"Dean, you have told us many times the story of the principle of moon measurement when the national teacher told you the story of the principle of moon measurement in prison."

It was an ordinary night at the Da Ming Taixue Astronomy Academy.

The moon stars are bright, and the breeze is slow.

Surrounded by several astronomy students, the elderly Zhuo Jing only had a few sparse white whiskers under his chin, as if he had thought too much about problems over the years.

Zhuo Jing's pale head, which was also "overwhelmed", moved out of front of the huge astronomical telescope.

Looking at several young students, Zhuo Jing's face full of age spots showed a smug smile.

"Do you know how science finally triumphed over science more than 20 years ago, after three large-scale debates, science did not rise and science declined but did not decline?"

Several students shook their heads in unison, at that time, these young people had not yet been born, so naturally they didn't know about the thrilling battle over Taoism back then.

But the only thing they can be sure of is that the final result of such a fierce struggle was the failure of science, which allowed science to rise completely, and only then did it have today's glorious Ming Dynasty where "the sun and the moon shine and all are territories".

As for the specific process of the dispute over Taoism.

They are too young to have a clear and complete understanding of this history.

"Hehe, it's not a secret, is it!"

Zhuo Jing stroked his sparse white beard: "Whether it is the library of Daming Taixue today, or the Daming archives and museums, the records of that period of history are very detailed. It's just that now, you young students, are busy with your homework and learning scientific knowledge every day, so naturally you don't have time to take care of it. ”

After speaking, Zhuo Jing paused, but thought that it was time to open a course of "A Brief History of Scientific Development" in Daming Taixue and local schools.

However, this thought immediately made Zhuo Jing laugh dumbly.

There is no other reason, if this course is really opened, then I am afraid that the effect is similar to "Jiang Sheng's Analects", "Jiang Sheng and his sages" and the like, and Jiang Xinghuo does not like to engage in personality cults the most, I am afraid he will not agree.

Even if it is agreed, most of it will be humbly attributed to the entire scientific research system of the Ming Dynasty.

After Zhuo Jing came back to his senses, he said leisurely.

"Back then, what the national teacher said was the law of operation of all things in heaven and earth, and it was precisely because of the existence of gravity that the theory of armillary heaven and the theory of covering the sky would be self-defeating."

"Countless scale-twisting experiments have been carried out throughout the Ming Dynasty, so that even the most stubborn Confucian scholars have nothing to say."

"However, due to practical conditions, in the first years of the Yongle New Deal, the calculation of the diameter of the moon could not be completed."

A student couldn't help but say, "Is it because the territory of the Ming Dynasty is not big enough?" ”

"Exactly."

Zhuo Jing bowed slightly and said: "After all, even if the difficulty of the task of measuring the diameter of the moon is reduced to the length of the earth's shadow area during the solar eclipse, this is still difficult for the Ming Dynasty at that time to complete. ”

"Therefore, even if Cheng Zhu Lixue has been criticized in all aspects, he still holds on to this breath and does not fall, as long as the length of the shadow area of the solar eclipse cannot be measured in one day, the diameter of the moon cannot be measured, and without the diameter of the moon, it is impossible to measure the diameter and area of the sun, and it is impossible to verify from the cosmic level that the sun is indeed the center of the earth and celestial bodies such as gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, and then the last fig leaf of Cheng Zhu Lixue' can never be torn off."

"Reason?" The student asked, confused.

It is Cheng Zhu's cosmology, the so-called principle of one, which refers to the principle of things and people, both of which originate from the principle of heaven; The so-called distinction is the belief that everything has a reason. ”

As soon as Zhuo Jing's words fell, several students couldn't help but laugh.

"Dean, isn't this a joke? The celestial bodies move because of gravity, how can it be that Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury are in the microscopic world, and when observed with a microscope, there is also their own saying, how can there be any heavenly reason? What's the difference? ”

Zhuo Jing shook his head, how did the young students who grew up in the new scientific system understand how Jiang Sheng and his disciples opened up the road of science back then.

"Before the rise of science, people's minds were so conservative and closed."

"The thought of this world was originally lifeless under the rule of Cheng Zhu Lixue, but later Jiang Sheng was born and slowly cultivated a scientific system. Now you see that the figures who are prominent in the scientific world of the Ming Dynasty are basically Jiang Sheng's students and students' students. ”

"Far from it, back to the point." Zhuo Jing suddenly asked, "What do you think you should do if you want to measure the length of the shadow area of the solar eclipse on the surface?" ”

"This."

The student's face was slightly red, and he replied with some embarrassment: "It seems that what kind of tool or method is it relied on?" ”

They are all students who have just entered the School of Astronomy, and they are still learning basic astrophysics, and they naturally don't know the specific situation.

"There are no tools and methods, it's just a matter of doing your best."

Hearing this, several astronomy students immediately perked up and listened attentively.

They have also heard of these past histories, but they have never been able to understand the whole picture, and they can't even find some of the people who have experienced them.

