《天工开物》由明代著名科学家宋应星初刊于1637年（明崇祯十年丁丑），共十八卷，123幅图。全书收录了农业、手工业，诸如机械、砖瓦、陶瓷、硫磺、烛、纸、兵器、火药、纺织、染色、制盐、采煤、榨油等生产技术。《天工开物》是世界上第一部关于农业和手工业生产的综合性著作，是中国古代一部综合性的科学技术著作，有人也称它是一部百科全书式的著作，作者是明朝科学家宋应星。外国学者称它为“中国17世纪的工艺百科全书”。作者在书中强调人类要和自然相协调、人力要与自然力相配合。是中国科技史料中保留最为丰富的一部，它更多地着眼于手工业，反映了中国明代末年出现资本主义萌芽时期的生产力状况。2020年4月，列入《教育部基础教育课程教材发展中心 中小学生阅读指导目录（2020年版）》。
“Heavenly Creatures” was first published by Song Yingxing, a famous scientist in the Ming Dynasty, in 1637 (Ding Chou in the tenth year of Chongzhen’s reign in the Ming Dynasty), with 18 volumes and 123 pictures. The book covers agricultural and handicraft industries, such as machinery, bricks and tiles, ceramics, sulfur, candles, paper, weapons, gunpowder, textiles, dyeing, salt production, coal mining, oil extraction and other production technologies. Tiangong Kaiwu is the first comprehensive work on agriculture and handicraft production in the world. It is a comprehensive scientific and technological work in ancient China. Some people also call it an encyclopedic work. The author is Song Yingxing, a scientist of the Ming Dynasty. Foreign scholars call it “the encyclopedia of Chinese technology in the 17th century”. In the book, the author emphasizes that human beings should coordinate with nature and that human resources should coordinate with natural forces. It is the most abundant part of China’s scientific and technological historical data. It focuses more on handicraft industry, reflecting the productivity situation in the period when capitalism emerged in the late Ming Dynasty. In April 2020, it was listed in the “Reading Guidance Catalog for Primary and Secondary School Students in the Development Center of Basic Education Curriculum and Textbook of the Ministry of Education (2020 Edition)”.

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