In ancient China, wind was not only an important celestial phenomenon, but also a phenomenon as divine as the sun, moon, and stars. The observation of wind became an important part of the official astronomical institutions of ancient China.
How did the ancients understand the wind? What are the "artifacts" of wind measurement? How to use the wind in production and life?
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From myth to "magic", how did the ancients recognize the wind?
As early as the Yin Shang period, there are more records about the wind in the oracle bones, and there are descriptions of the four winds. Since then, with the accumulation of people's experience and the deepening of their understanding of wind, by the Tang and Song dynasties, they had a more scientific understanding of the basic characteristics of wind, monsoons, typhoons, etc. At the same time, the ancients began to use wind energy, which promoted the development of production and life at that time.
Phoenix and the "Wind God"
In the Shang Zhou and early Spring and Autumn Periods, when human understanding of natural phenomena was still at the primitive level of cognition, natural phenomena such as the atmosphere were often deified, and so was the wind. The hieroglyph "moth" appeared in the oracle bones of the Yin Dynasty, that is, the wind, which is closely related to the ancient people's understanding of "the bird flies, and the wings become the wind".
The ancients regarded the phoenix as the "god of the wind", and the air flow generated when the phoenix flew was the "wind". Records related to the "Four Square Gods" and "Four Wind Gods" appeared in the Wuding period of the Yin Shang, such as "Eastern Yue Analysis, Feng (Wind) Yue (Xie); Southern Yue Jia, Feng (Wind) Yue Wei; Western Yue Yi, Feng (Wind) Yue Yi; Northern Yue Wan, Feng (Wind) Yue Qi". The ancients associated the wind with the 4 directions of southeast, northwest and southeast and named it. Therefore, the ancients at this time began to realize that the wind was inseparable from the labor life, but they could not yet recognize that the wind was produced by the convection of hot and cold air, but gave it a deified color.
Since then, the ancients' understanding of wind has gradually got rid of the deified color, realizing that "qi" is the product of flowing between heaven and earth. In the last years of the Warring States period, there are records about the names of the eight wind directions. In the "Lü's Spring and Autumn", it is mentioned: What is the Eight Winds? Northeast is known as hot wind, east is known as monstrous wind, southeast is known as smoke wind, south is known as giant wind, southwest is known as miserable wind, west is known as wind, northwest is known as strong wind, and north is known as cold wind. This is the earliest record of the eight wind directions in ancient mainland China. During this period, the ancient Chinese people's understanding of wind gradually changed from the deification of wind to the recognition of the relationship between wind and qi, that is, wind is a form of expression of qi.
The Eastern Han Dynasty's "Xiangfeng Copper Wu" Image source: Flickr
The first person in the world to grade the wind
In the Tang Dynasty, the ancients had a scientific expression of the wind system. Li Chunfeng recorded in detail the method of observing the wind and divided the wind into eight grades, becoming the first person in the world to grade the wind, more than a thousand years before the Western Beaufort wind level.
With the deepening of the understanding of the wind, the ancients began to summarize the laws of the wind. The continent is located in the east of the Asian continent, east of the Pacific Ocean, since ancient times, the special geographical climate environment has made the continent in agriculture, transportation and other aspects deeply affected by monsoons and typhoons. Due to the different thermal properties of sea and land, the characteristics of the continental monsoon are very obvious and can be followed. In the Huainanzi Astronomical Training, the characteristics of the wind in different seasons are described in detail: the winter solstice is forty-five days away, the wind is to the wind; the wind is forty-five days, the Ming shu wind is to the forty-fifth day, the Qingming wind is to the forty-fifth day, the Qingming wind is to the forty-fifth day, the Jingfeng is to the forty-fifth day, the jingfeng is to the forty-fifth day, the cool wind is to the forty-fifth day, the cool wind is to the forty-fifth day, the wind is to the forty-fifth day, the wind is not zhoufeng to the forty-fifth day, and the wind is to guangmo wind. Here, the characteristics of wind change are pointed out, which is basically in line with the actual monsoon transition in the eastern part of the mainland, and at the same time has a deep understanding of the interrelationship between the monsoon and the phenology and weather phenomena it indicates, and many cognitions still have important reference significance for modern shipping, agriculture and meteorology.
