The Large Water-driven Spinning Wheel
水力大纺车
The ancient spinning wheel usually had two to three, or even five, spin-dIes.At 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 production.The 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.
古代纺车的锭子数目一般是2—3枚，最多为5枚。宋元之际，随着社会经济的发展，在各种传世纺车机具的基础上，逐渐产生了一种有几十个锭子的大纺车。大纺车与原有的纺车不同，其特点是：锭子数目多达几十枚，及利用水力驱动。这些特点使大纺车具备了近代纺纱机械的雏形，适应大规模的专业化生产。水力大纺车还大大提高了纺织业效率。比如，通用纺车每天最多纺纱3斤，而大纺车一昼夜可纺100多斤。纺织时，需使用足够的麻才能满足其生产能力。水力大纺车是中国古代将自然力运用于纺织机械的一项重要发明，如单就以水力作原动力的纺纱机具而论，中国比西方早了四个多世纪。