The World Robot Conference 2021 was held in Beijing recently, showcasing the latest achievements in the field of robotics. Most people think that robots are the product of the modern industrial revolution, in fact, the human myth and pursuit of robots has thousands of years of history, ancient Chinese skillful craftsmen developed a variety of automatic mechanical objects, is the originator of modern robots. Do you know what crazy ideas the ancients had about "robots"?
The earliest "robot" in Chinese history
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, Skillful craftsmen in China developed "Lingren", which was the earliest recorded "robot" in China.
According to the book "Lizi Tang Wen", king Mu of Zhou, the fifth emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, was named Ji and given the name Man. On his way to the west, he met a skillful craftsman named Yanshi who came to present treasure to king Mu. He brought a "man" to see the king, who walked and bowed like a real man. Shake his head, and he sings a tune; Holding his hands, he danced to the beat. King Mu invites the concubines in the palace to watch the show together. When the performance is over, the "smart man" winks at the concubines right and left to irritate king Mu. Yanshi sword will be "smart people" cut off, the original is made of leather, wood, paint and other things made of "robot". This matter had a profound influence. Li Shangyin, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem: "You don't have to see the end of the fish-dragon play and send the emperor's anger down."
In the late Spring and Autumn period, carpenter Lu Ban was "skillful" in mechanical manufacturing. Lu Ban was so skilled that he was often invited to build Bridges, buildings, temples and pagodas. Generally speaking, he would go home in half a month or ten days for small projects, but it would take a year or even several years for big projects. According to the Book of Ink, in his spare time, he made a wooden bird according to the characteristics of birds in the sky, which could fly in the air for "three days without leaving". This "mechanism bird" is called wood kite, which is also the "prototype" of kite.
In addition, Zhang Heng in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang and Ma Jun in The Three Kingdoms Period, and Zu Chongzhi in the Northern and Southern Dynasties built some of the most amazing automatic mechanisms in Chinese history. They reflect the outstanding wisdom of our ancient sages, and also show that people have been good at using automatic machinery to liberate productivity since ancient times.
Ma Jun, an inventor in The Three Kingdoms Period, used wood as a prime mover and water as the power to drive wooden robots, enabling them to perform actions such as drum beating, flute playing, sword throwing, rope climbing and handstand. When western jin fu hsuean the Fu Zi recorded the matter: when Wei Ming emperor Cao Rui to watch, puppets some drums, some flute, some dance, some play sword, some horseback riding, some rolling, some ball, some glare, some upside down on a rope, make all kinds of thrilling action, this is related to the historical data mentioned in the "acrobatics" robot. Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Kingdom of Shu, created the "wooden ox and horse", which was used to transport military food and support the front war. It was also a creative invention. It can be seen that China's robot technology had reached a considerable height at that time.
The list of such autonomous devices is endless, and although they are not comparable to today's robots, experts believe they are the first achievements of human exploration in the field of robotics, which is quite important in the history of science and technology.
Tang recorded the trace of wonderful machinery
Robots satisfy people's fantasy of super power, the ancients' imagination of robots did not stop for a moment. Sui and Tang dynasties were the great development times of ancient "robot", all kinds of ingenious machine devices have appeared on the stage. We can still find a lot of robots in the notes of Tang dynasty people, such as Zhaye Zai, Youyang Zazzu, And Other books.
During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, there was a man named Huang Gun who was good at making advanced machines. According to "Taiping Guang Ji" records: Huang Gun made of wood 7 8 feet long boat, each boat station 5 2 feet tall wooden robot, this boat on the royal garden in the special road, for emperor Yang and dignitarys drinking fun. As the event begins, the boat moves slowly around the crooked water, with one "robot" punting at the bow and two others paddling in the middle, one holding a wine glass and the other holding a wine bowl. The boat would dock at each corridor, and the robot carrying the wine would hand the glasses to the people on the bank. When the glasses were returned, the robot would quickly catch them and turn to the robot holding the wine bowl and ask the robot to refill the glasses with wooden spoons before passing them on to the next corridor.
All the woodcuts of the ship's "robot" are controlled by mechanisms on shore and in the water. Du Bao of the Sui Dynasty recorded in his Notes of The Great Cause: "There are seventy-two trends, and they are all carved with wood. Or by boat, or by mountain, or by island, or by rock, or by palace. The wooden man is about two feet long. Dressed in cheilol, dressed in gold, and as mixed animals, fish and birds, they can move as if alive and follow the winding water."
