A common wheelbarrow.

Older wheelbarrow

Wheelbarrows on the Belomorkanal

A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles to the rear or a sail may be used to guide the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal (Belomorsko-Baltiyskiy Kanal BBK) is a Ship canal that joins the White Sea and the Baltic Sea near A wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load ( Mass) or performing labour in machines

It is designed to distribute the weight of its load between the wheel and the operator so enabling the convenient carriage of heavier and bulkier loads than would be possible were the weight carried entirely by the operator. Their use is common in the construction industry and in gardening. In the fields of Architecture and Civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the Building or assembling of Infrastructure Gardening is the practice of growing Plants for their attractive flowers or foliage and Vegetables or Fruits for consumption Typical capacity is approximately 170 litres (6 cubic feet) of material.

A two-wheel type is more stable on level ground, while the almost universal one-wheel type has better maneuverability in small spaces, on planks or when tilted ground would throw the load off balance. The use of one wheel also permits greater control of the deposition of the load on emptying.

History

Ancient Greece

The wheelbarrow was first invented in ancient Greece. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca ^[1] Two building material inventories for 408/407 and 407/406 B. C. from the temple of Eleusis list, among other machines and tools, "1 body for a one-wheeler (hyperteria monokyklou)":

Since dikyklos and tetrakyklos mean nothing but "two-wheeler" and "four-wheeler," and since the monokyklos body is sandwiched in the Eleusis inventory between a four-wheeler body and its four wheels, to take it as anything but a one-wheeler strains credulity far beyond breaking point. Elefsina (Ελευσίνα Ancient/ Katharevousa: Eleusis is a town and municipality about 20 km NW of Athens. It can only be a wheelbarrow, necessarily guided and balanced by a man.

There is, however, no other mention of wheelbarrows in ancient Greek sources. In Roman sources, though, there is a one wheeld vehicle attested in the 4th century AD. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC ^[2]

Medieval Europe

Medieval wheelbarrow (reconstruction)

The wheelbarrow reappeared in Europe sometime between 1170 and 1250. Medieval wheelbarrows universally featured a wheel at or near the front (in contrast to their Chinese counterparts, which typically had a wheel in the center of the barrow),^[3] the arrangement now universally found on wheelbarrows.

Research on the early history of the wheelbarrow is made difficult by the marked absence of a common terminology. The English historian of science M. J. T. Lewis has identified in English and French sources four mentions of wheelbarrows between 1172 and 1222, three of them designated with a different term. ^[4] According to the medieval art historian Andrea Matthies, the first archival reference to a wheelbarrow in medieval Europe is dated 1222, specifying the purchase of several wheelbarrows for the English king's works at Dover. Dover is a town and major ferry port in the county of Kent, England. ^[5] The first depiction appears in an English manuscript, Matthew Paris's Vitae Offarum, completed in 1250. ^[6]

By the 13th century, the wheelbarrow proved useful in building construction, mining operations, and agriculture. However, going by surviving documents and illustrations the wheelbarrow remained a relative rarity until the 15th century. ^[7] It also seemed to be limited to England, France, and the Low Countries. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt ^[8]

Ancient China

The earliest depictions of single-wheel Chinese wheelbarrows come from 2nd century Han Dynasty tomb murals and brick tomb reliefs. The Han Dynasty ( 206 BC–220 AD followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. A mural is a Painting on a wall ceiling or other large permanent surface A relief is a Sculptured Artwork where a modeled form is raised (or alternatively lowered from a flattened background without being disconnected from it ^[9] The painted tomb mural of a man pushing a wheelbarrow was found in a tomb at Chengdu, Sichuan province, dated precisely to 118 AD. ( located in southwest People's Republic of China, is the capital of Sichuan province and a Sub-provincial city. ( Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in western China with its capital in Chengdu. ^[10] The stone carved relief of a man pushing a wheelbarrow was found in the tomb of Shen Fujun in Sichuan province, dated circa 150 AD. ^[11] And then there is the story of the pious Dong Yuan pushing his father around in a single-wheel lu che barrow, depicted in a mural of the Wu Liang tomb-shrine of Shandong (dated to 147 AD). ( is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. ^[12] However, there are even earlier accounts than this that harken back to the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The 5th century Book of Later Han stated that the wife of the once poor and youthful imperial censor Bao Xuan helped him push a lu che back to his village during their feeble wedding ceremony, around 30 BC. The Book of the Later Han ( is one of the official Chinese Historical works which was compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century, using The Censorate (御史台 yùshǐtái later 都察院 dūcháyuàn was a top-level surveillance agency in ancient China, first instituted in Qin Dynasty (221&ndash207 ^[10] Later, during the Red Eyebrows Rebellion (c. Chimei (赤眉 refers as an umbrella term to one of the two major agrarian rebellion movements against Wang Mang 's Xin Dynasty, initially active in the modern 20 AD) against the usurper Wang Mang (45 BC–23 AD), the official Zhao Xi saved his wife from danger by disguising himself and pushing her along in his lu che barrow, past a group of brigand rebels who questioned him, and allowed him to pass after he convinced them that his wife was terribly ill. Wang Mang ( (45 BC&ndashOctober 6 23 Courtesy name Jujun (巨君 was a Han Dynasty official who seized the throne from the Liu family An outlaw or bandit is a person living the lifestyle of outlawry; the word literally means "outside the Law " by folk-etymology from the original ^[10]

