47 Quotes by Kit Williams

As I was working I noticed that the way I designed the differential gearing actually created a spare drive that sat directly below the emperor's feet, or where they would be if he were to sit in the chariot.

In practical terms the South Pointing Chariot was a simple direction finder. It could have been made to point in any direction - north, south, east or west.

The original item looked like a little hand cart with the figure of a man mounted on a platform between the wheels. The man's outstretched arm always pointed south.

I made every single piece myself, each individual component, so it was quite time consuming.

I started by looking at what others had done before me. You see, over the years there have been attempts by many different people to reconstruct the chariot.

The chariot was purchased by a private collector who took it home to New York. I take pleasure in knowing that it was built to last for at least a thousand years.

Leonardo da Vinci, for example, was an expert on differentials and made thousands of drawings of gears in his lifetime, largely for military purposes.

Legend has it that the original South Pointing Chariot was built in China three to four thousand years ago for the Yellow Emperor, Huang Di.

Oh yes, it works very precisely, in accordance with the lunar month. The earth is divided into 24 segments, each one representing one hour in time.