Ah? This pavilion can make it rain by itself?

Did you know that there is an interesting pavilion in the Xi'an Garden of the Garden Expo Park that can rain by itself? Does it have clouds on its roof? Of course not. In fact, water flows to the top of the pavilion and then flows down from the pavilion, forming a water curtain like rain.

The name of this pavilion in Xi'an Garden is "Shuyu Pavilion". Its prototype is the "Ziyu Pavilion", a cool room that often appeared in the homes of wealthy people in Chang'an City during the Tang Dynasty. The ancients led water to the top of the pavilion, or directly placed a water storage container on the pavilion. The water flowed down the eaves of the pavilion, making it look like rain.

In the fifth volume of the Tang Dynasty's "Records of Fengshi's Hearings and Sights", there is a record about the self-rain pavilion built in the home of the treacherous prime minister Wang Hong (hong, second tone): "There is a self-rain pavilion in the house, and water flows from the eaves in four directions. In summer, it feels as cool as autumn." It means that when rain flows down from the eaves, the water splashes in all directions, and even in the hot summer, the pavilion feels as cool as autumn. Ministers all have self-rain pavilions, so the emperor certainly can't lag behind. According to records, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had a luxurious plus version of the self-rain pavilion in the palace - the "Cool Palace", which relied on hydraulic drive to send water to the top of the roof, and the water flow flew down along the four corners of the palace, forming a water curtain. Even behind the throne of the "Cool Palace", there is a "water-driven fan wheel" that rotates by the impact of water flow on the roof. This fan wheel was transformed from the water wheel that was already commonly used for agricultural irrigation at that time. It was driven by the great impact of the water flow. The water wheel transported water from the ground to a high place and poured it into the water tank on the top of the palace, forming "self-rain". In this process, the water power will drive the fan wheel to rotate continuously, generating artificial wind, blowing water and people at the same time, making the water less hot and people feel very cool. According to legend, when the emperor summoned the minister Chen Zhijie in the palace, the cold air in the cool palace was so cold that Chen Zhijie, who had just entered the palace from the hot summer, felt cold and shivered. It can be seen that the cooling effect of this "Ziyu Pavilion" and "Cool Palace" is very amazing, comparable to today's air-conditioned rooms.

In addition to the method of bringing water to the pavilion, there is also a method of bringing water down from the mountain: When the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi was relocated to Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province), he built a simple thatched cottage. Taking advantage of the terrain leaning against the cliff on the west side, he used a split bamboo tube to bring spring water to the roof, slowly flowing to the eaves, and then cascading down from the eaves to the base. Bai Juyi once wrote: "The spring water sprinkled on the bricks is only a little, and the slanting bamboos brushing the windows are not in a row." That is to say, the spring water brought by the water is very weak, and the water flowing down from the eaves is very subtle. This kind of "self-rain pavilion" may not have such a good cooling effect.

This is the secret of the "Rain Pavilion" in Xi'an Garden! In addition to the "Ziyu Pavilion", what other tricks do the ancients use to stay cool?

Source: Chongqing Garden Expo Park Management Office

Audit expert: Li Yuanyuan

Statement: Except for original content and special notes, some pictures are from the Internet. They are not for commercial purposes and are only used as popular science materials. The copyright belongs to the original authors. If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete them.