The encyclopedia Imperial Readings of the Taiping…

The encyclopedia Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era, another of the Four Great Books of Song, is completed in one thousand volumes of 4.7 million written Chinese characters.

A massive encyclopedia compiled by a number of officers commissioned by the imperial court of the Song Dynasty with the lead editor being Li Fang from 977 to 983 during the era of Taiping Xingguon, it includes citations from about two thousand five hundred and seventy-nine different kinds of documents spanning from books, poetry, ode, proverbs, steles to miscellaneous works.

After the compilation, the Emperor Taizong of Song is said to have finished reading the book within a year with three volumes per day.

The Song Dynasty Chinese engineer Qiao Wei develops, in 984, the first known use of the double-gated canal pound lock for adjusting different water levels in segments of the Grand Canal of China.

This dramatically helps the passage of ships in segments with rougher waters leading slightly downhill.

Qiao also has roof hangers built over the segments where double gates are installed, increasing the amount of safety for passing ships.