雙語科技百科(手工業) 第70期:水力大紡車
The Large Water-driven Spinning Wheel
The ancient spinning wheel usually had two to three, or even five, the juncture of the Song and Yuan Dynasties when the society experienced substantial economic development, on the basis of various kinds of spinning wheels at the time, a new kind of large-size spinning wheel with dozens of spindles gradually appeared, with the prominent features different from the previous spinning wheels in that it had dozens of spindles and was powered by water. These features, which resembled those of modern spinning machines, made the waterwheels suitable for large-scale professional large water-driven spinning wheel also greatly improved the efficiency of the textile industry. For in-stance,one hand-driven spinning wheel could weave l. 5 kilos of hemp ( fiber from the hemp plant which is used to make textiles) at most each day, while a large water-driven one could weave more than 50 kilos daily. In this way, once the wheel began to work, there had to be enough hemp for constant production. The large water-driven spinning wheel was an important invention that applied natural power in textile manufacturing in ancient China. The water-driven spinning wheel in China precedes its Western counterpart by more than four centuries.
古代紡車的錠子數目一般是2—3枚，最多爲5枚。宋元之際，隨着社會經濟的發展，在各種傳世紡車機具的基礎上，逐漸產生了一種有幾十個錠子的大紡車。大紡車與原有的紡車不同，其特點是：錠子數目多達幾十枚，及利用水力驅動。這些特點使大紡車具備了近代紡紗機械的雛形，適應大規模的專業化生產。水力大紡車還大大提高了紡織業效率。比如，通用紡車每天最多紡紗3斤，而大紡車一晝夜可紡100多斤。紡織時，需使用足夠的麻才能滿足其生產能力。水力大紡車是中國古代將自然力運用於紡織機械的一項重要發明，如單就以水力作原動力的紡紗機具而論，中國比西方早了四個多世紀。
