夢溪筆談（又選） Brush Talks from Dream Brook: A Builder, a Fallen Star, Lightning and Stone Bamboo Shen Kuo 沈括 (1031–1095) Song · c. 1088 Cold Library · Open Stacks · S-006212 · https://coldlibrary.com/s/006212 Rights: Song dynasty prose; the author died in 1095. Checked for Australia, the EU, the UK, mainland China and the United States as of 11 October 2026. Guidance, not legal advice. Source: Wikisource, https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/夢溪筆談 (retrieved 2026-10-11) English translation: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0 Generated 2026-10-14 from https://coldlibrary.com/en/open-stacks/shen-kuo-brush-talks-craft-and-wonders ---- 卷十八　技藝 營舍之法，謂之《木經》，或云喻皓所撰。凡屋有三分：自梁以上為上分，地以上為中分，階為下分。凡梁長幾何，則配極幾何，以為榱等。如梁長八尺，配極三尺五寸，則廳堂法也，此謂之上分。楹若干尺，則配堂基若干尺，以為榱等。若楹一丈一尺，則階基四尺五寸之類。以至承拱榱桷，皆有定法，謂之中分。階級有峻、平、慢三等，宮中則以御輦為法：凡自下而登，前竿垂盡臂，後竿展盡臂為峻道；前竿平肘，後竿平肩，為慢道；前竿垂手，後竿平肩，為平道；此之謂下分。其書三卷。近歲土木之工，益為嚴善，舊《木經》多不用，未有人重為之，亦良工之一業也。 錢氏據兩浙時，於杭州梵天寺建一木塔，方兩三級，錢帥登之，患其塔動。匠師云：「未布瓦，上輕，故如此。」方以瓦布之，而動如初。無可奈何，密使其妻見喻皓之妻，賂以金釵，問塔動之因。皓笑曰：「此易耳。但逐層布板訖，便實釘之，則不動矣。」匠師如其言，塔遂定。蓋釘板上下彌束，六幕相聯如胠篋。人履其板，六幕相持，自不能動。人皆伏其精練。 卷二十　神奇 治平元年，常州日禺時，天有大聲如雷，乃一大星，幾如月，見於東南。少時而又震一聲，移著西南。又一震而墜在宜興縣民許氏園中。遠近皆見，火光赫然照天，許氏藩籬皆為所焚。是時火息，視地中有一竅如杯大，極深。下視之，星在其中，熒熒然。良久漸暗，尚熱不可近。又久之，發其竅，深三尺餘，乃得一圓石，猶熱，其大如拳，一頭微銳，色如鐵，重亦如之。州守鄭伸得之，送潤州金山寺，至今匣藏，遊人到則發視。王無咎為之傳甚詳。 內侍李舜舉家曾為暴雷所震。其堂之西室，雷火自窗間出，赫然出檐，人以為堂屋已焚，皆出避之。及雷止，其舍宛然，墻壁窗紙皆黔。有一木格，其中雜貯諸器，其漆器銀釦者，銀悉鎔流在地，漆器曾不焦灼。有一寶刀，極堅鋼，就刀室中鎔為汁，而室亦儼然。人必謂火當先焚草木，然後流金石，今乃金石皆鑠，而草木無一毀者，非人情所測也。佛書言「龍火得水而熾，人火得水而滅」，此理信然。人但知人境中事耳，人境之外，事有何限？欲以區區世智情識，窮測至理，不其難哉！ 卷二十一　異事 近歲延州永寧關大河岸崩，入地數十尺，土下得竹筍一林，凡數百莖，根榦相連，悉化為石。適有中人過，亦取數莖去，云欲進呈。延郡素無竹，此入在數十尺土下，不知其何代物。無乃曠古以前，地卑氣濕而宜竹耶？婺州金華山有松石，又如核桃、蘆根、蛇蟹之類，皆有成石者；然皆其地本有之物，不足深怪。此深地中所無，又非本土所有之物，特可異耳。 ---- 卷十八　技艺 营舍之法，谓之《木经》，或云喻皓所撰。凡屋有三分：自梁以上为上分，地以上为中分，阶为下分。凡梁长几何，则配极几何，以为榱等。如梁长八尺，配极三尺五寸，则厅堂法也，此谓之上分。楹若干尺，则配堂基若干尺，以为榱等。若楹一丈一尺，则阶基四尺五寸之类。以至承拱榱桷，皆有定法，谓之中分。阶级有峻、平、慢三等，宫中则以御辇为法：凡自下而登，前竿垂尽臂，后竿展尽臂为峻道；前竿平肘，后竿平肩，为慢道；前竿垂手，后竿平肩，为平道；此之谓下分。其书三卷。近岁土木之工，益为严善，旧《木经》多不用，未有人重为之，亦良工之一业也。 钱氏据两浙时，于杭州梵天寺建一木塔，方两三级，钱帅登之，患其塔动。匠师云：「未布瓦，上轻，故如此。」方以瓦布之，而动如初。无可奈何，密使其妻见喻皓之妻，赂以金钗，问塔动之因。皓笑曰：「此易耳。但逐层布板讫，便实钉之，则不动矣。」匠师如其言，塔遂定。盖钉板上下弥束，六幕相联如胠箧。人履其板，六幕相持，自不能动。人皆伏其精练。 卷二十　神奇 治平元年，常州日禺时，天有大声如雷，乃一大星，几如月，见于东南。少时而又震一声，移着西南。又一震而坠在宜兴县民许氏园中。远近皆见，火光赫然照天，许氏藩篱皆为所焚。是时火息，视地中有一窍如杯大，极深。下视之，星在其中，荧荧然。良久渐暗，尚热不可近。又久之，发其窍，深三尺余，乃得一圆石，犹热，其大如拳，一头微锐，色如铁，重亦如之。州守郑伸得之，送润州金山寺，至今匣藏，游人到则发视。王无咎为之传甚详。 内侍李舜举家曾为暴雷所震。其堂之西室，雷火自窗间出，赫然出檐，人以为堂屋已焚，皆出避之。及雷止，其舍宛然，墙壁窗纸皆黔。有一木格，其中杂贮诸器，其漆器银扣者，银悉镕流在地，漆器曾不焦灼。有一宝刀，极坚钢，就刀室中镕为汁，而室亦俨然。人必谓火当先焚草木，然后流金石，今乃金石皆铄，而草木无一毁者，非人情所测也。佛书言「龙火得水而炽，人火得水而灭」，此理信然。人但知人境中事耳，人境之外，事有何限？欲以区区世智情识，穷测至理，不其难哉！ 卷二十一　异事 近岁延州永宁关大河岸崩，入地数十尺，土下得竹笋一林，凡数百茎，根干相连，悉化为石。适有中人过，亦取数茎去，云欲进呈。延郡素无竹，此入在数十尺土下，不知其何代物。无乃旷古以前，地卑气湿而宜竹耶？婺州金华山有松石，又如核桃、芦根、蛇蟹之类，皆有成石者；然皆其地本有之物，不足深怪。此深地中所无，又非本土所有之物，特可异耳。 ---- English translation by Claude (an AI) Book 18: Arts and Skills The method of building houses is called the Timberwork Classic; some say it was written by Yu Hao. A house has three parts: from the beams upward is the upper part, from the ground upward the middle part, and the steps are the lower part. However long the beam is, the ridge-post is matched to it, and so the rafters are graded: if the beam is eight feet long and the ridge-post three feet five inches, that is the rule for a hall. This is called the upper part. However many feet the pillars are, the platform of the hall is matched to them, and so the rafters are graded: if the pillars are eleven feet, the platform is four feet five inches, and so on. Everything down to the brackets, round rafters and square rafters has its fixed rule; this is called the middle part. Steps are of three grades, steep, level and gentle, and in the palace the imperial litter is the standard. Going up from below, when the front bearers have their arms hanging fully down and the rear bearers have their arms stretched fully up, that is a steep path; when the front bearers hold their poles at the elbow and the rear bearers at the shoulder, that is a gentle path; when the front bearers hold them with hands hanging and the rear bearers at the shoulder, that is a level path. This is called the lower part. The book is in three chapters. In recent years carpentry has grown stricter and finer, and the old Timberwork Classic is mostly not used; but no one has written it again, and that too would be work for a good craftsman. When the Qian family held the two Zhe, they built a wooden pagoda at the Fantian temple in Hangzhou. When it was two or three storeys high, Lord Qian climbed it and was troubled that the pagoda moved. The master builder said: “The tiles are not on yet; the top is light, and that is why.” So they laid the tiles, and it moved as before. At his wits’ end, he secretly sent his wife to see the wife of Yu Hao, bribed her with a golden hairpin, and asked why the pagoda moved. Hao laughed and said: “That is easy. Just lay the floorboards storey by storey and nail them down hard, and it will not move.” The builder did as he said, and the pagoda stood firm. For the boards nailed above and below bind the whole together, and the six faces are joined like a closed box. When people walk on the boards, the six faces hold one another, and of course it cannot move. Everyone admired his expertise. Book 20: Wonders In the first year of Zhiping, at Changzhou, in the hour before noon, there was a great noise in the sky like thunder: it was a great star, almost as big as the moon, which appeared in the south-east. A little later there was another clap, and it moved to the south-west. With one more clap it fell in the garden of a commoner named Xu in Yixing county. People far and near all saw it; its fire lit up the sky, and the Xu