Use the "magic wand" conjured by the wind
The use of wind energy by the ancient Chinese people was based on their understanding of the laws of wind. The application of wind energy in agriculture, transportation, military and other social production and life areas has played a major role in promoting the development of ancient social production on the mainland.
Windmills are one of the important forms of wind energy application in agricultural production. The earliest record of windmills appeared in the Song Dynasty. There is a record in the "Collection of Amaranth": The old dragon drank under the bone joints and thin, and the water was diverted to appeal. The first suspicion of stepping on the earth's axis, the wind wheel co-rotating phase hook plus... I also want to be full in the dead year, so I preach victory over the frog. The "wind wheel" in the text is a windmill, and here it tells the lively labor scene of windmill irrigation in the field, which fully reflects the progress of agricultural technology at that time. The emergence of windmills has enabled people to get rid of their dependence on natural winds and adopt continuous artificial winds, which has played a very important role in promoting mainland agriculture.
The application of wind energy in transportation in ancient China is mainly through the action of wind on sails, converting natural wind into the energy required for transportation. Sails were widely used in ancient China, penetrated into the daily lives of ordinary people, and were widely promoted after they spread to Europe in the 16th century.
In addition, kites, a popular toy, were used in Early China as a tool for conveying information and were widely used in the military. With the increase of international exchanges, starting from the Tang and Song dynasties, mainland kites began to circulate to the world, first to Southeast Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, malaysia, and then to Europe and the Americas. Under the influence of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, the kites on the mainland developed there towards the aircraft, transformed by Kelly in the United Kingdom, Hagrave in Australia and Li Lindal in Germany, and finally in the United States, the Wright brothers created the earliest aircraft capable of manned flight.
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How did the ancients measure wind gracefully?
伣, 綄, Bronze Phoenix, Xiangfeng Bird, Xiangfeng Copper Wu, Xiangfeng Muwu, Yu Zhan... The ancients invented various tools for wind measurement, which are not only practical, but also interesting.
The earliest instruments for measuring wind direction can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. The oracle bone records a simple wind direction instrument called "伣", which is the simplest "wind indicator" that is tied to a wind pole with a cloth or long feather. It attaches a bell to the wind pole, and when the wind blows, the bell makes a sound. Generally, there are specialized personnel responsible for monitoring the direction of the blow in real time and listening to the sound of the bell to report the direction of the wind. At this time, the chime resembles a modern wind chime.
Wind chimes Image source: Flickr
In the Western Han Dynasty, there were records of the wind direction of "綄". According to the "Huainan Zi" narrative, the waiting wind of the Ruoruo (伣) is also, and there is no need to settle between the two. Silk, the wind-waiting, Chu people call it five two. A feather or band is a feather or band that is unified in weight on the basis of a feather, and the weight is set at five or two, which is convenient for comparing wind and wind direction in different places. Therefore, the observation of wind is more precise than that of The Wind, which is a major advance in the technology of wind measurement in the mainland.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, a copper phoenix appeared, which was a more advanced wind measurement instrument than a silk. The bronze phoenix is mainly installed on the Jianzhang Palace of Emperor Wu of Han, and it is recorded in detail in the "Three Auxiliary Yellow Maps" volume II of the Wei and Jin Dynasties" "Jianzhang Palace": Emperor Wu of Han made a Jianzhang Palace in the first year of the first year, Jianzhang Zhou Hui (Wai) thirty miles, east from the other wind que, twenty-five zhang high, multiplied by the height to look far, and then in the north of the palace gate from the garden Que, twenty-five zhang high, there is a copper phoenix. The copper phoenix of that time resembled today's weather vane. However, this instrument has gradually evolved into an ornament due to its unique shape, and has lost its original practical role.
In the last years of the Western Han Dynasty, another wind measuring instrument appeared, called the "Phase Wind Bird". Because the "phoenix" is relatively large and bulky in size, and the bird is lighter than the phoenix, it also has the same mythological color as the phoenix, so the affiliation bird gradually replaces the copper phoenix. There is a description of the Xiangfeng bird: cast bronze phoenix, five feet high, decorated with gold, perched on the top of the house, with a pivot underneath, and flying towards the wind. When there is a wind, the pivot under the phase wind bird will rotate with the wind, and the bird's head will also turn, and the direction the head points is the direction of the wind, which is the earliest description of the working principle of the phase wind bird.
