The next day, Zhao Kuo came to the workshop early in the morning, and Mo Feng and others had been waiting here for a while.
Le Yi and the others had nothing to do, so they followed Zhao Kuo over.
The ruler has been made, the next step is the measuring and weighing instruments.
These two things cannot be based on Mohism.
Although the units of length vary from country to country in the world, they are basically based on zhang, chi, and cun as the standard. They are fairly unified, but the difference in capacity is huge.
For example, in the state of Qi, during the period of Jiang Qi, four liters were regarded as beans, four beans were regarded as districts, four districts were regarded as cauldrons, and ten cauldrons were regarded as bells. The bell is the largest unit of measurement, so Mencius said, "If I accept ten thousand bells without discussing etiquette, how can I add ten thousand bells to me?" '
The Tian family's family measure is based on five liters of beans, five beans as a district, five districts as a cauldron, and ten cauldrons as a bell, so it is possible to "loan according to the family's measure and collect by the public measure." ’ That is to say, ‘big fights come out, small fights come in,’ to win the hearts and minds of the people and develop strength.
Later, when the Tian family took over from Qi, the Tian family's family balance became the public balance of the Qi State. However, each noble of the Qi State still had their own "family balance," and they played this game very poorly.
Except for Qi, the other six countries are also different.
The capacity units of the Mohist family were based on the Song State and were also influenced by the Qi State. Unlike the units often used by the Zhao State, the Zhao State could not copy the Mohist measuring tools.
Zhao Kuo thought for a while and ordered someone to build a bronze container with an inner wall one foot long, one foot wide and one foot high, and then used it as a bucket to set the standard.
Then, according to the standards that one stone is equal to ten buckets, one bucket is equal to ten liters, one liter is equal to ten hens, and one hehe is equal to two shears, standard measuring tools for shens, hens, hens and shears were made respectively.
According to this standard, one liter is roughly equivalent to the previous six liters, and one stone is equivalent to the previous six stones.
From now on, the yield per mu of Zhao State will truly be less than a stone...
Next is the weight. The ancients liked to use grain as the standard of measurement. For example, the capacity is "Two hundred grains, millet, and millet." The combination of the two is called He, the combination of ten is called Sheng, the number of ten Sheng is called Dou, and the number of Ten Dou is called Dendrobium. ' is derived from the standard.
One dendrobium is equivalent to one stone.
The same is true for the unit of weight. One huang contains 1,200 grains of millet and weighs twelve baht. Twenty-four baht is one tael, sixteen taels is one catty, thirty catties is one jun, and four jun is one stone.
In this way, the capacity unit and the weight unit are magically connected end to end.
In addition, there are also weight units such as money, Gui, Hua, etc., all of which have their own systems.
There is a currency in Zhao State that is based on chemical units.
Zhao Kuo did not intend to continue to use millet as the standard of measurement, but chose water, the most common substance in nature, as the standard.
Whether it is millet or wheat, no matter how compacted it is, there will be gaps in the middle. Moreover, different dry, wet, and full grains have different densities and different weights, which can easily cause errors. Water can reduce errors to a certain extent.
In order to facilitate calculation, Zhao Kuo determined the weight of distilled water contained in a bronze container with a length, width and height of one foot as one jun.
As for thermal expansion and contraction, there is no need to worry about standard atmospheric pressure. In this era, there is no need to be precise to that level.
Then use a scale to weigh the bronze container first, then add the weight of distilled water to the scale, calculate the difference, and then make a standard method based on the weight. '
The water is flowing, and it will inevitably spill out when it shakes. He tried several times without success. Finally, Lian Po couldn't stand it anymore, so he directly sealed the outlet of the bronze container with internal air to prevent the water from spilling out. Only then did Lian Po Get the standard weight.
After many forging failures, a standard right was finally produced.
The scales of this period were called scales, and the scales/weights were called weights, so there was a word called 'weighing'. '
At this time, unequal arm scales have appeared in China. There are scales on the scale beam. The ropes for hanging items and the ropes for hanging scale weights can be moved on the scale beam. There is no need to use sets of weights that are stacked little by little. Instead, a fixed scale weight is used. , use the lever formula to calculate the weight.
China's unequal arm scales preceded the rest of the world by hundreds of years.
Later generations often say that the lever principle was discovered by Archimedes. However, Chinese ancestors discovered the lever principle thousands of years ago and applied it to daily life.
Instead, a certain area of the leverage principle was discovered without any application.
However, after Zhao Kuo created the thin scale with lifting rods, the unequal arm scale will also be swept into the dust of history.
Compared with the unequal-arm scale, the slim scale with a lifting rod is more convenient. It can directly read the weight of an object and is easier to implement among the people. Historically, it was still widely used among the people until more than 2,000 years ago.
After determining Jun's weight, Zhao Kuo did not follow the previous conversion.
In the past, there were twelve bases, sixteen bases, thirty bases, and four bases. Calculations were too troublesome, and those who were not good at mathematics could easily make mistakes.
Instead, it is stipulated that one stone is equal to five jun, one jun is equal to ten catties, one catty is equal to ten taels, one tael is equal to ten qian, and one qian is equal to ten baht, using the decimal system.
In the past, one stone in the Zhao Kingdom was equivalent to sixty-one kilograms in later generations.
Under the current new standard, the weight of one stone in later generations was about 123 kilograms, about twice as much as now.
One pound is approximately equal to the previous 4.8 pounds, which is five times smaller.
It also facilitates the conversion between old and new weights and measures, making it easier for the people of Zhao to use it.
"Your Majesty, when will our Zhao country start implementing new weights and measures?" Mo Feng said excitedly.
He had a feeling that he seemed to be witnessing the birth of a new era, and he was a part of creating this new era.
"The new weights and measures will be implemented in the workshops first, and then all the tools in the workshops will be made according to the new weights and measures. As for the implementation across the country... we have to wait."
Zhao Kuo thought for a moment and said.
He did not order the new weights and measures to be immediately introduced throughout the country.
For one thing, producing enough weights and measures for use everywhere took a long time.
Weights and measures require extreme precision without any errors, which is more difficult than making weapons.
On the other hand, Zhao Guo has been issuing new orders recently. Officials across the country are very busy and cannot continue to increase the burden on them. A certain amount of time needs to be set aside for them to finish the matter before issuing a new decree.
Moreover, the business of Zhao State was prosperous, and there was an endless stream of merchants coming and going. The forced introduction of new weights and measures would inevitably cause market chaos and affect business tax revenue and people's lives.
Of course, new weights and measures must be introduced, so there are unscrupulous businessmen secretly making illegal dendrobium to sell rice grains and making huge profits.
The new weights and measures must be implemented step by step. The next few months and even the whole next year will be the time Zhao Kuo leaves for the people to apply them.
"It's okay to wait." Le Yi and others nodded. Recently, Zhao State's new policies have continued, and the officials in Handan are too busy to keep their feet off the ground, let alone the local officials.
More importantly: Zhao Kuo is getting married!
