The bamboo-copter, also known as the bamboo dragonfly or Chinese top (
Chinese ''zhuqingting'' (竹蜻蜓),
Japanese ''taketonbo'' ), is a
toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...
helicopter rotor
On a helicopter, the main rotor or rotor system is the combination of several rotary wings (rotor blades) with a control system, that generates the aerodynamic lift (force), lift force that supports the weight of the helicopter, and the thrust ...
that flies up when its shaft is rapidly spun. This
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
-like
top
Top most commonly refers to:
* Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides
* Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy
* Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso
* Mountain top, a moun ...
originated in
Jin dynasty China around 320 AD, and was the object of early experiments by English engineer
George Cayley
Sir George Cayley, 6th Baronet (27 December 1773 – 15 December 1857) was an English engineer, inventor, and aviator. He is one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him to be the first true scientific ...
, the inventor of modern
aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere.
While the term originally referred ...
.
[Leishman, J. Gordon (2006)]
''Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics''
Cambridge University Press. pp. 7–9.
In China, the earliest known flying toys consisted of feathers at the end of a stick, which was rapidly spun between the hands and released into flight. "While the Chinese top was no more than a toy, it is perhaps the first tangible device of what we may understand as a helicopter."
The Jin dynasty
Daoist
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
philosopher
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characters'', the '' Baopu ...
's (c. 317) book ''
Baopuzi'' (抱樸子 "Master Who Embraces Simplicity") mentioned a flying vehicle in what
Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, initia ...
calls "truly an astonishing passage".
[Joseph Needham and Ling Wang (1965), ''Science and Civilisation in China: Physics and Physical Technology, Mechanical Engineering'' Volume 4, Part 2, pp. 582–583]
Some have made flying cars 'feiche'' 飛車with wood from the inner part of the jujube tree, using ox-leather (straps) fastened to returning blades so as to set the machine in motion 'huan jian yi yin chiji'' 環劍以引其機 Others have had the idea of making five snakes, six dragons and three oxen, to meet the "hard wind" 'gangfeng'' 罡風and ride on it, not stopping until they have risen to a height of forty '' li''. That region is called aiqing 太清(the purest of empty space). There the 'qi''">qi.html" ;"title="'qi">'qi''is extremely hard, so much so that it can overcome (the strength of) human beings. As the Teacher says: "The kite (bird) flies higher and higher spirally, and then only needs to stretch its two wings, beating the air no more, in order to go forward by itself. This is because it starts gliding (lit. riding) on the 'hard wind' [''gangqi'' 罡炁]. Take dragons, for example; when they first rise they go up using the clouds as steps, and after they have attained a height of forty ''li'' then they rush forward effortlessly (lit. automatically) (gliding)." This account comes from the adepts xianren'' 仙人">Xian_(Taoism).html" ;"title="'Xian (Taoism)">xianren'' 仙人 and is handed down to ordinary people, but they are not likely to understand it.
Needham concludes that Ge Hong was describing helicopter tops because "'returning (or revolving) blades' can hardly mean anything else, especially in close association with a belt or strap"; and suggests that "snakes", "dragons", and "oxen" refer to shapes of man-lifting kites. Other scholars interpret this ''Baopuzi'' passage mythologically instead of literally, based on its context's mentioning fantastic flights through ''chengqiao'' (乘蹻 "riding on tiptoe/stilts") and
''xian'' (仙 "immortal; adept") techniques. For instance, "If you can ride the arches of your feet, you will be able to wander anywhere in the world without hindrance from mountains or rivers … Whoever takes the correct amulet and gives serious thought to the process may travel a thousand miles by concentrating his thoughts for one double hour."
[Ware, James R. (1966). ''Alchemy, Medicine and Religion in the China of A.D. 320: The'' Nei Pien'' of Ko Hung''. Dover. pp. 258–259] Compare this translation.
Some build a flying vehicle from the pith of the jujube tree and have it drawn by a sword with a thong of buffalo hide at the end of its grip. Others let their thoughts dwell on the preparation of a joint rectangle from five serpents, six dragons, and three buffaloes, and mount in this for forty miles to the region known as Paradise.
This Chinese helicopter toy was introduced into Europe and "made its earliest appearances in Renaissance European paintings and in the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci." The toy helicopter appears in a 1460 French picture of the
Madonna and Child
In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...
at the Musée du Palais de Tesse’ in Mans depicting the Child holding a toy copter sitting in Mary’s lap next to St Benôit (unknown artist), and in a 16th-century stained glass panel at the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
in London.
[Goebel, Greg (1 September 2005 ). . Vectorsite.net. Archived from on 25 September 2006.] A picture from c. 1560 by
Pieter Breughel the Elder at the
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...
in Vienna, ''
Children's Games
This is a list of games that are played by children. Traditional children's games do not include commercial products such as board games but do include games which require props such as hopscotch or marbles (toys go in List of toys unless the toy ...
'', depicts a helicopter top with three airscrews.
"The helicopter top in China led to nothing but amusement and pleasure, but fourteen hundred years later it was to be one of the key elements in the birth of modern aeronautics in the West." Early Western scientists developed flying machines based upon the original Chinese model. The Russian polymath
Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...
developed a spring-driven coaxial rotor in 1743, and the French naturalist Christian de Launoy created a
bow drill
A bow drill is a simple hand-operated type of tool, consisting of a rod (the ''spindle'' or ''drill shaft'') that is set in rapid rotary motion by means of a cord wrapped around it, kept taut by a bow and arrow, bow which is pushed back and forth ...
device with contra-rotating feather
propeller
A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
s.
In 1792, George Cayley began experimenting with helicopter tops, which he later called "rotary wafts" or "elevating fliers". His landmark (1809) article "On Aerial Navigation" pictured and described a flying model with two propellers (constructed from corks and feathers) powered by a whalebone bow drill. "In 1835 Cayley remarked that while the original toy would rise no more than about 20 or 25 feet (6 or 7.5 metres), his improved models would 'mount upward of 90 ft (27 metres) into the air'. This then was the direct ancestor of the helicopter rotor and the aircraft propeller."
Discussing the history of Chinese inventiveness, the British scientist, sinologist, and historian
Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, initia ...
wrote, "Some inventions seem to have arisen merely from a whimsical curiosity, such as the 'hot air balloons' made from eggshells which did not lead to any aeronautical use or aerodynamic discoveries, or the
zoetrope
A zoetrope is a Precursors of film#Modern era, pre-film animation device that produces the illusion of motion, by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. A zoetrope is a cylindrical variant of ...
which did not lead onto the
kinematograph, or the helicopter top which did not lead to the helicopter."
[Needham, Joseph; Robinson, Kenneth Girdwood (2004)]
''Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 7: The Social Background, Part 2, General Conclusions and Reflections''
Cambridge University Press. p. 225.
References
External links
''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''. 16 November 1953
"The Helicopter: A Hundred Years of Hovering" ''
Wired
Wired may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976
* ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993
* ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017
* "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street''
* "Wired ...
''. 12 November 2007
"What is a ''Taketonbo''?" Taketonbo.org
Cultural China
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamboo-Copter
Traditional toys
Chinese games
Spinning tops
Helicopters