Zhang Heng Seismograph Could Record Earth’s Dangerous Movements

A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – Zhang Heng (A.D. 78 – 139) was one of the world’s first scientists to propose that the universe is infinite in space and time.

He was also convinced that the number of dimensions we cannot see with the naked eye is unlimited.

A full-size replica of the first seismograph invented by Zhang Heng during the reign of the Eastern Han Dynasty (ab. CE 130), displayed at the open-air exposition held in Warsaw, Poland (June 2008). Credit: Cyborian – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

He’s considered Leonardo da Vinci of the far East. He made significant contributions to the development of astronomy in ancient China along with 32 works on science, literature, and philosophy, of which Ling Xian, a summary of astronomical theories at the time, and the Map of Ling Xian, are astronomical works.

Among the many impressive inventions of the Chinese scholar Zhang Heng, there is an instrument for testing wind and earth movements.

In 1703, Jean de Hautefeuille, a French physicist, created the first seismograph of modern times. This device allowed scientists to measure earthquakes accurately. However, like in so many other cases, we must remember that what de Hautefeuille really invented was only a rediscovery of a device that the ancients were already familiar with many centuries earlier.

The instrument was invented in 132 A.D. and given the Chinese name Houfeng Didong Yi – or Didong Yi.

The instrument could determine the direction of an earthquake, contrary to popular belief at that time.

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