中国在唐代就已经发明了会干活的机器人。而且是“女性”机器人。
那时江苏省东海县有位精通技巧的马待封，曾两次制造出用于家庭生活服务的木头机器人。
马待封为唐明皇后造了一台有木头机器人的梳妆台，专供皇后梳洗打扮。皇后梳洗时，打开妆台门，有木制的妇女拿毛巾、梳子送给皇后，随即返回原地。
皇后梳洗后，手执香脂、妆粉等化妆品的“木妇人”会依次一个接一个出来供皇后化妆。
最后，东西仍由“木妇人”拿进去。妆台上的门全部自动关闭。
20多年后，马待封又为崔邑县令李劲造了一种催人喝酒的器具，名为“酒山”。
如有人不及时饮酒，酒山顶上楼阁的门会自动打开，机器人拿着手板恭敬地走出，劝人快些饮酒，直到喝光再斟满，机器人才回到原门。
China’s Earliest Robots
China’s earliest robots appeared in Tang Dynasty. There was an talented skillful craftsman named Ma Daifeng(马侍封), who had invented two times wooden robots serving for family life.
He created a special dresser just for Tang Ming Empress, the queen of that time.
Once the queen began makeup, she only needed to open the dresser door, a wooden serving woman would walk out to offer towel and combs in its hands to the queen and then stepped back.
After the queen had cleaned her face and combed her hair, she would get cream and rouge offered by another wooden woman robot out of the dresser.
All these Wooden Server Women stepped out one by one, offered the queen something and then went back into the dresser. The last wooden woman robot took all tools away and went back into the dresser which’s door would be closed.
About 20 years later, the talented craftsman, Ma Daifeng invented another robot for the county leader of CuiYi County. It was named ‘Liquor Mountain’ with the main function to urge guests to drink.
If someone couldn’t drink up or drank slowly, Liquor Mountain’s door would be opened automatically and a robot stepped out with wine pot in hands to urge guests to drink.
The toasting robot would not go back till all people sitting around the table had drunk their liquor up and their cups had been filled with wine again by the robot.