Wang Chong facts for kids

Wang Chong (27 – around 97 AD) was a very smart Chinese thinker. He was an astronomer, meteorologist, and philosopher during the Eastern Han dynasty. He believed in looking at the world in a very logical and natural way. He thought that everything happened because of natural causes, not magic or spirits.

Wang Chong's most important book was called Lunheng, which means "Critical Essays". In this book, he wrote about many early scientific ideas. He was even the first person in China to mention a special water pump called a chain pump. This pump later became very important for watering farms and building projects. He also correctly explained how the water cycle works, which is how water moves from the earth to the sky and back again.

Unlike many other thinkers of his time, Wang Chong was often poor. People said he learned by standing at bookstalls and reading. He had an amazing memory and knew a lot about old Chinese books. He became a government official for a short time, but he was very honest and spoke his mind, which often got him into trouble.

The Life of Wang Chong

Wang Chong was born into a poor family in a place called Shangyu, which is in modern-day Zhejiang, China. He was known for being very devoted to his father. His parents encouraged him to travel to the capital city, Luoyang, to study at the Imperial University.

Because he didn't have much money, Wang Chong couldn't buy many books. So, he often visited bookshops to read and learn. He met important people there, like the famous historian Ban Biao and his son Ban Gu. Wang Chong didn't like officials who were admired just for their money or power, rather than their knowledge.

After his studies, Wang Chong went back home and became a teacher. He got a job as an Officer of Merit, but he was very critical and liked to argue, so he soon quit. He spent some time alone, writing essays about his ideas. These essays were later put together into his famous book, Lunheng.

Later, he took another government job, but he resigned from that one too. A friend tried to get him a senior scholar position with Emperor Zhang of Han, but Wang Chong said he was sick and couldn't travel. He died at home around the year 100 AD.

Even though his logical ideas were mostly ignored when he was alive, they became much more important later on. People like the famous official Cai Yong admired his writings.

Wang Chong's Ideas and Philosophy

Wang Chong lived in a time when many people believed in magic, ghosts, and strange signs. Daoism had become very religious, and Confucianism was the official state religion. People even worshipped Confucius and Laozi like gods. Wang Chong didn't agree with any of this. He wanted to explain the world using only logic and natural reasons.

A main part of his thinking was that he didn't believe that Heaven had any special plans for humans. He thought it was silly to say that Heaven gave us food or clothes, because that would mean Heaven was like a farmer or a tailor! He believed humans were tiny parts of the huge universe and couldn't really change it. He thought it was arrogant to believe the universe would change just for us.

Wang Chong also said that people should think carefully about what old wise people had written. He pointed out that their words often didn't make sense together. He criticized scholars of his time for just accepting everything they read. He believed that the truth could be found by making ideas clear and explaining texts well.

For example, Wang Chong argued that thunder must be caused by fire or heat. He didn't think it was a sign that the heavens were angry. He believed that people should try to repeat experiences and do experiments before deciding that gods were involved.

He also didn't believe in ghosts. He asked why only humans would have ghosts, and not other animals. He also pointed out that if everyone who died became a ghost, there would be far more ghosts than living people! He didn't say ghosts didn't exist at all, but he believed they weren't the souls of dead people.

Wang Chong was very clear about knowledge. He thought that beliefs needed proof, just like actions needed results. He said that anyone could say silly things, and some people would always believe them, especially if they sounded mysterious. He stressed that careful thinking and real-world experience were needed to find the truth.

Many modern writers think Wang Chong was one of the most original thinkers of his time. His ideas were quite different from what most people believed. He became more popular in the early 1900s because his ideas were similar to scientific thoughts that developed much later in Europe.

Early Scientific Thinking

Wang Chong used his sharp mind and objective way of looking at things to write about many topics that scientists today would praise.

Meteorology: How Rain Works

Wang Chong wrote about clouds and rain, much like the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle did. He explained the water cycle in a very clear way:

Some people think that rain comes down from the heavens where the stars are. But if you think about it, rain comes from above the earth, not from the distant heavens.

When people see rain gathering high up, they say it comes from the heavens. Yes, it comes from above the earth. How can we show that rain starts on the earth and rises from mountains? An old commentary says that water evaporates upwards through stones and gathers. It can spread far from a big mountain like Mount Tai, but only a short distance from small mountains. This depends on how tall the mountain is. People who say clouds carry rain and then release it are right. Clouds and rain are really the same thing.