The one-wheeled Chinese wheelbarrow, from Zhang Zeduan's (1085–1145) painting Along the River During Qingming Festival, Song Dynasty. Zhang Zeduan ( (1085-1145 AD alias Zheng Dao was a famous Chinese painter during the twelfth century during the transitional period from the Northern Song to the Southern Along the River During the Qingming Festival ( is the title of several Panoramic paintings the original version generally attributed to the Song Dynasty The Song Dynasty ( Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao was a ruling dynasty in China between 960&ndash1279 CE it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Nevertheless, the Chinese historical text of the Sanguozhi (Records of the Three Kingdoms), compiled by the ancient historian Chen Shou (233–297 AD), credits the invention of the wheelbarrow to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang (181–234 AD) of Shu Han from 197–234. The Records of Three Kingdoms ( is the official and authoritative historical text on the period of Three Kingdoms covering from 189 to 280, The Three Kingdoms period ( is a period in the History of China, part of an era of disunity called the Six Dynasties following immediately the loss of Chen Shou (233–297 born in Nanchong, Sichuan, was the author of the Records of Three Kingdoms, a historical account of the Three Zhuge Liang (181–234 was Chancellor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China Shu Han ( Traditional Chinese: 蜀漢 Pinyin: Shǔ Hàn sometimes known as the Kingdom of Shu (蜀 shǔ was one of the Three Kingdoms competing ^[13] It was written that in 231 AD, Zhuge Liang developed the vehicle of the wooden ox and used it as a transport for military supplies in a campaign against Cao Wei. The wooden ox (木牛流馬， lit wooden ox flowing horse was created by Zhuge Liang while he served Shu-Han. Cao Wei ( was one of the empires that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period ^[14] Further annotations of the text by Pei Songzhi (430 AD) described the design in detail as a large single central wheel and axle around which a wooden frame was constructed in representation of an ox. An axle is a central shaft for a rotating Wheel or Gear. In some cases the axle may be fixed in position with a bearing or Bushing ^[14] Writing later in the 11th century, the Song Dynasty (960–1279) scholar Gao Cheng wrote that the small wheelbarrow of his day, with shafts pointing forward (so that it was pulled), was the direct descendent of Zhuge Liang's wooden ox. The Song Dynasty ( Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao was a ruling dynasty in China between 960&ndash1279 CE it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ^[15] Furthermore, he pointed out that the 3rd century 'gliding horse' wheelbarrow featured the simple difference of the shaft pointing backwards (so that it was pushed instead). ^[15]

Unlike the wheelbarrow innovated later in medieval Europe (with a front wheel meant to carry fairly light loads), the central wheel and axle of wheelbarrows in China allowed their wheelbarrows to haul considerably heavier weights. ^[16] However, the lower carrying surface made the European wheelbarrow clearly more useful for short-haul work. ^[17] According to Needham, this feature may have prompted the Chinese later to adopt the European stretcher-type wheelbarrow. ^[18] Today, as evidenced by pictures, wheelbarrows almost universally feature the front wheel arrangement first introduced in medieval Europe.

