I only ever saw this once, it was in use in the paddy fields near Ping Shan. It was driven by a small motor and was obviously quite heavy. How he moved it around I have no idea as there was no sign of any means of transportation.
Date picture taken
1955
Gallery
Comments
Machine
Very rare and unusual photo. But I don't think it is an irrigation device but a rice paddy trencher. The plates on the chain can only scrape, they are too flat for catching water.
Re: water conveyer system
Hi Klaus,
The wooden structure in the photo is a water conveyer device being used to carry water from low ground to high ground. I have seen them in local B\W post war movies in operational condition. Vary ancient techonology, I believe. Common to be either operated by hand crank or by foot. It was invented way back, long before industrial revolution.
They are generally called 龍骨水車, which could be loosely translated to 'spinal water wheel'. Found this Chinese site https://ourhkfoundation.org.hk/innotechexpo2018/shuiche But you may use Google Translate to get it into English. It is still readable.
If you use 龍骨水車 as the search phrase in Youtube, you should be able to find some in working order. Some modernized versions are still in use, I believe. Quite common in SE Asia.
T
Waterladder Pump
Hi There,
Further digging and found someone gave it a proper translation as Waterladder pump. They even have a Wiki entry. Still very limited information though.
https://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/cgi-bin/gs32/gsweb.cgi/login?o=dnclcdr&s=id=%22095NCKU5493016%22.&searchmode=basic <---- some researcher called it Chinese Square-Pallet Chain Pump
This 龍骨水車 is listed in 天工開物, sort of an encyclopedia type of book believed to be first published in the Sung Dynasty, which recorded ancient engineering information, inventions, etc. https://kknews.cc/zh-hk/culture/3q5bpxy.html
T
Re: Waterladder Pump
Hi T, thank you for your explanation of the machine shown. I didn't know the principle of transporting water through a trough using scrapers. In western countries, a screw pump (Archimedes' screw) was used instead.
Never too old to learn something new. 😉