DU SHI

'Du Shi' (, d. 38^[1]) was a Chinese governmental Prefect of Nanyang in 31 AD and a mechanical engineer of the Eastern Han Dynasty in ancient China. Du Shi is credited with being the first to apply hydraulic power (ie. a waterwheel) to operate bellows (air-blowing device) in metallurgy. His invention was used to operate piston-bellows of the blast furnace in order to forge cast iron, which had been known in China since the 6th century BC.

Contents

The Water-Powered Blast Furnace

Account of Du Shi

Spread of Use

See Also

Notes

References

External links

The Water-Powered Blast Furnace

Account of Du Shi

The engineer and statesman Du Shi is mentioned briefly in the ''Book of Later Han'' (''Hou Han Shu'') as follows (in Wade-Giles spelling):

Spread of Use

The historical text ''Sanguo Zhi'' (Records of the Three Kingdoms) records the use of both human labor and horse-power to operate metallurgic bellows of a blast furnace before water-power was applied. It also records that around 238 AD, engineer Han Ji (Prefect of Luo-ling) reinvented a similar water-powered bellows that Du Shi had earlier pioneered. Two decades after this, it is recorded that another design for water-powered bellows was created by Du Yu. In the 5th century text of the ''Wu Chang Ji'', its author Pi Ling wrote that a planned, artificial lake had been constructed in the Yuan-Jia reign period (424–429) for the sole purpose of powering water wheels aiding the smelting and casting processes of the Chinese iron industry.^[2] The 5th century text ''Shui Jing Zhu'' mentions the use of rushing river water to power waterwheels, as does the Tang Dynasty geography text of the ''Yuan-he Jun Xian Tu Chi'', written in 814 AD.^[3]
Although Du Shi is the first historical figure to apply water power to metallurgic bellows, the oldest extant Chinese illustration depicting such a device in operation can be seen in a picture of the ''Nong Shu'', printed by 1313 AD during the Yuan Dynasty of China.^[4] The text was written by Wang Zhen, who explained the methods used for a water-powered blast-furnace (Wade-Giles spelling):

See Also

★ Hydraulics

★ Mechanics

★ Watermill

★ Trip hammer

★ List of Chinese people

★ Antipater of Thessalonica

Notes

1. ''Book of Later Han'', vol.
2. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 371-371.
3. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 373.
4. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 371.

References

★ Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 2''. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.

External links

★ History of waterwheels