Is there really a wooden cow in history? What is the main reason for Zhuge Liang's invention?

During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu and Han Dynasties, invented the wooden ox and flowing horse, which was a means of transportation for grain and grass. But do wooden cows really exist? How does it work?

"Biography of the Three Kingdoms and Zhuge Liang" records: "Ming is better than ingenuity, and gains and losses are all unexpected." "The Legend of the Three Kingdoms and the King" records: "In the nine years of Jianxing, Liang returned to Qishan, transported cattle and returned grain; In the spring of the twelfth year, I learned that the masses were out of the valley. According to Wugong Wuzhangyuan, Sima Wangxuan and Weinan. "

As can be seen from the above records, wooden cattle and horses do exist. It is also divided into "wooden cows and horses". Judging from the use time, it is likely that there was a wooden cow first, and Liu Ma is an improved version of the wooden cow.

Pei Songzhi of Notes on the Three Kingdoms quoted a passage from The Lost Collection of Zhuge Liang in his notes, describing the shape and some dimensions of the wooden ox and flowing horse, but unfortunately left no physical objects and figures. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was said that Zu Chongzhi made wooden cows and horses.

"The Biography of Zu Chongzhi in Southern Qi Dynasty" records that "Zhuge Liang's wooden ox is a horse, not because of Feng Shui, but because of his own luck, and it is effortless." But inexplicably, he did not leave any detailed information. However, this record reveals that it was very common to manufacture machinery with gears in the Three Kingdoms period, so Mu Niu Liu Ma should be an automatic machine made with gears.

According to historical records, Zhuge Liang invented the bull Liu Ma in Huangsha Town, Mianxian County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province today. According to the description of the local old man, it is a horse's head made of wood, and other scattered fragments make up the horse's body, and then the horse's legs are assembled and gears are installed in the middle of the stomach. Trojan horse has a wrench on its back. When operating, click and take a step.

However, there are written records about wooden cattle and horses in Chen Shidao in the Northern Song Dynasty. "There are trolleys in Shu, carrying eight stones alone, and the front is like a cow's head; There is also a big cart with four people pushing it and carrying ten stones. " In the Song Dynasty, Gao Cheng also wrote in "Things are in the Original", "Those who are wooden cows have the front axle of the car today; The horse is the only pusher today. "

It seems that this kind of record is a unicycle. However, the records of the Song Dynasty are 200-300 years from the Three Kingdoms period, and its credibility remains to be discussed.

Later, Kang Hong, an Australian scholar, gave a new explanation to Cow Liu Ma, thinking that Cow Liu Ma was a winch cableway system driven by a gear set. Because in the deep mountains of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, similar systems are still in use. However, there are also doubts about the level of science and technology in the Three Kingdoms period and the creation of automatic machines over mountains and mountains.

In any case, there is no doubt about the existence of Liu Ma, a cattle herder. It is a means of transportation invented by Zhuge Liang. As for the real appearance, there are still different opinions.