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.
The rabbit is significant in that the handle on the original South Pointing Chariot was carved in the form of a rabbit. Because the handle extended out front it meant that wherever the rabbit went the chariot had to follow.
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.
I think most artists find it difficult to part with their work but it's the parting that keeps us alive and keeps us working. In the case of the chariot, although it's been sold I actually still have it, just in another form.
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.
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.
You see, my ambition was not to confound the engineering world but simply to create a beautiful piece of art.
Once upon a perfect night, unclouded and still, there came the face of a pale and beautiful lady. The tresses of her hair reached out to make the constellations, and the dewy vapours of her gown fell soft upon the land.
The engine of ancient society was religion but the engine of contemporary society, as I see it, is advertising.
Newton, of course, was the inventor of differential calculus so his place in the tale is quite special.
I took lots of photographs and had planned to write a treatise on how it worked, but I quickly got bored with that idea and wrote a scientific fairy tale instead.
