The period before 1700 was characterised with the use of the canal system for transportation. Boats were used on the canal for transporting grain to armies and capital city.
Moreover, they used for transporting rice that had been levied. It is worth noting that agricultural output increased as time went by. Therefore, there was an escalating desire for carrying iron from the furnaces which were developing. Majority of the canals were merely man- made links which connected rivers or upgraded river channels.
The Grand Canal can be said to be the first improvement on the canal system. It was built in a manner that it had to be supplied with a separate water supply. Majority of the canals had been constructed using terrains which were fairly flat. Moreover, the changes in water levels experienced were minimal. When there were no changes in water levels, boats had to be moved to another level by being hauled over double slipways. Windlasses and ropes had to be used to haul the boats (Pacey, 67).
One of the disadvantages with using canals for transportation was that the boats were easily damaged while on the double slipways. Moreover, the cargoes had a high risk of theft. The government transport was highly disturbed by these losses. Consequently, a commissioner suggested five double slipways on Huai River, which would be replaced using double lock gate sets.
Improvements were also made to ensure that floating the boats to the river from the canal was easy. This would be achieved by ensuring a short canal length in the gates. This would make varying the water possible, so that it matched the downstream or upstream easy (Smil, 90). The pound locks used for the doors were less efficient compared to the improved chamber lock.
An Architectural Structure
The Chinese Buddhists had a keen interest in repairing, as well as building bridges. Consequently, this became a pious duty. This was more common on the overland routes which were used to India. The mountainous regions had precarious footbridges which were constructed with the use of ropes on gorges.
This was the case in western China and Kashmir (Smil,92). It is worth noting that a printed book was a technology that came up with Buddhism. A monk even said that Indian laymen and priests had a habit of impressing the Buddha’s image through the use of paper or silk.
This was linked to Indian’s technique of printing cloth patterns obtained using carved wood blocks. However, the art of printing books was not learnt then. Significant documents were usually inscribed using stone tablets. This was aimed at enhancing permanence. To reproduce copies, paper was rubbed on the stone while using an ink stick. This ensured that a similar copy was gotten quickly (Derryand Trevor, 34).
This technology can be said to have evolved into printing using carved wood blocks. The Chinese printing developed further during the Song dynasty. Movable parts which were produced from ceramic material and wood came about in 1050. With this, it was no was not crucial to carve an entire printing page.
After this, so many books were being printed. These included agriculture works, a wide array of medical topics, as well as arithmetic. The Chinese were also good in constructing massive Buddha statues. In India, stone was used while in Japan, cast bronze was used.
Works Cited
Derry, Troy and Trevor, Williams.A Short History of Technology (Dover 1993). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960. Print.
Pacey, Arnold. Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand-Year History. London: Basil Blackwell, 1990, Print.
Smil, Vaclav. Energy in World History. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994. Print.