Unify weights and measures?
Xia Yuanji was silent.
Since the Qin Dynasty unified weights and measures, although the weights and measures in this land have changed from time to time, they are generally stable and unified, and there are no huge differences in weights and measures in different places.
The cut cake in the west is three catties. If you go to the east and check, it is still three catties. If you cut it into three catties, it will be eight taels in another place.
In the stable dynasty, weights and measures were usually the same across the country. The court would regulate how much a foot was, how much a zhang was, how many taels a kilogram was, and how far a mile was, and the people were used to it.
Although the dimensions have changed to a certain extent when dynasties change, and the weight of bucket stones is not exactly the same, weights and measures must be fixed and standardized in a dynasty and a period. In most cases, there is no mixing of weights and measures in different provinces or prefectures and counties. question.
The same was true in the Ming Dynasty. The standards had long been established during the Lao Zhu period, and there was no problem with weights and measures throughout the Ming Dynasty.
Xia Yuanji looked at Zhou Chang, the dean personally selected by Gongshu Qiao and the proud eldest disciple. Since he mentioned the issue of weights and measures, it must not be an ordinary issue of size versus stone.
Seeing that Xia Yuanji was a little confused, Li Zhigang stood up and explained: "With the in-depth study of various aspects of the Imperial College, the lack of uniformity in weights and measures is indeed a huge problem. The weights and measures currently implemented by the court are enough to meet the daily needs of the people, but For the research of the Imperial College, it is not enough, far from enough."
Xia Yuanji asked humbly for advice: "Tell me more specifically."
Li Zhigang looked at Zhou Chang: "It's up to you to speak."
Zhou Chang did not shirk, and said bluntly: "In terms of mileage, "Dadai Liji"
According to records, a mile is three hundred steps, and "Lun Du Di" says that three hundred bows are a mile. In the Zhou Dynasty, one step was six feet, and one mile was one hundred and eighty feet. In the Tang Dynasty and later, one step was five feet, and one mile was three hundred and sixty steps. "
"When the imperial court measured mileage, it often focused on people's steps. If someone walked 360 steps, it would be one mile. But this standard is wrong. Everyone's stride length is different, and the distance traveled every time It’s also different. Ten miles outside the city may actually be less than ten miles, or it may be more than ten miles, which is not standard.”
Xia Yuanji nodded. This does exist, but the impact is not big. Walking a few more steps can also exercise your body, and walking a few steps less can also rest. You don't need to care too much, right?
Zhou Chang said solemnly: "Xia Shangshu, the standards are not standardized, and the problems caused are extremely serious. It does not affect the people, but it has a great impact on the Imperial College. In terms of trains, how many miles does he cover in half an hour? How much coal can travel how many miles, and how many miles can be covered at what speed, must be accurately measured. Once the calculation is wrong, the train may not be able to brake well, and may stop before entering the platform or passing through the platform.”
Xia Yuanji's face finally became solemn, and he realized the importance of determining the standards of weights and measures.
Zhou Chang pointed to the ground, then to the lapel of his clothes, and said in a deep voice: "The imperial court's standards for scale are not standardized. They are divided into three types: construction ruler, tailoring ruler, and floor measuring ruler. Construction ruler and floor measuring ruler Basically the same, but the tailoring ruler is another size. With the in-depth research of the Imperial College, many sizes are not enough. For example, time issues, hour, half hour, four quarters, three quarters, two quarters,
For a moment, these are not easy to use for calculations. "
"We can't calculate here and arrange people to stare at the sundial and read the scale there. The time of a stick of incense and a cup of tea is even more general and cannot be used for further calculations. The Imperial College and the Emperor are discussing to set a more precise time. Time, the Craftsman Academy is studying the escapement and preparing to create a more accurate time machine. Under the scale, it will be more precise."
Xia Yuanji can be considered a well-read person, but he doesn't know much about escapements.
Li Zhigang explained: "The escapement was originally created by monks and monks in the Tang Dynasty. Later, Zhang Heng's armillary sphere, Zhang Sixun's armillary sphere, and Su Song's instrument platform all used escapements, which are similar to precise bell-ringing. The Mechanical and Craftsman Academy wants to use this escapement to invent a type of clock to measure time."
"Time is a very critical unit. It is used in many studies of the Imperial College. There is no exact unit that can be substituted into the solution. In many cases, the results obtained are only rough and approximate.
The method is precise. "
Xia Yuanji understood that time expressions such as hours and quarters could no longer keep up with the needs of research. It was necessary to decompose hours and quarters into several parts, accurate to the length of an instant.
Zhou Chang continued: "In addition to these, there is also weight. People weigh it, and jin is enough. However, many studies in the Imperial College have gone deep into baht and 锱, but sometimes these units are not suitable, and more suitable units need to be found. So. In terms of baht, it is twenty-fourths of one tael, which belongs to the 24-base system. However, the Imperial College mainly uses the decimal system in its calculations. An overly complex base system will lead to complicated calculations..."
Xia Yuanji nodded repeatedly and then asked
Said: "These are related to the study of the Imperial College, and they really need to be determined early. However, these are related to Qingzhang..."
Dong Lun smiled and said: "Five feet is a step, and two hundred and forty steps is an mu. If the size of the clearing is uncertain, there will be many problems. They want to determine the size of the mu first, and then ensure that there are no problems in the entire clearing work. "
Xia Yuanji suddenly realized.
There are problems here, and there are problems here. It will not work if the standards are not refined.
Zhou Chang assured: "The Craftsman Academy can make large, medium and small ruler ropes, and mark the dimensions on the ruler ropes. Using the ruler ropes to clear the fields will make it much faster and eliminate unnecessary troubles."
Xia Yuanji stood up and bowed deeply: "This is a matter of concern to all people, thank you very much Xia."
Zhou Chang returned the favor.
After discussion, Xia Yuanji determined the strategy of clearing the emperor, and with the full cooperation of the Imperial College, began to promote the preliminary preparations for the clearing of the emperor.
The discussion of the Imperial College's supervision of weights and measures has become more and more intense, and it has gradually come to light. Some aspects urgently need new units, such as temperature units. How to determine temperature, how to measure temperature, and how much temperature can melt metals all need to be given a standard. .
The discussion of weights and measures was a very important event on the way forward for the Imperial College, but these people did not know that this event would establish the Ming Dynasty's scientific and technological status.
Zhu Yunwen was very pleased with the progress of the Imperial College. Now everything is on the right track. The trains have begun to open to businessmen, and they have received a lot of "advertising fees" from businessmen. Some businessmen have made a name for themselves by relying on "train advertising", such as Shen's Silk Shop, Chang's Northern Goods, etc.
With this money, the pressure from the Ministry of Accounts
With much less power, Craftsman Academy can further update and iterate the train.
The financial advance plan for the new year has begun again, and the six departments started to quarrel and slap the table, but Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Wenkui went boating on Houhu Lake to enjoy the rare spring scenery.
Before the outcome of the quarrel was decided, Zhu Yunwen did not plan to let Zhu Wenkui go back, lest his good image of the minister collapse...
"The actual length of one mile in the Ming Dynasty was 576 meters, but the "mileage" used in the article is calculated according to the current standard of 500 meters per mile. Please note. In addition, five feet per step, the step here refers to the distance traveled by the left and right people alternately, not the distance now stepped out by one foot. "
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