fu2

[dobro p]

34.4 and 26.2 - there's a thing that attaches the axle to the cart. Hatcher and Shaughnessy favor 'axle-strut' and Karcher has 'axle strap'. Online, I found 'axle strut' all over the place, for instance:

http://www.eng.warwick.ac.uk/DTU/pubs/tr/animals/tr30.pdf

Axle-strut wins the day, I think. But I wonder about Zhou-era technology - maybe it was just a strap.

Disclaimer: please disregard my bottom-feeding obsession with this stuff if it doesn't interest you. But, I mean, not ALL threads can be about God and the meaning of life, right? lol

 

[Sparhawk]

It isn't a regular cart but a chariot. I think it would give some idea, anyway. On the other hand, it is possible that straps of hide were used to hold the axles in place though. I've seen it used, and in the 20th century, in some farm carts in South America.

From:

Historical Perspectives on The Introduction of The Chariot Into China
Author(s): Edward L. Shaughnessy
Source: Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 48, No. 1, (Jun., 1988), pp. 189-237

 

[hilary]

What's an axle-strut??

I looked into these a bit when I was preparing 'journey imagery', and from what I found it seems the wheels were fixed to the axles, which revolved within leather straps. Presumably (and the last time I made assumptions about materials - jade and bronze - I got it all wrong) these would be the weakest point in the cart - good oracle material.

 

[dobro p]

Hilary - Luis' diagram (via Shaughnessy) is useful, but not conclusive. The question is how is the axle fixed to the body of the vehicle? Karcher says by means of leather straps. But if you look at different diagrams of carts, chariots and barrows, you'll find that there's very often a more sophisticated technology at work - an axle-strut, which is a vertical bit that connects the body of the vehicle to the axle-housing (the long, narrow bit the axle turns inside of). So, the axle's inside a housing, and the housing's connected to two axle-struts, and the body of the vehicle's attached to the axle-struts.

Also, Luis says that it's a chariot, not a cart. That's important, I think, cuz if it's a cart, I can easily believe it's leather straps at work - I mean, this is bronze age technology, and pretty primitive. But if it's a chariot (a war machine), I can easily believe they'd be using something more sophisticated than leather straps.

But whether it's straps or struts, the meaning of 26.2 is the same - the crucial connector breaks down and forward movement of the vehicle stops.

 

[hilary]

If I had any sense, I'd keep records of where I learn these things. I do remember that there was no clear distinction between words used for 'cart' and 'chariot'.

Anyway, as you say, the core meaning is the same: something small and hidden, much less impressive than the conspicuous power of the animals or strength of the chassis, and yet holding it all together.