Chapter 14 Section 3 Changes in Vehicle Power

In the final analysis, the power of land transportation in ancient my country mainly relied on human power and animal power, not to mention mechanical power.However, for the same human and animal power, the methods, scales, means, benefits, etc. of their use are quite different in different periods. The appearance of the car is an important milestone in the history of the development of land transportation in my country, and the rickshaw is the first vehicle used by people.The load-carrying capacity of a human-powered push-pull vehicle is much larger than that carried by a person's shoulders, and it can exempt the human body from directly bearing heavy pressure.But people's physical strength is limited, so most of the rickshaws are light two-wheeled vehicles or unicycles.According to ancient books, my country's Shang Dynasty (16th century BC - 11th century BC) was able to manufacture portable two-wheeled vehicles with spoke wheels.During the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 B.C.-220 A.D.), two-wheeled human-powered vehicles were called "chariots" [nian mill], which were generally used by emperors and princes and nobles.During the Han and Wei Dynasties, a wheelbarrow that was pushed and pulled by human power was popular. The shelves were installed on both sides of the wheel for carrying goods and people.The wheelbarrow only has one wheel on the ground, which is convenient for passing through field ridges and trails. At the end of the 19th century, a passenger rickshaw appeared in some big cities in my country.Its main components are elastic wheels, leaf spring suspensions and wooden carriages.There are two poles protruding from the front of the carriage, which are the handles of the driver to pull the cart.When the pole is lifted, the rider's body will lean back, which can reduce the pulling force.Because this kind of passenger rickshaw was introduced from Japan, it is also called "Oriental car".

The appearance of animal-drawn carts liberated the ancients from the heavy labor of pushing and pulling carts and became the drivers of carts.Animal-drawn carts have greater carrying capacity than rickshaws, and are faster and travel farther. They have played a great role in promoting the development of human society.The ancients used animal power as the power of vehicles, which was based on the long-term domestication of wild animals by humans.Take the horse as an example. Its burly body and galloping for thousands of miles have always been praised by people.But horses are not born this way. It is said that the earliest horses in the world were only about one foot tall and looked similar to modern foxes.After tens of millions of years of natural evolution, especially through millions of years of human cultivation, it became a domestic horse for people to ride and use as vehicle power.In ancient my country, horses were used to drive, and the appearance of horse-drawn carriages can be traced back to at least 4,000 years ago. There is a saying in "Shangshu" that "serve cattle and ride horses", and the horse-training and driving skills in the Xia Dynasty reached a certain level.By the Shang Dynasty, there were already horse-drawn carriages with spoke wheels and carriages.During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, horse-drawn chariots became more or less a symbol of national strength, and horses as riding animals began to be widely used by ancient Chinese.The knowledge and skills of raising horses and identifying horses have been highly valued by the society.In the Western Han Dynasty, in order to obtain horses, the state issued a special decree requiring every family to raise horses, and horses under the age of 10 were not allowed to leave the border.Sometimes in order to get horses, they would not hesitate to start a war, and send generals to the Western Regions to obtain the tough and strong sweat horses.Ma Yuan, a famous general in the Eastern Han Dynasty, deeply realized that "the horse is the foundation of the armor, and the great use of the country", he carefully summed up the experience of the predecessors in horse training, and cast it into a bronze horse.He said: The knowledge of horses cannot be passed on by word of mouth alone.However, it is impossible for any specific horse to have all kinds of advantages at the same time. "Today, if you want to look like a raw horse, it is difficult to have a law, and you can't pass it on to the future." So it was cast into a bronze horse. Five inches in one foot, and four feet four inches in bust, it combines the strengths of a good horse's □ (ji), articulate, body, lips and other parts into one body, which is clear at a glance and can last for a long time.The bronze horse model cast by Ma Yuan is called "Famous Horse Style" and is highly valued by the imperial court.The intuitive education of equestrianism by using models shows that Ma Yuan has a scientific mind.During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a new reform in the use of horses. This is the invention of the stirrup by the people of the Six Dynasties.Ancient people didn't use stirrups when riding horses, and they didn't even know how to use stirrups in the Three Kingdoms period, so they used a lot of energy.At this time, the stirrup was invented, and riding a horse was very convenient.This is an extremely simple invention with great practical value.Mr. Needham, a British science and technology historian, said: The spread of stirrups to Europe promoted the construction of European cavalry.It is a pity that we have no way of knowing the inventor of this stirrup and its original use.Horse-drawn carriages are fast and flexible, so they play an important role in animal-drawn vehicles.Although the carriage was not mainly used as a chariot after the Han Dynasty, it has been widely used as a transport vehicle for carrying passengers and goods, and it continues to this day.Now in the vast northern rural areas of our country, horse-drawn carriages are still an important transportation force.

