fang Yizhi pointed to the kettle excitedly and said, "Is all the water in it gone? This means that all the original water has gone into the air. So. You can be sure that the buoyancy in the air actually comes from water! Do you think this is true?"
After hearing this, Huang Zongxi thought seriously for a while and said with some uncertainty: "But if the buoyancy force comes from water, why would it be different? This is probably not what the teacher wants me to understand!" "
After hearing this, Fang Yizhi's excitement cooled down a little. After thinking about it for a while, he asked Huang Zongxi, "What does Brother Taichong think it is?"
If Huang Zongxi could answer it, he wouldn't come to Fang Yizhi to ask.
Seeing him like this, Fang Yizhi waved his hand and said, "We don't have to guess anymore. Let's go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and ask the commander. Don't we know if it's true?"
"..." After hearing this, Huang Zongxi was stunned for a moment, then understood, and said with a wry smile, "My mentor was so troubled by the things in the court that he had no time to talk to us. Besides, the person who asked this question was not My mentor!"
"Didn't you say that your husband got the question right?" Fang Yizhi asked in surprise when he heard this, "If it's not your mentor, who else could it be? There seems to be very few people in this capital with this level of expertise?"
After hearing this, Huang Zongxi said seriously: "How could it not be? The new commander of the Jinyi Guards, Duke Xingguo, is the one who raised this question!"
