本套書以「科普圖畫書」的形式，詳盡地介紹中國古代在科學發現、技術發明、工程建設等方面的成就，共分為兩輯。如果說第一輯的「四大發明」是比較獨立具體地介紹某一項技術發明，那麼第二輯則是比較全面系統地介紹了我國古代在某一技術領域的技術成果，主要包括紡織術、農耕術、營造術和制瓷術。本書描繪了我國古代先民如何在原始農業的基礎上，通過不斷的開拓與探索，創造了舉世矚目的成就。從茹毛飲血到刀耕火種，原始農業的興起，推動了華夏文明的發展。我國作為一個農業傳統悠久的國家，在耕作技術、耕作工具、灌溉工程、作物栽培、家畜馴化等方面都取得了傑出的成就。特別是火耕水耨、農田溝洫、圍水梯山、順時而作的耕作方式頗具農業生態思想，而青銅農具、鐵器牛耕、翻車筒車的發明又頗具科學創意，極大地提高了農業生產力。

In the form of a 「popular science picture book」， this set of books introduces in detail ancient China』s achievements in scientific discoveries， technological inventions， and engineering constructions. If the 「Four Great Inventions」 in the first volume gave a relatively independent and detailed introduction to a technological invention， the second volume introduces the achievements of ancient China in a technical field in a comprehensive and systematic manner. These include farming， textile， porcelain and construction techniques.This book describes how ancient Chinese made world-renowned achievements through continuous development and exploration on the basis of primitive agriculture. From eating raw animal flesh and drinking blood to slash-and-burn cultivation， the rise of primitive agriculture drove the development of Chinese civilization. As a country steeped in agricultural tradition， China has made outstanding achievements in farming technology， farming tools， irrigation projects， crop cultivation， livestock domestication and other areas. In particular， farming methods such as suppressing weeds with fire and water， digging ditches to drain or water farmland， building embankments in low-set areas and terraced fields on hillsides， and following the changing seasons to farm， all these demonstrated an ecological thinking in agriculture. The scientific and creative inventions of bronze farm tools， cattle-driven iron equipment， and hydraulic devices like keel water wheel and water scoop have greatly improved agricultural productivity.