South-Pointing Chariot

The Compass Cart

Chariot of the Yellow Emperor whose figure always pointed south, breaking Chi You’s fog in legend.

When Chi You shrouded the battlefield in mist, legend says the Yellow Emperor built a south-pointing chariot whose wooden figure always aimed south, breaking the sorcery and winning the day. Historians see in the device an early grasp of differential gearing; whatever its true mechanism, the compass chariot became the archetype of mechanical navigation in Chinese tradition.