Huangluzhuang
Huangluzhuang (1656-?) was a native of Guangling (now Yangzhou). A craftsman and physicist in the early Qing Dynasty. He has deep attainments in engineering machinery manufacturing. Young is smart, has a photographic memory of reading, and is especially fond of coming up with new ideas and craftsmanship. Often make small things to entertain themselves. His father died when he was ten years old, his family was poor, and he relied on relatives and friends to make a living. He studied hard all his life and created many inventions, including mirrors, play equipment, water methods, inspection equipment, and equipment making equipment. The "Ruiguang Mirror" he invented can function as a searchlight. He also invented the "real painting", in which characters, horses and animals are all automatic and indistinguishable from the real thing. He also created the "automatic drama", the "self-propelled heat-repelling fan", the "cold and heat detector" and the "humidity detector" ( Check the thermometer (i.e. thermometer), etc. He is the author of "Pictures of Strange Weapons", which has been excerpted in "Xinzhi of Yuchu". There are 27 kinds of them.
Chinese name: Huangluzhuang
Birthplace: Yangzhou during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty
Date of birth: 1656 (Bingshen year)
Occupation : Utility craftsman and physicist
Representative work: "Illustrations of Strange Weapons"
Place of Birth: Guangling (now Yangzhou)
Character Experience
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In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, some Western mechanical manufacturing principles and daily-use technologies were introduced to China, arousing great interest among scholars and craftsmen. Among the large number of strange things recorded in "Yu Chu Xin Zhi", there are many skilled craftsmen. Among them, the young inventor Huang Lvzhuang was able to make many "wonderful tools" such as condensers. The reason why he was able to have such inventions and creations is certainly related to his ingenuity; at the same time, his biographer Dai Rong also admitted that it was because he "heard the science of Xitai's geometric proportional wheel breaker axes, and his ingenuity was based on the Japanese Advance" ("Biography of Huang Lvzhuang").
Huang Luzhuang has been smart and capable since he was a child, and likes to make things by hand. When he was studying in private school at the age of seven or eight, he once carved a small wooden figure that contained ingenuity. This wooden figure was placed on the table. As long as one side of the table was raised, it could walk down the slope step by step. Yangzhou was a foreign trade port at that time, and Huang Lvzhuang could easily see some scientific and technological works written by European missionaries, from which he learned a lot of knowledge in geometry, algebra, physics, mechanics, etc.; in addition, Huang Lvzhuang had a relatively calm personality. He usually likes to sit alone and meditate. When he encounters a problem, he often spends all his time thinking deeply until he figures it out. These subjective and objective factors are of great help to Huang Lvzhuang in improving his creativity and invention ability.
According to the "New Records of Yu Chu·Huang Lvzhuang Biography", before the age of 28, Huang Lvzhuang had invented quite a few mechanical appliances, all of which were ingenious and amazing. He wrote a special book "Qi Qi Mulue" for this purpose, recording some of his scientific and technological inventions. However, Huang Luzhuang's life story is rarely recorded in documents, and people basically know nothing about his deeds after the age of 28. What's even more regrettable is that his scientific and technological inventions have not been handed down, and his book "Qiqi Mulue" has also been lost. Only his cousin took it from "Qiqi Mulue" when writing "Yu Chu Xin Zhi" "Occasionally recorded a few items to make it clear", selected the names of 27 mechanical appliances, and wrote them into Huangluzhuang's biography. In addition, Wu Chenwan's "Kuangyuan Magazine" in the Qing Dynasty also recorded Huangluzhuang's invention of the mechanical dog. These are the records of Huangluzhuang's invention. Some of his main historical materials. However, these information alone are enough to make Huang Lvzhuang, as an outstanding genius inventor, occupy a prominent position in the history of ancient scientific and technological innovation in my country.
Character Achievements
The earliest bicycle inventor
Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, China has been a vehicle kingdom. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Huangluzhuang devoted himself to the development of bicycles. "The Grand View of Unofficial History of the Qing Dynasty" records: "A two-wheeled cart made by Huangluzhuang is more than three feet long. It can seat one person. It does not need to be pushed or pulled, and can move on its own. When traveling, use the hand to turn the axis and turn it around, and the journey will resume as before. It can be seen from this that the bicycle he made has a wheel on the front and back. The rider can crank the wheel by hand and the bicycle can move forward. This is the earliest bicycle recorded in historical records.
