What does the world's earliest blower and Chinese vertical shaft windmill look like? The septuagenarian spent more than 400,000 yuan to restore ancient science and technology according to "Heavenly Works".
Tang Jialu restored a leveraged oil press.
Tang Jialu, 74 years old this year, is an "ancient science and technology fan" who loves to "chase" the "old gadgets" of a thousand years ago.
He once took ancient scientific and technological works, traveled all over Daba Mountain, Taihang Mountain and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and used his pension to restore more than 20 ancient scientific and technological tools, turning the world's earliest blower mentioned in "Tiangong Kaiwu", the Han Dynasty's Shuilian Jiu Mill and One Cow Eight Mills into reality. He hopes to build an ancient science museum to restore more ancient science and technology and inherit traditional Chinese civilization.
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A copy of "Heavenly Works" in the museum
Travel deep into the mountains to track ancient technological inventions
In 1966, Tang Jialu was transferred from Beijing to a research institute in Chongqing. Lao Tang, who is good at thinking and loves to do hands, is very fascinated by ancient Chinese technology and has done a lot of research.
In the 1980s and 1990s, some precious materials and books were not easy to buy. He learned that the ancient books department of the Chongqing History Museum had Song Yingxing's "Heavenly Works and Open Things", and immediately went to the door to borrow it. It was a precious old version, and he did not dare to use his hands, but could only read it carefully with a bamboo stick.
Tang Jialu shows off a Model of a Chinese Vertical Axle Windmill.
At that time, there were very few photocopiers, and the photocopying fee of one yuan per piece was comparable to the "sky-high price", but Tang Jialu was unequivocal and asked the staff to copy all the patterned pages and book them together.
Holding this "book", Tang Jialu went to Tongjiang in Sichuan, Hanzhong in Shaanxi, Southeast Qiandongnan, Jiangxi... Search for the remains of ancient technological inventions mentioned in the book.
These ruins are hidden in the mountains or remote villages, when there was no electricity and no access, but Tang Jialu did not mistake it, from 2004 to 2007, he has been "tracking" ancient scientific and technological inventions outside.
In a big mountain in Tongjiang, he found an oil press that used the principle of leverage, "both hygienic and safe, nearly ten meters long, very grand!" ”
Tang Jialu restored the Han Dynasty water lianjiu mill.
Invested more than 400,000 yuan in pensions
Hands-on restoration of more than 20 "ancient inventions"
With the theoretical support of ancient books and the support of physical objects, Tang Jialu came up with a bold idea: to make ancient scientific and technological inventions. In 2016, this huge project was launched.
When restoring the Chinese vertical axle windmill, Tang Jialu held the ancient drawings and studied it for a long time, "Before, I thought that it was not in the four directions of southeast, south, and northwest, with four sheets on it, the windmill could rotate." But he saw in "Tiangong Kaiwu" that each place where the cloth is installed has a circle, and it can move up and down.
Why two circles that can move? What are they for? He had never understood, nor did he dare to do it easily. "It must be analyzed thoroughly to be perfectly restored!" So, he first made a small model with paper and sorghum stalks, blew it with a hair dryer, and found the principle inside: under the blowing of the wind, one side of the fan page should be closed, and the wind pushed it to the opposite side, automatically opened, and could reduce the pressure. Close, open, close, open again – this circle was used for automatic stress reduction.
Tang Jialu restored Chinese vertical axle windmill.
Tang Jialu suddenly realized: "When the ancients invented it, they must have been successful after repeated research and repeated experimentation!" After understanding the principle, he made a 12-meter-high vertical shaft windmill, almost the same as it was used a thousand years ago, and also used a tenon structure, without a nail.
After many times of pondering and exploring, Tang Jialu also produced more than 20 varieties such as the world's earliest blower, the Han Dynasty's Water Lianjiu Mill, and the Han Dynasty's One Cow and Eight Mills. "These ancient Chinese devices are so amazing, the more you study, the greater your interest, the deeper your knowledge!" Tang Jialu said that two thousand years ago, China's science and technology was absolutely the first in the world, which is a very proud thing.
For this restoration project, he also personally trained four peasant carpenters, who took them to invent together in their spare time, and let them go home to farm when they were busy, "for more than 30 years." ”
Most of Tang Jialu's funds come from his own pension, "over the years, buying equipment, asking for labor, about 400,000 yuan invested", many people are puzzled, but he thinks it is very valuable.
It is hoped that a museum of ancient science and technology will be built
Inherit China's 5,000-year-old civilization
Recently, in a farm located on Shapingba Hougou Road, the reporter saw all of Tang Jialu's belongings: windmills and water urns made in full accordance with the craftsmanship of more than 2,000 years ago...
Students from nearby schools came to visit. The students were very curious, and asked one after another: Are the eight stone mills pulled by electricity? Do they have any scientific principles? ......
Tang Jialu restored the Han Dynasty's one bull and eight mills.
"In ancient times, there was no electricity, and people relied on cattle, horses and other livestock for production and labor, so these eight stone mills were pulled by cattle, and one person pushed a stone mill to a cow pulled eight stone mills at the same time, which greatly improved production efficiency." Tang Jialu solved the children's puzzles, and then took them to make small models of unicycles and windmills by hand.
Tang Jialu said that China has been a big agricultural country since ancient times, and there are more agricultural machinery in ancient inventions, but this is only a small part of "Tiangong Kaiwu". His greatest wish is to build an ancient science and technology museum, which will restore agricultural production technology, textiles, wind power, metallurgy, clay pottery, ancient means of transportation, ancient weapons, etc., display these great inventions of ancient China, and pass on the splendid culture of five thousand years to the next generation.
Upstream journalist Ji Wenling
Source: Chongqing Morning Post