The technology of the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) was advanced, providing some of the most prolific technological advancements in Chinese history, much of which came from talented statesmen drafted by the government through imperial examinations. The ingenuity of mechanical engineering had a long tradition in China. The Song Dynasty engineer Su Song admitted that he and his contemporaries were building upon the achievements of the ancients such as Zhang Heng, an astronomer, inventor, and early master of mechanical gears. The application of movable type printing advanced the already widespread use of woodblock printing to educate and amuse Confucian students and the masses. The application of new weapons employing the use of gunpowder enabled the Song Dynasty to ward off its militant enemies until its collapse to the Mongol forces of Kublai Khan, in the late 13th century. Notable advancements in civil engineering, nautics, and metallurgy were made in Song China, as well as the introduction of the windmill to China during the 13th century. These advancements, along with the introduction of paper-printed money, helped revolutionize and sustain the economy of the Song Dynasty.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_of_the_Song_Dynasty

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1306: Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland at Scone Palace in Perth. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_I_of_Scotland)

1634: Lord Baltimore, his younger brother Leonard Calvert, and a group of Catholic settlers founded the English colony of Maryland. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Maryland)

1655: Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan, the largest natural satellite of the planet Saturn. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_%28moon%29)

1802: France and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Amiens, temporarily ending the hostilities between the two during the French Revolutionary Wars. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Amiens)

1807: The Slave Trade Act became law, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_1807)

1918: The Belarusian People's Republic was established during World War I, when Belarus was occupied by the German Empire according to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarusian_National_Republic)

_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:

rostrum: A dais, pulpit, or similar platform for a speaker, conductor or other performer. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rostrum)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

Political rights do not exist because they have been legally set down on a piece of paper, but only when they have become the ingrown habit of a people, and when any attempt to impair them will meet with the violent resistance of the populace. Where this is not the case, there is no help in any parliamentary Opposition or any Platonic appeals to the constitution. One compels respect from others when he knows how to defend his dignity as a human being. (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rudolf_Rocker)