Editing Zu Chongzhi (section)

==Inventions and innovations==
===Hammer mills===
In 488, Zu Chongzhi was responsible for erecting water powered trip [[Hammermill|hammer mills]] which was inspected by [[Emperor Wu of Southern Qi]] during the early 490s.<ref>{{cite journal | title="The Water Mill" and Northern Song Imperial Patronage of Art, Commerce, and Science |journal = The Art Bulletin|volume = 84|issue = 4| publisher=CAA | author=Liu, Heping | pages=574|jstor = 3177285|year = 2002|doi = 10.2307/3177285}}</ref><ref name="Needham">[[Joseph Needham|Needham, Joseph]] (1965). ''Science and Civilization in China, Vol. IV: Physics and Physical Technology'', p.400. {{ISBN|978-0-521-05802-5}}.</ref><ref name=lu>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d__HBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA289 |title=A History of Chinese Science and Technology, Volume 3 |editor=Yongxiang Lu |page=280 |publisher=Springer |year=2014|isbn=9783662441664 }}</ref>

===Paddle boats===
Zu is also credited with inventing Chinese paddle boats or [[Qianli chuan]] in the late 5th century AD during the Southern Qi dynasty.<ref name="needham 416">Needham, 416</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures  |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediahis00seli  |url-access=limited  |last=Selin |first=Helaine  |publisher=Springer |year=2008 |isbn=978-1402045592 |edition=2nd |publication-date=April 16, 2008 |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediahis00seli/page/n1076 1061]|bibcode=2008ehst.book.....S }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wang  |first=Hsien-Chun |date=January 1, 2019 |title=Discovering Steam Power in China, 1840s–1860s |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/375784 |journal=Technology and Culture |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |volume=51 |pages=38}}</ref><ref name=lu/> The boats made sailing a more reliable form of transportation and based on the shipbuilding technology of its day, numerous paddle wheel ships were constructed during the Tang era as the boats were able to cruise at faster speeds than the existing vessels at the time as well as being able to cover hundreds of kilometers of distance without the aid of wind.<ref name="needham 416">Needham, 416</ref>

===South pointing chariot===
The [[south-pointing chariot]] device was first invented by the Chinese mechanical engineer [[Ma Jun (mechanical engineer)|Ma Jun]] (c. 200–265 AD). It was a wheeled vehicle that incorporated an early use of [[differential (mechanical device)|differential gears]] to operate a fixed figurine that would constantly point south, hence enabling one to accurately measure their directional bearings. This effect was achieved not by [[magnetic]]s (like in a [[compass]]), but through intricate mechanics, the same design that allows equal amounts of torque applied to wheels rotating at different speeds for the modern [[automobile]]. After the [[Three Kingdoms]] period, the device fell out of use temporarily. However, it was Zu Chongzhi who successfully re-invented it in 478, as described in the texts of the ''[[Book of Song]]'' and the ''[[Book of Qi]]'', with a passage from the latter below:

<blockquote>
When [[Emperor Wu of Liu Song]] subdued [[Guanzhong]] he obtained the south-pointing carriage of Yao Xing, but it was only the shell with no machinery inside. Whenever it moved it had to have a man inside to turn (the figure). In the Sheng-Ming reign period, Gao Di commissioned Zi Zu Chongzhi to reconstruct it according to the ancient rules. He accordingly made new machinery of bronze, which would turn round about without a hitch and indicate the direction with uniformity. Since Ma Jun's time such a thing had not been.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 289">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 289.</ref><ref>''Book of Qi'', '''52'''.905</ref>
</blockquote>