After all, these people who have personally experienced measuring the shadow of the moon during the solar eclipse in the past, even ordinary astronomical workers, are probably already following the Ming fleet across the world at this time, either as navigators, or enjoying high salaries in a merchant house somewhere in the world.

After all, in the objective environment at that time, it was too difficult to meet the requirements of measuring the shadow of the moon during a solar eclipse, so those who had worked hard at that time have undoubtedly been richly rewarded now.

It is precisely because there are no witnesses around them to tell them that these young students are extremely curious.

At the beginning, these students were also very curious about the legendary story of the national teacher and Dean Zhuo, but they couldn't bear to talk about the part in prison over and over again, which was almost callousing.

But now, they can finally listen to the story of this bigwig-level witness about the eclipse and the shadow of the moon.

Even the most superficial guidance is probably a lifelong benefit for them, the students of the School of Astronomy.

Zhuo Jing sighed and recalled: "In order to measure the length of the shadow area of the solar eclipse on the surface, that is, the approximate diameter of the moon, because of a specific region, it was necessary to establish thousands of observation stations in the adjacent longitude, stretching tens of thousands of miles from the north of the desert to the South Ocean. ”

"In the end, we can use manpower and horsepower to find out the specific length of the shadow in time within the two and two intervals of the four observation stations illuminated by the shadow, and then calculate the length of the shadow area of the eclipse on the surface."

Zhuo Jing said slowly: "The scene of that night, I'm afraid that I can't forget it until now. ”

"What was the night like?"

Hearing this, the students suddenly felt a cloud and mountain fog.

"What does it look like?"

They couldn't help but ask: "Why do you make a character like the dean unforgettable?" ”

"A spark can start a prairie fire."

Zhuo Jing's eyes were far and deep, and he muttered the words, as if he had fallen into some kind of memory.

"At the beginning, when the national teacher told me how to do this, I also asked him a question."

"Stretching for tens of thousands of miles, even if all those who have engaged in this great feat can make their own records at the first moment of the eclipse, but this is too far away, how can it be proved to everyone? After all, Cheng Zhu Lixue, who was only about to be kicked down by one kick, refused to take the initiative to fall down at this time no matter what. ”

"The national teacher said these eight words at that time."

"—A spark can start a prairie fire."

After a long time, Zhuo Jing said slowly: "The national teacher told me that there is only one way for us to show the eclipse surface shadow line to the world, and that is to reproduce the feat of the Great Wall of China that stretched for thousands of miles!" ”

"All the great Confucians and grandmasters who continue to insist on Cheng Zhu Lixue have been invited to various observation nodes in advance, either up the mountain or on the hot air balloon, in short, let them see clearly from a high place!"

"In addition, the gentry and common people everywhere were allowed to watch this feat, and the detailed principles of moon measurement had already been published in Ming Pao."

"The national teacher is to measure the moon in front of the people of the world! Defeat Cheng Zhu Lixue with dignity! ”

"And you may not be able to imagine what kind of burden the national teacher had at that time!"

Zhuo Jing sighed for a while: "The date of the total solar eclipse must be calculated in advance, and it must not be wrong to extend tens of thousands of miles, thousands of observation points, tens of thousands of people participate, the shadow of the solar eclipse comes, and the fire is raised in an instant, and it must not be wrong. Do you know how hard it is? ”

In fact, just hearing how this unprecedented feat of lunar measurement was achieved under the backward transportation and communication conditions at that time, the students of the School of Astronomy were already a little dazzled.

Such an earth-shattering test can really be said to be unreachable, but the heart yearns for it.

And Zhuo Jing's distant gaze seems to have returned to the day when it was called "Yongle Measuring the Moon" in the history books.

In the land of China, countless people are looking forward to it, whether it is ordinary people or gentry and magnates, they all gather at the transportation and sales point of "Ming Pao", waiting for the results of the national teacher's moon measurement.

And on that day, people witnessed this historic moment, and from that day on, the ideological circles of China can also be said to have undergone earth-shaking changes.

"How did the dean feel at that time?" A student asked curiously.

Zhuo Jing said with a smile: "When the results of the "Ming Pao" that were confirmed by countless observation nodes came out, of course, I was so excited that I danced with my hands, in fact, I already knew the results in advance, so I was so excited that I didn't sleep well at all, but I had to hold back my emotions and pretend to be light and not disclose it to others. ”

Several students laughed along.

With such a real side, in their minds, the image of the old dean is no longer so serious and chattering.

Some students continued to ask curiously: "What kind of past details did the establishment of the Seven Academies of Daming Taixue, the initial difficult development of industry, and the three debates between science and Cheng Zhu Lixue, which was just emerging at that time, the stronger the science became, what kind of details did you tell me, dean?" ”

Zhuo Jing smiled and shook his head, a few strands of white hair falling from his ears.

"That's all for later."

Zhuo Jing's gaze seemed to have returned to the place of enlightenment that he would never forget—the Imperial Prison.

PS: Rush to the list and ask for a monthly pass!

(End of chapter)