Although in the past day.

Xu Yun had already proven that he indeed possessed some unusual skills with considerable practical value.

But perhaps due to ingrained notions.

Whenever a fresh term came out of Xu Yun's mouth, Old Su instinctively thought of Xu Yun's identity as a male actor.

After all, the roles of a male actor and someone with ancestral medical skills don't really conflict much.

In these times, bloodline notoriety is quite common, with countless examples of parents rising to prominence while their children end up in prison or in brothels.

Thus, Old Su easily associated certain terms with being a male actor.

Who told Xu Yun to only verbalize the pronunciation rather than directly write the Chinese characters? ✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡

For instance, the real poke.

For instance, stem injection.

And for this time.....

"Micros-take?"

Then Old Su imagined a scenario in his mind.

Hiss...

Of course.

This whimsical thought came and went quickly.

The next second, Old Su realized that what Xu Yun was referring to was most likely some new tool.

Even though it was unknown how many times Old Su had heard new things from Xu Yun's mouth, he still looked quite curious:

"Xiaowang, I wonder what kind of object this microscope is that you are talking about?"

Xu Yun thought for a moment and asked:

"Master, have you ever heard of Ai Dai?"

Upon hearing this, Old Su was stunned, then his eyes showed a contemplative look, his expression somewhat nostalgic:

"Of course, I've seen it. In the past, when Duke Wen Zhong could still see clearly, someone presented this item.

I heard Duke Wen Zhong praise its wonder more than once, but unfortunately, later Duke Wen Zhong developed an eye ailment, and the Ai Dai eventually lost its purpose."

Xu Yun nodded knowingly, he had also heard about what Old Su was talking about.

Ai Dai.

The term might sound a bit twisted, but the object it refers to is quite common, it is the later era's...

Reading glasses.

That's right.

During the Song Dynasty, reading glasses had already appeared.

For example, in the Southern Song Zhao Xihu's "Grotto Heaven Clear Record," there is a clear documentation:

"Ai Dai, when the elderly cannot distinguish fine books, they use this to cover the eyes, and then can see clearly."

Additionally, in the Song Dynasty's "Leisure Diary," there's another example provided:

"Shi Hang resolved cases, took dozens of pieces of rock crystal to use initially unbeknownst, but later discovered the case documents were dim, and used rock crystal to see them clearly."

Rock crystal, that is, crystal.

Shi Hang was a fellow countryman and friend of Su Xun of the Northern Song, who developed presbyopia when serving as a law enforcement officer, thus he used crystal glasses to read case files.

However, the eyeglasses at this time were not shaped like the framed dual-lens glasses we are familiar with today.

According to descriptions.

Ancient reading glasses should be a single lens, without the existence of a frame.

They needed to be hand-held when used, somewhat similar to how magnifying glasses are used.

As for the Duke Wen Zhong mentioned by Old Su, it naturally refers to Ouyang Wenzhong, who is one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song, Ouyang Xiu.

He was also a good friend of Old Su, who was deeply affected by vision impairment in his later years, having passed away about thirty years ago.

On a side note.

There was also a very famous person with poor eyesight in ancient times, named Bai Juyi.

He even wrote a poem about it:

In early years diligently watching the suffering of reading, in old age mourning shed many tears.

The eyes damaged not knowing self-possession, fell ill only then understanding what to wish for.

At night it seemed like the lamp would extinguish, in morning darkness long suspected the mirror was not polished.

Thousands of medicines and countless prescriptions could not cure it, one should close the eyes and follow the recluse.

From this, it could be seen.

Old Bai not only had nearsightedness, but most likely also astigmatism and dry eyes....

Returning our attention to the present.

With the example of Ai Dai, these ancient reading glasses, explaining the concept of a microscope became easier for Xu Yun:

"A microscope, as the name suggests, is a 'mirror' that can display tiny objects in view.

If the Ai Dai is said to magnify a character several times.

Then a microscope could magnify small objects tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times.

With this microscope, microorganisms naturally wouldn't be able to escape unnoticed and would be observable."

Old Su silently listened to these words, his expression thoughtful.

Truth be told.

Xu Yun's logic had no particular problems, merely relying on magnification to explore minute objects.

In fact, many years before Xu Yun appeared, Old Su had already pondered the possibility of using crystal to make magnifying devices.

After all, in the "New Astronomical Instrument Manual," Old Su personally drew 14 star maps, recording 1464 stars.

This is also the earliest star map preserved domestically from the complete collection of star maps later on.

Europe didn't expand their star maps to 1022 stars until the 14th century Renaissance, and even then with some basic constellations recorded.

Not only later by two hundred years than Old Su, but also fewer in quantity than Old Su's by a large margin.

Of course.

Another set of star maps with 1350 stars, the Tang Dynasty Dunhuang Star Map, predated Su Song's star maps.

But unfortunately.

It was stolen over a hundred years ago by Stein and is now kept in the British Museum in London, so it does not count as a star map preserved within the country. (This is also an infuriating matter. Those interested can look it up. Back when I saw some documents in the British Museum, I had extremely mixed feelings....)

As a contemporary master who once gazed at the stars, Old Su naturally also thought about whether it was possible to use the magnifying effect of crystal to observe the stars.

For example, in Old Su's study, there is currently a simplified telescope stored.

However, its magnification is only five or six times, with magnification effects almost as good as nonexistent, not making much visible.

The collector value is instead higher than practical value by a bit.

But with these objects and past experiences as a basis, Old Su, upon hearing Xu Yun's introduction, grew more and more interested:

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.