Yang Wulian, a master craftsman in tang Dynasty, was also a great inventor. He once carved a wooden monk, holding a wooden bowl in his hand, who automatically begged for alms. When the wooden bowl was full of money, the button was turned on and the monk slowly said, "Thank you very much." When the "monk" appeared at the fair, people rushed to see him and no less than a thousand donors a day came to hear him speak. Yang benefited from this, making money from his robot invention a rarity in history.
Robots were widely used in the Tang Dynasty. The invention of Wang Ju, the officer of Chenzhou in the Tang Dynasty, was also used in production practice. Wang Ju loved fishing. He made an otter out of wood. Then he sank the otter into the river. Every time the otter catches a fish, it will automatically surface and return to the river. As a result, Wang Ju caught many fish with no difficulty. What's the secret of the woodotter catching fish? In fact, Wang Ju put baits in the mouth of the wooden otter and attached mechanical parts. He dropped the otter into the water with a stone. As soon as the fish bites the bait, the mechanism in the otter's mouth triggers and bites the fish. Stones fall and otters naturally rise from the river.
Ancient machines had limitations compared to modern AI, but many had their own sources of power. Experts have analyzed that elasticity and water power are the main power sources of ancient Robots in China. It can be seen that the ancients also used their own wisdom to construct their "robot dream".
The ancient dream of creation continues
After the Song Dynasty, skillful craftsmen developed a number of fixed program machines and devices, which were applied to timekeeping and daily life.
According to "new yuan history" record: Yuan Dynasty Guo Shoujing manufacture can illuminate, timing lamp leakage, extremely novel and ingenious, structure design is very complex. Its working principle is leakage timing, and the shape of a palace lamp, placed in the palace of daming Hall, so called daming hall lamp leakage. Ancient literature records: the lamp is seven feet high (about 5.4 meters), its frame is made of gold, the upper part of the curved beam, beam in the middle is a cloud bead, the two sides of the cloud bead is a symbol of the sun and the moon, the sun on the left, the moon on the right, under the cloud bead hanging a bead. The two ends of the curved beam are equipped with taps. The mouth of the dragon can open and close, and the eyes of the dragon can move, indicating whether the water flowing through the lamp is fast or slow.
It is reported that Guo Shoujing removed the celestial part and preserved the timekeeping part after studying the Susong Water transport observatory in the Northern Song Dynasty. Daming Hall lamp leakage is also the first Chinese clock independent of astronomical instruments, which is of great significance in the history of Chinese clock development.
Myeongshirok also describes a crystal glass made by the Emperor Setianjin in the Ming Dynasty. It is a delicate self-chiming bell with two puppets who can play jing drums on time. Unfortunately, this leak was Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang thought that "strange skills and crafty" ordered broken. After the Ming Dynasty, the feudal rulers closed their doors and became arrogant. As a result, China fell further and further away from the global trend of scientific and technological development, and the "robot dream" of the ancients became increasingly distant.
It is undeniable that the mechanical level of ancient China was in the leading level in the world. In fact, every invention and creation is the crystallization of ancient wisdom and contains infinite creativity of human beings. The Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States Period was the "childhood" of mechanical invention, and many mechanical masters such as Lu Ban and Mozi emerged. During the Han and Wei Dynasties, mechanical inventions entered a mature stage. According to the statistics of historians, during this period, more than 90 cases of robots were recorded. In tang and Song dynasties, ancient machinery manufacturing entered its peak age. After Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the progress of history, the invention and creation of ancient machinery in China gradually declined.
Looking back on history, technological innovation has always been an important driving force for the development of civilization in any era. Since the concept of robot was put forward in the early 20th century, with the rapid development of automation technology, especially the birth of computer, the emergence and development of modern robots. Nowadays, robots are more modern and intelligent and have become a good helper of human beings. The ancients' "robot dream" continues to chase the flash in modern times.
Manly Battery which located in Shenzhen,China. A leading battery manufacturer mainly offering rechargeable Lithium batteries over 12 years ,widly used for Robostic industry,if there is any project need to evluate ,pls feel free to send email to info@manlybatteries.com
