Du Shi
Encyclopedia
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
of Nanyang
Nanyang, Henan
Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, People's Republic of China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the north, Sanmenxia to the...
in 31 AD and a mechanical engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
of the Eastern Han Dynasty in ancient China. Du Shi is credited with being the first to apply hydraulic power (i.e. a waterwheel) to operate bellows
Bellows
A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...
(air-blowing device) in metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
. His invention was used to operate piston-bellows of the blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
and then cupola furnace
Cupola furnace
A Cupola or Cupola furnace is a melting device used in foundries that can be used to melt cast iron, ni-resist iron and some bronzes. The cupola can be made almost any practical size. The size of a cupola is expressed in diameters and can range from . The overall shape is cylindrical and the...
in order to forge cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
, which had been known in China since the 6th century BC. He worked as a censorial officer
Censorate
The Censorate was a top-level supervisory agency in ancient China, first established during the Qin Dynasty ....
and administrator
Government of the Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty of ancient China was the second imperial dynasty of China, following the Qin Dynasty . It was divided into the periods of Western Han and Eastern Han , briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of Wang Mang...
of several places during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han
Emperor Guangwu of Han
Emperor Guangwu , born Liu Xiu, was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty, restorer of the dynasty in AD 25 and thus founder of the Later Han or Eastern Han...
. He also led a brief military campaign in which he eliminated a small bandit army under Yang Yi (d. 26).
Early career
Although the year of his birth is uncertain, it is known that Du Shi was born in Henei, HenanHenan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
province. Du Shi became an Officer of Merit in his local commandery before receiving an appointment in 23 as a government clerk under Emperor Gengshi of Han
Emperor Gengshi of Han
Emperor Gengshi of Han, ch. 漢更始帝, py. gèng shĭ dì, wg. Keng-Shih-ti, , also known as the Prince of Huaiyang , courtesy name Shenggong , was an emperor of the restored Chinese Han Dynasty following the fall of Wang Mang's Xin...
(r. 23–25), following the revolt against the Xin Dynasty
Xin Dynasty
The Xin Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty which lasted from AD 9 to 23. It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty....
usurper Wang Mang
Wang Mang
Wang Mang , courtesy name Jujun , was a Han Dynasty official who seized the throne from the Liu family and founded the Xin Dynasty , ruling AD 9–23. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow and his rule marks the separation between the Western Han Dynasty and Eastern Han Dynasty...
(r. 9–23). However, Du soon after swore his allegiance to Emperor Guangwu of Han
Emperor Guangwu of Han
Emperor Guangwu , born Liu Xiu, was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty, restorer of the dynasty in AD 25 and thus founder of the Later Han or Eastern Han...
(r. 25–57), who is considered the true founder of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220).
Censorate officer
Under Emperor Guangwu, Du Shi was appointed as an officer in the CensorateCensorate
The Censorate was a top-level supervisory agency in ancient China, first established during the Qin Dynasty ....
and was in charge of monitoring affairs and upholding law and order within the new capital at Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
. When the undisciplined troops of the military officer Xiao Guang (d. 26) ran rampant in the capital city and terrorized its inhabitants without any perceivable action on Xiao's part to prevent it, Du Shi had him arrested. Du had Xiao summarily executed without explicit consent from the throne, sending in a report of the event only after the execution. Guangwu was not displeased with this, as he called him into court to grant him an insignia which justified his actions. Shortly after this event, the bandit leader Yang Yi (d. 26) caused a major disturbance in Hedong Commandery
Hedong Commandery
Hedong Commandery was a historical region in ancient China.During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Hedong Commandery was located in the area to the east of the Yellow River in Shanxi province . In Chapter one of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu states that he is from Xieliang County in the...
, which Du Shi was sent to quell. When word of the arrival of Du Shi's forces in the region, Yang Yi planned to flee across the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
. However, Du Shi anticipated this, sending a raiding party to burn the boats Yang Yi intended to use for his escape. After conscripting troops from Hedong Commandery, Du Shi led a surprise ambush with a cavalry unit that dispersed Yang's bandits and annihilated them.
Administrator
For three years, Du served as a county magistrate in Henan province where his administration gained wide acclaim from provincial authorities. Afterwards, Du distinguished himself as a Commandant in Pei and in Runan. In 31 he was appointed as an administrator over NanyangNanyang, Henan
Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, People's Republic of China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the north, Sanmenxia to the...
. While serving there, he had an array of dykes and canals built for land reclamation
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
and growth of local agriculture. It is here that he also developed a water-powered reciprocator for bellows in smelting cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
, a machine which reportedly saved an enormous amount of physical labor. It is recorded that the locals were so fond of him that they often referred to him as "Mother Du" and compared him to noteworthy figures of history, such as Shao Xinchen of the Western Han era.
Du Shi was by all means a local administrator, yet he also made recommendations to the imperial court on policy issues. He recommended that the Tiger Tallies system be reinstated. This was a means for imperial authorities to check possible official corruption in the forgery of mobilization of troops for war. Du also nominated several minor officials he deemed worthy as candidates for higher posts in the capital, including Fu Zhang. In a memorial of 37, he urged the court to consider Fu as the next Imperial Secretary
Three Excellencies
The Three Ducal Ministers , also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in ancient China...
.
Death
Du Shi's reputation was somewhat stymied in 38 when he was accused of having one of his retainers sent to kill a man out of vengeance for his brother. In that same year, Du became ill and died. Despite Du's long-standing official career, the Director of Retainers Bao Yong reported that no proper funeral ceremony could be arranged for Du, since Du was nearly broke when he died. However, the Emperor had an imperial edict made which granted Du a proper funeral ceremony at his commandery residence in the capital, along with silk to pay for the expenditures.Book of Later Han account
The engineer and statesman Du Shi is mentioned briefly in the Book of Later HanBook of Later Han
The Book of the Later Han or the History of the Later Han is one of the official Chinese historical works which was compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century, using a number of earlier histories and documents as sources...
(Hou Han Shu) as follows (in Wade-Giles spelling):
Donald B. Wagner writes that there is no remaining physical evidence of the bellows which Du Shi used, so modern scholars are still unable to determine whether or not they were made of leather or giant wooden fans as described later in the 14th century.
Spread of Use
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
) 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 the engineer and Prefect of Luoling Han Ji (d. 238) 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
Du Yu
Du Yu , style name Yuankai , was a military general of Cao Wei during the late Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He served the Jin Dynasty after the end of the Three Kingdoms period. Also a prolific author, it is said that Du Yu read the Zuozhuan so often that he was addicted to the book...
(222–285). 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 Yuanjia reign period (424–429) for the sole purpose of powering water wheels aiding the smelting and casting processes of the Chinese iron industry. The 5th century text Shui Jing Zhu
Shui Jing Zhu
Shui Jing Zhu is a work on the ancient geography of China. It is an annotated and much expanded version of an older text, the Shui Jing , which has been lost.The annotated version was compiled by Li Daoyuan Shui Jing Zhu is a work on the ancient geography of China. It is an annotated and much...
mentions the use of rushing river water to power waterwheels, as does the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(618–907) geography text of the Yuanhe Jun Xian Tu Chi, written in 814 AD.
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
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
(1271–1368) of China. The text was written by Wang Zhen
Wang Zhen (official)
Wang Zhen was an official of the Yuan Dynasty of China. He is credited with the invention of the first wooden movable type printing in the world, while his predecessor of the Song Dynasty , Bi Sheng , invented the world's first earthenware movable type printing...
, who explained the methods used for a water-powered blast-furnace (Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
spelling):