Xiangfeng wu ( Chinese: 相風烏; pinyin: xiāngfēngwū; lit. 'wind-indicating bird') [1] were wind surveying instruments used to gather and measure the direction of the wind in ancient China. [2]
History
Prior to the invention of Xiangfeng wu, the ancient Chinese used pieces of silk or cloth that was hung on a pole to measure wind direction. [2] Epigraphic evidence attributing to the discovery of weather crow on a wall painting in a tomb dating to the Eastern Han dynasty in 1972. [2] The Sanfu huangtu (三輔黃圖, Description of the Three Districts in the Capital), a 3rd-century book written by Miao Changyan about the palaces at Chang'an, describes a copper bird-shaped wind vane situated on a tower roof for the measurement of wind direction. [1] [2]
Xiangfeng wu composed of copper slices that were fixed on the top of a pole which could be revolved if the wind was blowing in a certain direction. Xiangfeng wu were first used in meteorological observatories and were later installed in government towers and private houses. [3]
See also
References
- ^ a b Needham, Joseph; Ling, Wang (1959), Science and Civilisation in China: Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth, vol. 3, Cambridge University Press, p. 478
- ^ a b c d Chen, Joseph Cheng-yih (1987), Science And Technology In Chinese Civilisation - Proceedings Of The Workshop Held At The University Of California, World Scientific, p. 200
- ^ Selin, Helaine (2008). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (2nd ed.). Springer (published April 16, 2008). p. 736. ISBN 978-1402045592.