Dear nlh-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
The “odometer” you are referring to was actually incorporated into a
vehicle invented by Zhang Heng about A.D. 138. Rather than an
accessory, the vehicle itself was designed to provide the mileage
logging function. It has been historically attributed to the time of
the Jin Dynasty (A.D. 265-420) and in researching it yourself you will
see that this is indeed the case. But as you can clearly see, for
accuracy sake, this invention actually came about some 100 years prior
during the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 25-220).
Zhang Heng, also known as Pingzhi, invented the odometer, often
referred to as a “mileage cart” or an “odometer cart”, that featured a
wooden figure which struck a drum as the cart moved beyond each “li”
(0.5 km). The number of beats by the manikin was recorded by
accompanying travelers who, through calculation, could accurately
determine the distance traveled in a given period.
Here you will see a picture of the “odometer cart”. You should note
that the narratives differ a bit from the order of the photos. The
narrative regarding the odometer comes second but on the right, the
actual picture it is referring to is third in the column.
CHINESE ACHIEVEMENTS
http://www.nstm.gov.tw/english/3/body3.html
Here you will see an actual photo of an existing example of the cart,
in this instance referred to as a “mileage cart”:
CHINA TODAY
http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/y200211/wheeling.htm
http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/y200211/images/y200211/p464.jpg
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
PURSEINSIGHT.NET
http://www.pureinsight.org/pi/articles/2002/7/15/1045.html
ENGLISH CHANNEL
http://202.108.249.200/english/TouchChina/GloryofChineseCivilization/HistoricalCelebrities/Scientists/20020320/100041.html
CHINESE ACHIEVEMENTS
http://www.nstm.gov.tw/english/3/body3.html
CHINA TODAY
http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/y200211/wheeling.htm
http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/y200211/images/y200211/p464.jpg
FORMATION OF THE CHINESE CIVILIZATION
http://china.org.cn/e-gudai/4.htm
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
"MILEAGE CART"
“ODOMETER CART”
ANCIENT ODOMETER
CHINESE ODOMETER
“JIN DYNASTY” ODOMETER
“ZHANG HENG”
PINGZHI |
