Xiangfeng wu

Xiangfeng wu (Chinese: 相風烏; pinyin: xiānɡfēnɡwū; 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
  1. Needham, Joseph; Ling, Wang (1959), Science and Civilisation in China: Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth, 3, Cambridge University Press, p. 478
  2. 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
  3. 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.
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