About 100 years after Huangluzhuang, the Frenchman Sifulak made a wooden bicycle in 1790. This bicycle had no driving device and steering device. Only by pedaling hard can the car move forward in a straight line.
It is also said that in 1801, the Russian serf Artamonov made a wooden bicycle similar to the Sivrak and rode it to Moscow as a gift to Tsar Alexander I. For this reason, Alexander I ordered the cancellation of Artamonov's bicycle. Slavery. The most popular bicycle in the world was developed in 1816. In that year, the German Delais manufactured a wooden two-wheeled bicycle with handlebars and applied for a patent.
To sum up, Huangluzhuang was the earliest inventor of the bicycle, and the invention of the bicycle was also an important symbol of Yangzhou's leading domestic and foreign levels in technological innovation during the prosperous days of Kangxi and Qianlong.
The invention of the humidifier, the cold and heat detector and the Ruiguang mirror
As early as the Han Dynasty, there were examples of using feathers and charcoal to measure humidity to predict rainfall. In 1683, Huang Luzhuang successfully produced the first "hygrometer" that used the principle of hygroscopic expansion and contraction of strings, that is, a hygrometer. Its characteristics are: "There is a needle inside, which can rotate left and right, left-handed when dry, right-handed when wet, not feeling well at all, and can predict cloudiness and clearness." The "humidity checker" invented by Huang Lvzhuang has a certain sensitivity and can " It has practical value. This is similar to the principle of the wheel-shaped barometer invented by Hooke in Europe. The hygrometer can be said to be the forerunner of modern hygrometers.
Another invention of Huang Luzhuang is the "cold and heat detector", that is, a thermometer. According to records, "This device can diagnose deficiency and excess, distinguish climate, and prove the nature of various medicines. It is widely used and has a special book." However, the "special book" and the actual object for testing the cold and hot device have been lost, so it is difficult for us to judge. Its specific principle and structure are estimated to be a device such as a gas thermometer.
Huang Luzhuang also invented the "Ruiguang Mirror", which can function as a searchlight. In our country, there are such records in the late Ming Dynasty. Huang Luzhuang's invention greatly improved it. He greatly increased the size of the concave mirror, with the largest diameter reaching five or six feet. "Xinzhi of Yuchu·Huangluzhuang Biography" records: "The size of the preparation method varies, the big one is five or six feet. It is illuminated by a lamp at night, and the light shines for several miles. It is very useful. In the winter moon, people sit in the light, and their whole body heats up. , such as under the sun. "Since the only light sources at that time were candles and sunlight, the diameter of the concave mirror was large, and the light source it could accommodate was also large, which allowed people to increase the intensity of the light source, so that after reflection After the parallel light is formed, the person will feel "warm all over the body" when it shines on it, and the brightness will also be greatly increased. Europeans only made similar utensils in 1779, nearly a hundred years later than Huangluzhuang.
Huang Lvzhuang is an inventor who is comparable to Edison. He made a variety of strange tools, such as: microscopes, telescopes, telescopes, fire mirrors, painting mirrors, multi-objective lenses, and heat-repelling mirrors. Fans, dragon tail carts (water-lifting machinery), time-telling water, waterfall water, etc. The knowledge used involves mathematics, mechanics, optics, acoustics, thermodynamics, materials science and other disciplines. Taking the "painting mirror" and the "shrinking mirror" as examples, someone once described it at that time: "The telescope is a mirror made of square boxes. It shines in the middle of the day and can take pictures of scenes several miles away. It is placed parallel to it. Picturesque. "In order to invent these machines, Huang Luzhuang specially manufactured springs with good performance. Although the performance of these springs was good, the manufacturing speed was not very fast at first. For this reason, Huang Luzhuang built another equipment specifically for the production of springs. The springs were manufactured in batches. After hearing the news, craftsmen near Yangzhou came to ask for them. Huangluzhuang was very generous and gave them free springs. With a large number of high-quality springs, Huangluzhuang can invent more wonders.
Character anecdotes
Mei Wending’s chance encounter with a mechanical dog
Huang Luzhuang’s strange invention not only caused a sensation in Yangzhou City, but also became famous far and near, and the news spread to Anhui Xuancheng Mei Wending's ears. Mei Wending was the most famous mathematician in the Qing Dynasty. Li Guangdi, a great scholar, invited Mei Wending to live in his house in Beijing and learned mathematics and astronomy from Mei Wending. Later, on Li Guangdi's recommendation, Emperor Kangxi summoned Mei Wending. During the dragon boat tour of the South, the emperor and his ministers talked about mathematics and astronomy for three days in a row. Kangxi also wrote the words "Achievements in Learning and Research" to commend Mei Wending's research work and extraordinary achievements. It was such a great mathematician who heard many legends about the invention of strange weapons in Huangluzhuang. He was skeptical at first, so he decided to visit Yangzhou in person to find out the truth.
