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First seismoscope — Zhang Heng

132 AD · Transmission: Silenced
TechnologyInstrumentChinese

Zhang Heng presents at the Han court the Houfeng Didong Yi ('instrument for measuring seasonal winds and movements of the Earth'), a bronze urn about 2 meters in diameter with eight dragons at the cardinal points. An internal pendulum mechanism detected seismic waves and dropped a bronze ball into the mouth of a frog beneath the corresponding dragon, indicating the earthquake's direction. In 138 AD it correctly detected an earthquake in Longxi more than 500 km away. The internal design was lost; a functional replica built in 2005 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences reproduced the performance using technology contemporary with the original.

InstitutionHan imperial court, Luoyang
Historical regionEastern Han Empire (present-day Henan, China)
Primary sourceHou Hanshu (History of the Later Han Dynasty), Fan Ye, 5th century AD, ch. 59 — description of the Houfeng Didong Yi
Secondary sourceYan, H.S. et al. — 'Reconstruction design of the lost seismoscope of ancient China', Mechanism and Machine Theory, 2007, doi:10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2006.08.005
Original languageClassical Chinese (literary Chinese)
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