page_title: Du Shi
hierarchical_section_title: Du Shi
caption_attribution_description: English: This medieval printed illustration depicts waterwheels powering the bellows of a blast furnace in creating cast iron. This illustration is taken from the 14th century treatise Nong Shu, written by Wang Zhen in 1313 AD, during the Chinese Yuan Dynasty.
context_page_description: Du Shi was a Chinese inventor, mechanical engineer, metallurgist, and politician of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Du Shi is credited with being the first to apply hydraulic power to operate bellows in metallurgy. His invention was used to operate piston-bellows of the blast furnace and then cupola furnace in order to forge cast iron, which had been known in China since the 6th century BC. He worked as a censorial officer and administrator of several places during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han. He also led a brief military campaign in which he eliminated a small bandit army under Yang Yi.
context_section_description: Du Shi (Chinese: 杜詩; pinyin: Dù Shī; Wade–Giles: Tu Shih, d. 38) was a Chinese inventor, mechanical engineer, metallurgist, and politician of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Du Shi is credited with being the first to apply hydraulic power (i.e. a waterwheel) to operate bellows (air-blowing device) in metallurgy. His invention was used to operate piston-bellows of the blast furnace and then cupola furnace in order to forge cast iron, which had been known in China since the 6th century BC. He worked as a censorial officer and administrator of several places during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han. He also led a brief military campaign in which he eliminated a small bandit army under Yang Yi (d. 26).
caption: An illustration of blast furnace bellows operated by waterwheels, from the Nong Shu, by Wang Zhen, 1313 AD, during the Yuan Dynasty of China.
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