"天工開物" by Yingxing Song is a Chinese encyclopedia published in 1637. This groundbreaking work documents technical processes and industries across agriculture, manufacturing, and maritime technology. Breaking from tradition, Song rarely references earlier texts, instead writing from apparent first-hand observation. The encyclopedia features an unprecedented number of detailed illustrations depicting production methods, from brick-making and grain cultivation to waterwheel systems and nautical engineering. Though suppressed in China during the Qing dynasty, copies survived in Japan. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
These books are free to read. Each is in the public domain in the United States; check your own country's rules before you copy or share one.