family’s fences were all burnt. When the fire had died down, there was a hole in the ground the size of a cup, very deep. Looking down, they saw the star inside it, glowing. After a long time it slowly grew dark, but it was still too hot to go near. After a longer time they dug out the hole, and at a depth of more than three feet found a round stone, still hot, the size of a fist, one end slightly pointed, the colour of iron and about as heavy. The prefect, Zheng Shen, took it and sent it to the Jinshan temple at Runzhou, where it is still kept in a box and shown to visitors when they come. Wang Wujiu wrote a detailed account of it. The house of the palace eunuch Li Shunju was once struck by violent thunder. In the west room of the hall, lightning fire came out through the windows and blazed out from the eaves, so that people thought the hall had caught fire and all ran out to escape. When the thunder stopped, the building stood as before, though the walls and the window paper were all blackened. In a wooden cabinet a number of vessels were stored together; the silver of the silver-rimmed lacquerware had all melted and run down to the floor, yet the lacquer was not even scorched. A precious sword of very hard steel had melted to liquid inside its scabbard, and the scabbard was still whole. People will say that fire must burn grass and wood first and only then melt metal and stone; but here the metal and stone had all melted and not one thing of grass or wood was damaged. This is beyond what human feeling can fathom. The Buddhist books say: “Dragon fire blazes when it meets water; human fire is put out by water.” That principle is true indeed. People know only the affairs of the human realm; beyond the human realm, what limit can there be to what happens? To try to fathom the ultimate principle with our petty worldly wisdom and feeling: is that not hard? Book 21: Strange Happenings In recent years, at the Yongning pass in Yanzhou, a bank of the great river fell in, and some tens of feet underground a grove of bamboo shoots was found, several hundred stalks, roots and stems joined together, all turned to stone. A palace envoy happened to pass and took several stalks away, saying he meant to present them at court. Yan prefecture has never had bamboo; these were tens of feet under the earth, and no one knows from what age. Could it be that in a remote antiquity the ground lay low and the air was damp and suited to bamboo? At Mount Jinhua in Wuzhou there are pines turned to stone, and things like walnuts, reed roots, snakes and crabs have all been found turned to stone; but all of those are things the place has always had, and they are not much to wonder at. These, though, are things not found deep in the ground, nor native to the region, and that is what makes them strange.