Water that evaporates and goes up becomes clouds. These clouds then turn into rain, or even into dew. When clothes get wet on high mountain paths, it's not from clouds and mist, but from tiny drops of water floating in the air.

Some people quote old books that say, "When the moon follows the stars, there will be wind and rain," or "The moon near a certain star will bring heavy rain." They believe these books mean heaven causes the rain. What should we say to this?

When rain comes from the mountains, the moon is passing certain stars. When it gets near those stars, there must be rain. If it doesn't rain, the moon hasn't gotten close, and the mountains have no clouds. Heaven and earth, above and below, work together. When the moon gets close above, the mountains below release vapor, and their energies meet. This is how nature works on its own. Clouds and fog show that rain is coming. In summer, it turns to dew; in winter, to frost. If it's warm, it's rain; if it's cold, it's snow. Rain, dew, and frost all come from the earth. They do not fall from the distant heavens.

Wang Chong's ideas showed how he connected old Chinese thoughts with new scientific ways of thinking.

Astronomy: Eclipses and the Sun and Moon

Wang Chong also talked about eclipses, like solar eclipses (when the sun is blocked) and lunar eclipses (when the moon is blocked). However, his ideas about eclipses were different from what most people believed at the time.

Many people, like the scientist Zhang Heng, believed that the Moon was round and reflected light from the Sun, which was also round. They thought that an eclipse happened when the Earth blocked the sun's light from reaching the moon (lunar eclipse), or when the moon blocked the sun's light from reaching Earth (solar eclipse).

But Wang Chong had a different idea. He wrote:

Scholars say solar eclipses are caused by the moon. It's true they happen when the moon is near the sun. But old records don't say the moon caused it. Why wouldn't they mention the moon if they knew?

In an eclipse, the sun's light gets weak. But the moon's light is very weak at those times. How could it block the strong sun? If the moon "eats" the sun, what "eats" the moon in a lunar eclipse? Nothing, the moon just fades. So, the sun might also fade on its own.

Solar eclipses happen about every 41 or 42 months, and lunar eclipses every 180 days. They happen at set times not because of the moon's cycle, but because the sun's energy naturally changes at those times. Why would the moon have anything to do with the sun's changes? The sun should be full. If it shrinks, it's unusual. But in things like landslides or earthquakes, what "eats" the earth then?

Other scholars say the moon covers the sun. But the sun is farther away, and the moon is closer. So the moon couldn't cover the sun. They say the sun's light is blocked by the moon. Just like on a cloudy day, you can't see the sun or moon. They say when they meet, they block each other. When they are perfectly lined up, the sun is almost gone. The sun and moon being together at new moon is just how the heavens work.

But the idea that the moon covers the sun's light in a solar eclipse is not true. How can we check this? When the sun and moon are together and the sun's light is 'covered', their edges must meet first. Then, when the light comes back, they must have moved. Imagine the sun is in the east and the moon in the west. The moon moves quickly east and meets the sun, 'covering' its edge. Soon the moon passes the sun. When the western edge of the sun, which was covered first, shines again, the eastern edge should then be covered. But we see that during an eclipse, the western edge goes dark, but when the light comes back, the western edge is bright again. The moon covers both the western and eastern parts. This is called 'exact blocking' and 'mutual covering'. How can astronomers explain this if they believe the moon covers the sun's light?

Also, scholars say the sun and moon are perfectly round. When you look up, they look like a round basket. But I think the sun and moon are not actually round; they only look that way because they are so far away. How can we check this? The sun is made of fire, the moon of water. On Earth, fire and water are never perfectly round, so why would they be round in the heavens? The sun and moon are like the other planets and stars. The other stars are not truly round, but only look round because they are so far away. How do we know this? In ancient times, stars fell to Earth. When people went to see them, they were just stones, not round. Since these falling stars were not round, we can be sure the sun, moon, and planets are not round either.

Even though Wang Chong was right about the water cycle, his ideas about eclipses were not accepted in China. Later scientists like Shen Kuo and Zhu Xi continued to support the idea of a spherical Sun and Moon and how they block each other during eclipses. Wang Chong's strong disagreement with the popular ideas of his time made him question all their theories, even the correct ones about eclipses.

See also

• Chinese philosophy
• Yigupai