This meant subscribing to an alternative theory, which posits that the wooden ox was indeed a mechanical wonder, able to traverse the rugged terrain of Sichuan. According to this view, there is no other reason for Zhuge Liang's description of its "square abdomen and bent head, with a base of four feet" in his essay on "Making the Wooden Ox."
他們所採的，正是另一派的看法﹘ ﹘「木牛流馬」是一種能夠在四川崎嶇山區步行的機械，木牛其形，流馬其勢；否則諸葛亮寫的「作木牛流馬法」，就沒有必要說它「方腹曲頭，一腳四足」了。