Chinese paddle-wheel boat, Macau Maritime Museum

Qianli chuan ( Needham, Joseph (1965). ''Science and Civilization in China, Vol. IV: Physics and Physical Technology'', p.416. .) were

paddle wheel A paddle wheel is a form of waterwheel or impeller in which a number of paddles are set around the periphery of the wheel. It has several uses, of which some are: * Very low-lift water pumping, such as flooding paddy fields at no more than abo ...

boats used in medieval China. The boats were driven by human pedaling and were able to cruise hundreds of kilometers per day with no wind blowing.

History

Qianli chuan were invented in the late 5th century AD during the Southern Qi Dynasty and the invention is attributed to the ancient Chinese astronomer and mathematician

Zu Chongzhi Zu Chongzhi (; 429–500 AD), courtesy name Wenyuan (), was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, politician, inventor, and writer during the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties. He was most notable for calculating pi as between 3.1415926 and 3 ...

. References made to the boat were made recalling various tests on the Xinting River, south of modern

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. The boat was proven to be able to cruise several hundred kilometers in a single day without any wind blowing. Late 8th century AD records have descriptions of the Qianli chuan as a type of naval boat that had two wheels found on its sides that was propelled by treadmills.

References

{{ship-type-stub Chinese inventions Human-powered watercraft Marine propulsion Naval ships of China Southern Qi

History

See also

References