The Chinese during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) were the first to apply hydraulic power (ie. a waterwheel) in working the inflatable bellows of the blast furnace in creating cast iron. This was recorded in the year 31 AD, an innovation of the engineer Du Shi, Prefect of Nanyang.
This medieval printed illustration depicts waterwheels powering the bellows of a blast furnace in creating cast iron. This illustration is taken from the 14th century treatise Nong Shu, written by Wang Zhen in 1313 AD, during the Chinese Yuan Dynasty.
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The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.