Cattle are also important animal power.In my country, the history of using oxen to drive carts is not shorter than that of horses, and the earliest use of oxen carts was more than 4,000 years ago.Bullock carts are not as fast as horse carts, but they also have their own advantages.Especially when horses are scarce, ox carts play an irreplaceable role.In the early Han Dynasty, there was a lack of horses, so "the general or the ox cart". ("Historical Records Ping Zhun Shu") But the Han people are more willing to use cattle for farming.However, in the later period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the princes began to drive ox carts again.It was out of necessity, because of the war, the country has fewer horses.It was different in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, when driving an ox cart became a fashion for the wealthy, nobles and even the royal family.It is said that the cattle are stable, and as long as they are handled well, their speed is quite impressive, so they are popular. "Twenty-two Historical Researches" said: "The nobles in ancient times did not ride in ox carts, and they became more expensive later. Since Lingxian, the emperor to the scholars thought they often took them." The emperor of the Jin Dynasty traveled with five-hour carts, Wu Niu Banner's request.Jin people attach so much importance to cattle, it is said that it is because of "carrying heavy loads to make them safe and stable" ("Jin Zhi·Yu Fu Zhi").Therefore, the emperor's imperial chariots, imperial four-looking chariots, imperial clothing chariots, imperial medicine chariots, and imperial book chariots were all driven by oxen and walked in the center of the imperial road.There is also a painted wheel cart, "the Supreme One goes out of the court to mourn and ride on it", which is also driving an ox.There are also mica carts, which also drive oxen, which are specially given to princes and princes; there are soap wheel carts, which drive oxen;It can be seen that the "worth" of cattle in the Jin Dynasty was high.It is said that officials in the Northern Wei Dynasty generally rode ox carts. "Wei Shu·Chao Chong Chuan" records: Tianxing five years (AD 402) cattle epidemic, "Yujia riding giant 〔jiejie〕 hundreds of heads died on the side of the road on the same day, from the beginning to the end. It is the first year in the world Cattle, nine out of ten of the dead."It seems that it is more common for the northern nobles and royals to ride cattle, and cattle have become an extremely important transportation power.In the process of long-term practice, people have also developed a superb driving skills. "Southern History·Liu Yu [yu Yu] Biography" said: Liu Yu and He Yan went to participate in the suburban sacrifice together. He Yan ran ahead in a bullock cart, and Liu Yu caught up with his horse and asked He: "Why is your car so fast?" "He Yan replied: "Niu Jun drives the essence, so he is sick." There is also such a plot in "Song Book·Liu Deyuan Biography": Liu Deyuan is particularly good at driving an ox cart.He once set up two pillars on the road, the distance was only enough for vehicles to pass through. When he was a hundred paces away, he drove for a long time. When he was nearly a few feet away, he beat the bull and galloped, passing between the pillars without touching the pillars.People were amazed at his ability.These historical facts all show that cattle played a very important role in ancient transportation.

Ancient animal-drawn carts also used donkeys and mules as power.In ancient times, there were no donkeys in the interior of our country, and of course there were no mules.The original donkeys and mules came from the minority areas in Northwest China.According to the research of scholars, they were introduced to the mainland from the frontier, about 3,000 years ago in the Shang Tang era.At that time, the ethnic minorities in Northwest China used mules as "tributes", and presented them to the emperors as precious animals to enjoy.At the end of the Warring States period, there were more mules than before, but they were still royal playthings.Lu Jia of the Han Dynasty said in "New Yu": "Donkeys, mules, camels, corals, emeralds... Mountains and waters are hidden, and you can choose a place to live." From this we can see that in the early years of the Han Dynasty, the value of donkeys and mules can be estimated. Comparable to treasures such as coral.Although donkeys and mules began to be used for transportation in the Eastern Han Dynasty, only in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Northwest ethnic minorities brought a large number of donkeys and mules, and the people in the interior gradually mastered the method of breeding mules with horses and donkeys or donkeys and horses and the knowledge of breeding. , the production capacity of donkeys and mules was unearthed, and they were more and more widely used for transportation, riding and farming. "Wei Shu Biography of Xiao Baoyin" records: When Xiao Baoyin fled from the Southern Dynasties to the north, he hid in a cave and "rented a donkey to ride" from the residents.Tuoba Tao of the Northern Wei Dynasty attacked Rouran in the north and "sent people mules to transport grain".Later, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty attacked the Turks and confiscated all the public and private donkeys and horses in Guanzhong.It can be seen that the use of donkeys and mules at this time is no less than that of cattle and horses.Yuan Shu, a writer in the Southern Dynasties, also wrote the donkey's transportation credit into his literary work "Donkey Mountain Gong Jiuxi Wen", and praised: "If it is Lu Mai of the three armies, it is difficult to transport food, and the adviser stops counting, and the warrior sighs, Er Nai Long-sounding Shangdang, generously responding to Han, the gorge is thousands of miles away, and the meal is served in a bag, and it is used to collect great honors, which will not be published throughout the ages" ("Yiwenleiju" Volume 94).In the Tang Dynasty, a large-scale breeding ranch for donkeys and mules was established in Shaanxi, and the footprints of donkeys and mules were almost all over the country.In particular, mules are stronger than donkeys and stronger than horses, and are more popular among people.

In addition, the use of camels as the power of vehicles is relatively common in Northwest China, so it goes without saying.What is more special is that there is also a record of using sheep to pull carts in the Jin Dynasty.During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, Yang Xiu, the leading general, rode in a sheep cart privately and was impeached by Liu Yi, the lieutenant of Sili.There are also elephant carts.After Emperor Wu of Jin pacified Wu, Nanyue presented a tame elephant, so he built a cart to drive it.When the emperor travels in chariots, the elephant chariot is the leader, and dozens of yellow gate advocates are carried on the car, so that the Yue people can ride on the elephant.It can be seen that in this period, horses, oxen, donkeys, mules, camels, sheep, elephants, etc. are all in the ranks of transportation.Animal-drawn vehicles occupy the main position of land transportation, which is an important symbol of the ancient transportation history of our country.