Cousins's Curse
| In the September 1955 edition of Meccano Magazine Mr. F.W.Cousins introduced
the reconstruction of Mr. Lanchester
to the Meccano fan society.
Skillfully he mixed facts, fiction and fatherland to "prove" that the
Chinese did not invent the magnetic compass - no further comment from my
side... |
|
The Riddle of the South-seeking Chariot
An interesting model is inconspicuously displayed in the Science
Museum’s exhibition that treats of the art and principles of navigation.
It represents the South-seeking Chariot, which was possibly used by the Yellow
Emperor Huang Ti in the 64th year of his reign. The Yellow Emperor was
one of three great Chinese Emperors of an almost legendary period and his
reign is dated in Chinese story at about 2634 B. C. He is said to have
used this famous navigational device to guide his armies over the vast
steppes leading to the south. To the Chinese the south was more important
than the north, because to them where the Sun stood highest there was the
centre of life and light.
...
Now a word about the oft repeated legend of the invention of the magnetic
compass by the Chinese. Mr. George Lanchester, whose solution of the problem
of the South-seeking chariot I have presented, delivered a learned address
to the China Society on 3rd February 1947. In this he directed the attention
of his listeners to a lecture by Dr. J. B. Kramer, an eminent electrical
engineer, on the history of magnetism. Dr. Kramer
makes this very forceful statement. „Where are the manuscripts in which
the Chinese lay claim to the honour of having discovered the magnet? There
are none, and there never existed any writings by the Chinese claiming
for themselves that discovery.“
In the course of Dr. Kramer’s researches he visited the British Museum
and in the Oriental Library there he studied Dr. Herbert A. Giles’ historic
work Adversaria Sinica (Book 11853s) in which he found evidence
that the South-seeking chariot was a mechanical device and not
magnetic.
I think you will agree that the model by Mr. George Lanchester and
the researches of Dr. Kramer provide a lesson of absorbing interest in
the fields of mechanical engineering and the history of science.
Source: Cousins, F.W.: A Mystery of Ancient
China, in: The Meccano Magazine, Page 498ff, September 1955