One day he came to the door of Huangluzhuang's house. As soon as he raised his hand to knock on the door, a dog beside the door suddenly stood up and yelled at him. Mei Wending was at a loss. At this time, footsteps sounded inside the door. It was Huangluzhuang who opened the door. , he patted the dog's head and played with it again. The watchdog lay down obediently and stopped barking loudly. Mei Wending was shocked, and after taking a closer look, he asked Huang Luzhuang: "Is this true? "A dog?" "This is my special wooden dog. When someone knocks on the door, it will stand up and bark like a real dog." Mei Wending was immediately enlightened and admired Huang Luzhuang's exquisite invention.
In addition to Mei Wending, there are always people coming to visit Huanglu Village. Huanglu Village not only warmly welcomes them, but also often gives some of the strange tools he made to relatives and friends. These are also strange tools he invented. A reason why it is a pity that it has not been preserved.
Biography of Huang Lvzhuang
Huang Ziluzhuang is a good example to my aunt. If you are young and smart, you can recite without counting the readings. He especially likes to come up with new ideas and techniques. When he was seven or eight years old, he secretly stole the craftsman's knife and awl. He was able to walk on his own when he put the wood on the table, and his hands and feet were all automatic. The observers thought he was a god. When I was only ten years old, my late uncle passed away and came to Guangling to live with me. After hearing about Taixi's knowledge of geometric proportional wheels and machine axes, his ingenuity made progress. It is a pleasure to make small things, and many people who see them bid high prices to buy them. The body is diseased, intolerant of human affairs, and mischievous, because it is not done, so what can be done is rare.
There are so many made that I cannot remember them all. I still remember that it was a two-wheeled cart, about three feet long, and it could seat about one person. It could move on its own without bothering to be pushed or pulled. When it was walking and stopped, it could be turned by the hand on the axle, and it would resume its journey as before. If it stayed and was pulled, the day would be full. Travel eighty miles. Make a wooden dog, place it by the door, curl up and lie down as usual, but when someone comes into the house, it will stand up and bark non-stop. The barking sound is the same as the real one, although a shrewd person cannot tell whether it is real or fake. It is made of wood and placed in a bamboo cage. It can dance and sing on its own. Its song is like a thrush, which is more and more audible. Make a water vessel, put water in the vessel, and the water will shoot out like a line from bottom to top, five or six feet high, and it will move continuously. The wonders of what he did are all so great that they cannot be recorded in detail.
For those who find it strange, there must be different books or legends. And the one who stayed with me for the longest time, and even if I was in love, I would never see his writing. Even though he had never had a master, he said: "How can I be surprised? People in heaven and earth are all strange tools. Those who move are like the sky, those who are still are like the earth, those who are smart are like people, and those who are strange are like all things. How can it be that it is not strange? ? However, none of them can be self-surprised. There must be someone who is very strange but not self-surprising, and it is the source of it, and it is the master of it. Just as there is a master in painting, there is also a craftsman in civil engineering. This is what I said in surprise. It is great, because it also has the wonders of Huang Zi, and it has its own unique understanding, which cannot be achieved by those who seek and learn one thing and one thing. People in the past said that if the sky is not autonomous, there must be something that moves; if the earth is not silent, there must be something that is still. What is the reason why Huang Zi is so strange?
Huang Zi is simple and silent by nature, and likes to think. When he is with me, he talks about it, while Huang Zi sits alone and meditates. When you first think about it, it seems difficult to enter, but when you think about it, you will laugh and dance along with it. If you are unable to achieve something even if you think about it, you will definitely hold on to the quilt till the end of your life, and wait until you have achieved something. The wonders of Huang Zi are definitely obtained by thinking, and his joyful thinking brings out his nature.
Huang Zi gave birth to Bingshen, who is now twenty-eight years old. His year, month, day and hour are exactly the same as when he was born, which is also strange. Because of the attached book.
——Excerpted from "New Records of Yuchu" compiled by Zhang Chao of the Qing Dynasty