By what did man invent the lifebuoy?

Life buoy originated from gourd is a tool for people to survive when they are in distress on water. As early as two or three thousand years ago, China had a "life buoy", which is a kind of dried wax gourd. According to Mr. Guo Moruo's explanation, it is the "gourd melon crossing the river" mentioned in the Book of Changes. The Book of Songs also said that "there are bitter leaves, and economic interests are deeply involved". Mr. Wen Yiduo translated this record in the Book of Songs as: "When patting leaves, the gourd is dry, so you can choose it as a waist boat." We think the meaning of these two poems is that holding withered gourds and melons can make the body float on the water and not drown. This gourd melon is the most primitive life-saving equipment. Later, all ships sailing on the sea mostly took gourds and melons to prevent accidents. It can be seen that the ancient people in China used dried gourds to float across the river, which is the most primitive lifebuoy. In the Song Dynasty, the method of making lifebuoys took a big step forward. Some people began to weave a ring-shaped object with soft wood and reeds, so that people could go in and hold their bodies. This kind of ring-shaped life buoy is much more convenient to use than gourd and melon, so it became a veritable life-saving "ring" and was called "floating ring" by Song people. According to the book Song Ren Lei, Han Shizhong, a famous anti-gold star in Song Dynasty, sent his imperial power to Jinshan to fight against the enemy. Before he left, Han Shizhong ordered him not to cross the river by boat to avoid being discovered by the enemy. So the kingship gave each soldier a round floating ring made of cork and asked them to tie it around their waist and cross the river. The soldiers quietly crossed the river under the leadership of the kingship, and the Jin people knew nothing about it. They were raided and wiped out. The floating ring used by royalty at that time was the predecessor of modern life buoy. There are lifeboats and life jackets in modern times. However, the traditional lifebuoy is still used by people, and it is still the simplest life-saving tool. When sailing, sailors still put lifebuoys in the most conspicuous places, such as the deck of ships, and paint them red and white. Some advanced lifebuoys are also equipped with self-luminous floating lights, so that it is easy to identify the position of the drowning person during the day or at night. Rescue boats can follow the signs and quickly rush to the accident site to rescue people who are fighting with the waves.