I haven’t used one much in my life. The wheelbarrow. It’s not like I have the need to move great piles of Earth to and fro. And I’ve never “offed” anyone and had to get rid of the body. But occasionally, I’ve pushed one around like a good grunt will.
But for some reason, I am thinking about them.
Wheelbarrows.
The concept was pretty brilliant, really. Simplicity at its best. They are human-powered carts with one wheel to carry all kinds of burdens. People use them to harvest crops or to move materials, like bags of cement. And yes. I’ve seen it in the movies. People have enlisted them to push sickly, wounded, or dead people around.
At any rate. The wheelbarrow does most of the work for you. But who first came up with this swifty nifty idea?
Made in China.
Big surprise. Everything is made in China, it seems. That is the case here, too. The first wheelbarrows were created in China—along with the first gunpowder, paper, paper currency, magnetic compasses, crossbows, and many other key inventions. China, China, China.
No fake news here. They have written proof of this invention. The earliest evidence of Chinese wheelbarrows is found in illustrations dated around 100 CE, during the Han dynasty.
A wall painting in a tomb near Chengdu, in Sichuan Province, dated to 118 CE, shows a man using a wheelbarrow. Another tomb, also in Sichuan Province, includes a depiction of a wheelbarrow in its carved wall reliefs. This one dates back to the year 147 CE. Not only did they invent it, they bragged about it.
According to their written history, a man named Zhuge Liang, invented a new form of wheelbarrow in 231 CE. As a form of military technology. He came up with the idea of making a “wooden ox” with a single wheel. Another traditional nickname for this simple handcart is the “gliding horse.”
Either way, this newer device had a centrally mounted wheel, with loads carried in a large basket type deal on the top. The operator pushed and guided the wagon. Just like we do today, all of the weight was carried by the wheel. And so, it helped with their military operation. Using the wooden ox, a single soldier could easily carry enough food to feed four men for the entire month. As a result, they tried to keep the technology a secret. For the sake of winning the war.
So. How did it progress throughout history? There is a tiny bit of evidence that the Greeks may have had a single-wheeled cart as early as the fifth century BCE. And. The Romans depended on four-wheeled carts drawn by oxen. But, no single-wheeled carts showed up in their early years.
Centuries later, Europe got in on the game. They caught up on the technology in the 12th century CE. Those Europeans had a thing called a “cenovectorium,” which was Latin for “muck carrier.” Poop cart? Maybe. But it was originally a cart with handles at both ends and carried by two individuals.
From there it made its round, this wheelbarrow friend of ours. Lugging around this or that.
Eventually, this showed up in America during Sunday picnics, when people push one another toward the finish line in the “Wheelbarrow Races,” which come right after the Three-Legged Races or the Egg Toss.
So there it is. A tool for the ages. Helping people move stuff from point A to point B.
When you think about it, we are a lot like wheelbarrows in that way. We go through our lives moving our “inner stuff” from one point to the next, always trying to do it with as little effort as possible.
Take a load off today. You deserve it.
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“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tzu
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“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
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“Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.” – Ann Landers
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Wheely Gig. Push it. Push it good.
