Material civilization, such as chariots and horses, architecture and diet, is the most popular research topic. In recent decades, there has been a saying in historians that modern historiography pays more attention to the bottom of society, including the so-called "material civilization" and "grassroots class", compared with traditional historiography. Mr. Ding Wenjiang vividly said: Facing the tide of Qiantang River, children always pay attention to the athletes who make waves on the waves, but adults know that the tide itself is more important. This means maturity.
The ancients said, "Let a cow ride a horse", which shows that there are ox carts besides the carriage. The carriage was called a small car in ancient times, which was used by nobles to travel and fight; Cattle carts, formerly known as carts, are generally only used to transport goods.
The carriage of an ancient carriage was called Yu, which was part of the rider [3]. The front and sides of Yu are covered with wooden boards, and passengers get on the bus from the back of Yu [4]. The Analects of Confucius says, "Stand at attention when you get on the bus and help your ears." This is the rope on the bus for people to hold hands when they get on the bus.
The ancients stood in the parking lot with their cars, which was called "longitudinal riding" [5]. The boards on both sides of the platform can lean against the body, which is called a raft. The crossbar in front of you can lean against the handrail. This is called a stone. The ancients used the posture of holding the bow on the way to salute, which is also called formula [6]. So Tan Gong said, "Listen to him as a teacher." [7] Generally, cars have car covers with movable devices, which are mainly used to shelter from the rain, like a big umbrella.
The rim of a wheel is called a rim (w m 4 ng), and the log with a hole in the center of the wheel is called a hub (the hole passes through the shaft). The rim and the hub form two concentric circles. Laozi said: "Thirty spokes * * * a hub." [8] The spoke is a piece of wood, with one end connected to the rim and the other end connected to the hub. The spokes around converge on the hub, which is called "convergence". Later, convergence means gathering from all directions. "Han Shu Sun Shu Chuan" said: "Four directions."
The axle is a beam on which the car runs, with wheels at both ends. The two ends of the shaft are exposed outside the hub, and a three-or four-inch-long pin, called the hub, is inserted on it to prevent the wheel from falling off. Jurisdiction is a very important part, so it is mentioned in Huai Nan Zi Ren that "the reason why rickshaws can travel thousands of miles is that they should be treated in three inches." Later it was extended to the meaning of jurisdiction. In ancient times, the end of the axle exposed outside the wheel hub had a specific name called WYEI, also called rail. There is a bitter leaf in the Book of Songs, saying that "the economic surplus is not on the track." The ancients used to ride water by car, which means that although the water is full, it is not wet to the axle head, which means that the water level is less than half the height of a wheel. Another meaning of rail refers to the distance between two wheels of a car, which is extended to the traces of two wheels rolling out on dirt roads, also known as tracks. The so-called "getting off the same rail today" in the Book of Rites does not mean that someone in the world has stipulated the rut size, but stipulated the unified size of the car, and the tracks of the wheels will naturally be the same.
By the way (rèn). The basket is not a part of the car, but a piece of wood that stops the wheels from turning. When driving, you have to take off the bridle first, so the start is called "bridle". By extension, the beginning of things is also called "beginning".
The axle is a handlebar for driving, and the rear end is connected with the axle. Iron and chariot are synonymous. Differentially speaking, two straight trees sandwiched on both sides of livestock are called shafts, which are suitable for carts; The single piece of curved wood that runs in it is called a chariot and is suitable for small cars [9]. Therefore, "Zuo Zhuan lived in seclusion for eleven years" said: "Gong Sunkui and Uncle Ying Kao competed for the car and Uncle Ying Kao took it."
The crossbar at the front end of the shaft is called a yoke. Yoke and balance are synonyms. Differentially speaking, yokes are used for carts and scales are used for carts. Therefore, in the Analects of Confucius, it is said: "As you can see, it depends on balance."
A pin is inserted into the front end of the shaft to connect with the yoke, which is called a grate. You and you are synonyms. Differentially speaking, cars are cars and cars are cars, so the Analects of Confucius says, "What can you do without cars and cars?" [ 10]
The ancients rode on the left (the left was the statue), the statue was on the left, the ruler was in the middle, and another person accompanied him on the right. Accompanied by riding, also known as car rights. Therefore, "Zuo Zhuan Gong Xuan Two Years" said: "The right person knows." [1 1] The situation of personnel carriers is different. The coach is in the middle, the defender is on the left, and the other person is on the right to protect the coach. Call the right car. Generally, the chariot is centered on the imperial army, with one soldier on the left holding a bow and the other soldier on the right holding a spear.
If there are three or four horses driving, there are clothes and entertainment. The horses on both sides are called horses, and the horses in the middle are called horses. 1. Advise the left and the right. Generally speaking, then sum is synonymous. Therefore, "Nine Chapters of Chu Ci": "Left sorrow and right injury." [12] Wang Bo's preface to Wang Teng-ting said, "I want to be on my way." [ 13]
There are many decorative accessories for ancient noble chariots and horses, which are not described one by one.
As mentioned above, before the Warring States period, horses were specially used to pull carts. Twenty-five years of Zuo Gong: "Zuo will ride back." Uncle Kong: "The ancients led cows to ride horses, and horses drove them, not riding alone. It was not until the six countries had a single ride that Su Qin said' thousands of cars and horses' was true. " However, Confucius also quoted Liu Xuan as saying that Zuo Shizhan's "desire to ride alone" was "riding gradually" (at the beginning). We think there may be horseback riding in the Spring and Autumn Period, but that's only a rare case. During the Warring States Period, King Wuling of Zhao learned to ride horses from Xiongnu. Later, the wind of cycling gradually prevailed.
Precautions:
[1] leather clothes. The first edition of The Book of Songs of the Tang Dynasty has no light characters (see Ruan Yuan's Notes on the Analects of Confucius).
[2] Of course, besides horse-drawn carriages, there are also ox carts.
[3] So the sedan chair of later generations is also called Shouyu.
[4] This is recorded in ancient books. According to recent archaeological excavations, there are some squares, some rectangles and some hexagons in ancient vehicles, and some are surrounded by high railings, leaving gaps behind for passengers to lift.
[5] But "women don't ride", see Book of Rites Quli.
[6] But "it's not a style", see "Book of Rites Quli".
[7] type, through "Shi", the crossbar in front of the car is used as an auxiliary verb here.
[8] spokes, spokes of a car. The wheel hub (G incarnation) is a log, and there is a round hole in the center of the wheel, which passes through the shaft inside and bears spokes outside.
[9] This is recorded in ancient books. Recent archaeological excavations have found that in ancient times, people's carriages were mostly single-headed and straight. In addition, the types of cars in the Han Dynasty are complex, and the axles are paired, and one horse is the norm, so I won't elaborate here.
[10] (ní), the key connecting the axle end of the ox and the yoke (cross bar). Yuè is the key to connect the shaft end of the carriage with the balance (cross bar).
[1 1] Right, the right of the car, also called riding. In the ancient system, there were three people in one car, the venerable one was on the left, the imperial one was in the middle, and the chariot was on the right; But the king or wartime commander in chief is in the middle, and the imperial army is on the left. The right side of the car is full of brave people. The task is to fight the enemy and be responsible for forced labor in the war. Timmy, name.
[12] dead. Right, right. Stabbed with a knife
[13] Yan Yan, the emergence of revolutionaries. So the horses riding on both sides of the shaft refer to horses and chariots here. On the road, on the high road.