Song Yingxing was a Chinese scientist and encyclopedist who lived during the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). He was the author of Tiangong Kaiwu, an encyclopedia that covered a wide variety of technical subjects, including the use of gunpowder weapons. The British biochemist, sinologist, and historian Joseph Needham called Song Yingxing "The Diderot of China."
The puddling process of smelting iron ore to make wrought iron from pig iron, with the right illustration displaying men working a blast furnace, from the Tiangong Kaiwu encyclopedia, 1637.
The Tiangong Kaiwu (天工開物), or The Exploitation of the Works of Nature was a Chinese encyclopedia compiled by Song Yingxing. It was published in May 1637 with funding provided by Song's patron Tu Shaokui. The Tiangong Kaiwu is an encyclopedia covering a wide range of technical issues, including the use of various gunpowder weapons. Copies of the book were very scarce in China during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), but original copies of the book were preserved in Japan.
Two types of hydraulic-powered chain pumps from the Tiangong Kaiwu.
A two-masted Chinese junk ship, from the Tiangong Kaiwu.
A giant draw loom machine for figure weaving, from the Tiangong Kaiwu.
Smelting silver ore and the process of removing lead compounds, from the Tiangong Kaiwu.