Wheelbarrows in China could generally transport six human passengers at once, and instead of a laborious amount of energy exacted upon the animal or human driver pulling the wheelbarrow, the weight of the burden was distributed equally between the wheel and the puller. ^[19] European visitors to China from the 17th century onwards had an appreciation for this, and was given a considerable amount of attention by a member of the Dutch East India Company, Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest, in his writings of 1797 (who accurately described its design and ability to hold large amounts of heavy baggage). The Dutch East India Company ( Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in old-spelling Dutch, literally "United East Indian Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest (1 November 1739 in Werkhoven – 8 July 1801 in Amsterdam) Dutch-American merchant who is mostly known for ^[20]

The Chinese Sailing Carriage

Wheelbarrows near Xi'an, c. UserEl_C --> Xi'an ( Postal map spelling: Sian is the Capital of the Shaanxi province in the 1905 by Baptist missionary John Shields

Due to scarce references in Chinese literature, the earliest date for which the Chinese began mounting masts and sails on large wheelbarrows is uncertain, but European travelers from the 16th century onwards mentioned them with surprise. The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. In 1585 (during the Chinese Ming Dynasty), Gonzales de Mendoza wrote that the Chinese had many coaches and wagons mounted with sails, and even depicted them in artwork of silk hanfu robes and on earthenware vessels. The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led Juan González de Mendoza (c 1540 - 1617 was the author of the first Western history of China to publish Chinese characters for Western delectation Silk is a natural Protein Fiber, some forms of which can be woven into Textiles The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons Han Chinese clothing or Hanfu ( also known as Hanzhuang ( 漢裝) Huafu ( 華服) or guzhuang ( 古裝, meaning Earthenware is a common Ceramic material which is used extensively for Pottery tableware and decorative objects ^[21] In the 1584 atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum written by the cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527–1598), there are large Chinese wheelbarrows depicted with sails and masts. An atlas is a collection of Maps typically of Earth or a region of Earth but there are atlases of the other planets (and their satellites in the solar system Abraham Ortelius ( Abraham Ortels) ( April 2, 1527 – June 28, 1598) was a Belgian Cartographer and ^[22] Likewise, there are the same Chinese wheelbarrows with sails depicted in the Atlas of Gerardus Mercator (1512–1594), as well as the 1626 book Kingdome of China by John Speed. A separate article is about the mathematician Nicholas Mercator. John Speed (1542–1629 was a Historian, now best remembered as the Cartographer whose maps of English counties are often found framed in homes throughout the ^[22] The English poet John Milton (1608–1674) popularized the Chinese sailing carriage in Europe with a poem written in 1665. John Milton ( 9 December, 1608 – 8 November, 1674) was an English Poet, Prose Polemicist and ^[22] European interest in the Chinese sailing carriage is also seen in the writings of Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest in 1797, who wrote:

Near the southern border of Shandong one finds a kind of wheelbarrow much larger than that which I have been describing, and drawn by a horse or a mule. Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest (1 November 1739 in Werkhoven – 8 July 1801 in Amsterdam) Dutch-American merchant who is mostly known for ( is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. In its common modern meaning a mule is the offspring of a male Donkey and a female Horse, which is classified as a kind of F1 hybrid. But judge by my surprise when today I saw a whole fleet of wheelbarrows of the same size. A fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial Fishing vessels. I say, with deliberation, a fleet, for each of them had a sail, mounted on a small mast exactly fixed in a socket arranged at the forward end of the barrow. The sail, made of matting, or more often of cloth, is five or six feet high, and three or four feet broad, with stays, sheets, and halyards, just as on a Chinese ship. In Sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line ( Rope) that is used to hoist (pull up a Sail, a Flag or a yard. -HK CityHall Seaview 51217 5png|thumb|300px|A modern junk in Hong Kong]]A junk is a Chinese sailing vessel. The sheets join the shafts of the wheelbarrow and can thus be manipulated by the man in charge. ^[23]

Modern times

In the 1970s, British inventor James Dyson produced his ballbarrow, an injection moulded plastic barrow with a spherical wheel. Sir James Dyson (born Cromer, Norfolk, England, 2 May 1947 is an English Industrial designer. The Ballbarrow was a type of Wheelbarrow designed by James Dyson and released in 1974 in the United Kingdom.

The Honda HPE60, an electric power-assisted wheelbarrow, was produced in 1998. ^[24][25]

Notes

References

• M. J. T. Lewis, "The Origins of the Wheelbarrow," Technology and Culture, Vol. 35, No. 3. (Jul. , 1994), pp. 453-475
• Andrea L. Matthies, "The Medieval Wheelbarrow," Technology and Culture, Vol. 32, No. 2, Part 1. (Apr. , 1991), pp. 356-364
• Needham, Joseph (1986). Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA ( December 9, 1900 – March 24 1995) was a British Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.

See also

• Hand truck
• Dolly (tool)
• Wheelbarrow race