Different shapes of Xiangfeng Wu Image source: Arctic Pavilion Meteorological Museum
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a "Xiangfeng Copper Wu". It is a copper, crow-shaped wind gauge mounted on the "Lingtai" on the northwestern outskirts of Chang'an to observe astronomical meteorology. The "Integration of Ancient and Modern Books" records that the Eastern Han Dynasty Zhang Heng system Xiangfeng Copper Wu was placed on the Nanling Platform of Chang'an Palace.
Mr. Zhu Kezhen believes that Xiangfeng Copper Wu is a professional instrument for wind measurement manufactured by Zhang Heng. The European "weathering chicken" is similar to the Xiangfeng copper wu, but it did not begin to rise on the roof of the Western Ocean until the 12th century, at least a thousand years later than China. In 1971, archaeologists excavated the Tomb of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Anping County, Hebei Province, and found a mural of a large bird's-eye view of the group in the tomb. On the mural, you can see a bell and drum tower behind the building, with the Xiangfeng Copper Wu and the Wind Measurement Flag, which is the earliest figure of the "Xiangfeng Copper Wu" found on the mainland so far. It was painted during the Lingdi Period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, more than 1800 years ago.
During the Three Kingdoms period, due to the fact that the metal wind measuring instrument was too bulky, the rotation was not convenient, and the handling was inconvenient, the ancients gradually replaced the phase wind copper wu with the relatively lightweight wooden wind measuring instrument "Xiangfeng Muwu". Xiangfeng wood is widely used not only in large official buildings, but also in daily life and transportation such as courtyards, vehicles, boats and boats.
In the Tang Dynasty, people began to use a wind gauge with a simpler structure and more convenient movement- Yu Zhan. It was developed from the Qi, and there is a record of Yu Zhan in the "Yi Wei Zhan": it is advisable to use Wuhou for permanent residence; it is appropriate to use Yu Zhan for military power. Here a distinction is made between the use of Xiangfeng Mu wu and Yu Zhan, which is suitable for fixed residence, while Yu Zhan is suitable for use in the army due to its lighter characteristics.
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What are the "artifacts" of wind measurement abroad in ancient times?
The ancient Greeks erected wind towers to occupy the position and erect wind signs. Architect Schrastes built a wind tower around 48 BC to observe the direction of the wind. The wind tower is octagonal in shape, and the eight sides represent eight directions, including four positive directions and four corners, and each side is carved with a wind god, symbolizing the nature of various winds.
Ancient Greek Wind Tower Image source: UNESCO
In the 12th century AD, the roof of western churches began to have a device of the weathering rooster, which resembled a rooster and could rotate freely with the wind, and people judged the direction of the wind by observing the direction of the chicken head. It is similar to the current wind vane principle, but the weather chicken can only observe the general direction of the wind, and cannot express the precise direction in degrees.
Hyacinth chickens commonly found on rooftops in the West Image source: World Meteorological Organization
The Discovery of the American Continent by the European Renaissance and Columbus greatly promoted the development of maritime trade, and the demand for meteorology became more and more intense, and wind measuring instruments to facilitate maritime navigation gradually appeared. At this time, the wind measuring instrument can not only measure the wind direction, but also measure the wind speed. In 1450, Leon Alberti invented the first hygometer. In 1625 AD, Shantoli, a professor of medicine at the University of Padua in Italy, invented a platen anemometer. In the middle of the eighteenth century, Baugar modified the pressure plate anemometer into a very light, portable anemometer based on the principle of the pressure plate anemometer to measure the wind speed at sea.
The advent of the Industrial Revolution has promoted the rapid development of new meteorological instruments, and a large number of meteorological observatories have begun to be established around the world. In 1846, the British astronomer and physicist Robinson invented the rotary cup anemometer on the basis of the anemometer created by Von Whewell.
Since then, a variety of more accurate wind measurement instruments have been invented and widely used in meteorological observation stations around the world, which has played an important role in promoting the development of meteorological observation.