Editing South-pointing chariot (section)

===Earliest sources===
[[File:指南車圖 (三才圖會).jpg|thumb|upright|An image of a south-pointing chariot from ''[[Sancai Tuhui]]'' (first published 1609)]]

The south-pointing chariot, a mechanical-geared, wheeled vehicle used to discern the southern cardinal direction (without magnetics), was given a brief description by Ma's contemporary [[Fu Xuan]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 40">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 40.</ref> The contemporary 3rd century source of the ''[[Weilüe]]'', written by the East Han dynasty politician [[Yuan Huan]] also described the south-pointing chariot of belonging to the Chinese mechanical engineer and politician [[Ma Jun (mechanical engineer)|Ma Jun]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 288" /> The [[Jin dynasty (266–420)]] era text of the ''Shu Zheng Ji'' (Records of Military Expeditions), written by Guo Yuansheng, recorded that south-pointing chariots were often stored in the northern [[gatehouse]] of the Government Workshops (Shang Fang) of the capital city.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 288" /> However, the later written ''[[Book of Song|Song Shu]]'' (''Book of Song'') (6th century) recorded the south-pointing chariot's design and use in further detail, as well as creating the background legend of the device's (supposed) use long before Ma's time, in the [[Western Zhou dynasty]] (1050–771 BC). The book also provided a description of the south-pointing chariot's re-invention and use in times after Ma Jun and the Three Kingdoms. The 6th century text, translated by the British scientist and historian [[Joseph Needham]], reads as follows (the south-pointing chariot is referred to as the south-pointing carriage):

{{blockquote|The south-pointing carriage was first constructed by the Duke of Zhou (beginning of the 1st millennium [[Before Common Era|BC]]) as a means of conducting homewards certain envoys who had arrived from a great distance beyond the frontiers. The country to be traversed was a boundless plain, in which people lost their bearings as to east and west, so (the Duke) caused this vehicle to be made in order that the ambassadors should be able to distinguish north and south. The ''Gui Gu Zi'' book says that the people of the [[Zheng (state)|State of Zheng]], when collecting jade, always carried with them a 'south-pointer', and by means of this were never in doubt (as to their position). During the [[Qin dynasty|Qin]] and [[Han dynasty|Former Han]] dynasties, however, nothing more was heard of the vehicle. In the [[Han dynasty|Later Han]] period, [[Zhang Heng]] re-invented it, but owing to the confusion and turmoil at the close of the dynasty it was not preserved.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 286">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 286.</ref>

In the State of Wei, (in the [[Three Kingdoms|San Guo]] period) Gaotong Long and Qin Lang were both famous scholars; they disputed about the south-pointing carriage before the court, saying that there was no such thing, and that the story was nonsense. But during the Qing-long reign period (233–237) the emperor Ming Di commissioned the scholar Ma Jun to construct one, and he duly succeeded. This again was lost during the troubles attending the establishment of the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin dynasty]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 286 287">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 286&ndash;287.</ref>

Later on, [[Shi Hu]] (emperor of the [[Jie (ethnic group)|Jie]] [[Later Zhao]] dynasty) had one made by Xie Fei, and again Linghu Sheng made one for Yao Xing (emperor of the [[Later Qin]] dynasty). The latter was obtained by emperor An Di of the Jin in the 13th year of the Yi-xi reign-period (417), and it finally came into the hands of emperor [[Emperor Wu of Liu Song|Wu Di]] of the [[Liu Song dynasty]] when he took over the administration of [[Chang'an]]. Its appearance and construction was like that of a drum-carriage ([[odometer]]). A wooden figure of a man was placed at the top, with its arm raised and pointing to the south, (and the mechanism was arranged in such a way that) although the carriage turned round and round, the pointer-arm still indicated the south. In State processions, the south-pointing carriage led the way, accompanied by the imperial guard.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 287">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 287.</ref>

These vehicles, constructed as they had been by barbarian ([[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]]) workmen, did not function particularly well. Though called south-pointing carriages, they very often did not point true, and had to negotiate curves step by step, with the help of someone inside to adjust the machinery. The ingenious man from [[Fanyang]], Zi [[Zu Chongzhi]] frequently said, therefore, that a new (and properly automatic) south-pointing carriage ought to be constructed. So towards the close of the Sheng-Ming reign period (477–479) the emperor [[Emperor Shun of Liu Song|Shun Di]], during the premiership of the Prince of Qi, commissioned (Zi Zu Chongzhi) to make one, and when it was completed it was tested by Wang Seng-qian, military governor of Tanyang, and Liu Hsiu, president of the Board of Censors. The workmanship was excellent, and although the carriage was twisted and turned in a hundred directions, the hand never failed to point to the south. Under the Jin, moreover, there had also been a south-pointing ship.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 287" />}}

The last sentence of the passage is of great interest for navigation at sea, since the magnetic [[compass]] used for seafaring navigation was not used until the time of [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095). Although the ''Song Shu'' text describes earlier precedents of the south-pointing chariot before the time of Ma Jun, this is not entirely credible, as there are no pre-Han or Han dynasty era texts that describe the device.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 287 288">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 287–288.</ref> In fact, the first known source to describe stories of its legendary use during the Zhou period was the ''Gu Jin Zhu'' book of [[Cui Bao]] (c. 300), written soon after the Three Kingdoms era.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 288">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 288</ref> Cui Bao also wrote that the intricate details of construction for the device were once written in the ''Shang Fang Gu Shi'' (''Traditions of the Imperial Workshops''), but the book was lost by his time.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 288" />