In Chang'an more than a thousand years ago
What do people measure all things?
Was there a ruler at that time?
Three highlights to take you to know
Gilt flower and bird pattern copper ruler
Is it a ruler but no digital scale?
The ruler of the Tang Dynasty comes with a Bling special effect
This artifact in front of you
It is the copper ruler from the Tang Dynasty
△ gilded flower and bird pattern copper ruler Xi'an Museum collection
Compared with the common school stationery ruler now
What are the differences between the copper ruler of a thousand years ago?
(The "Finding the Difference" contest starts now↓)
(1) The length is slightly longer
This ruler from the Tang Dynasty is 32cm long
And the length is not the whole five or ten that we commonly use
(2) There is no clear digital scale
The front and back sides of the copper ruler
Only patterns and vertical lines are engraved
Half of them are delicately carved clusters of flowers
The other half is evenly divided into five portions
A group of blooming flowers, birds spreading their wings
It acts as a length marker
One flower per grid + one bird ≈ 3cm
It's just a small ruler, though
The people of the Tang Dynasty also built it brilliant and gorgeous
This bronze ruler is gilt throughout
自带BlingBling特效 ✨
Look at it from afar
It's like a set of fresh summer collages
🌸🕊️🌸🕊️🌸🕊️
It is full of rituals when used
Can a ruler also be a gift?
The "slash career" of the Tang Dynasty
In the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the practical measuring function
Beautifully crafted "high ruler"
It is also included in the mid-spring February (the second month of the lunar calendar).
List of court gifts
△ gilt bronze ruler collection of the National Museum of China
In the eyes of the ancients, this month was the month of day and night
Allegory Attachment Peacefulness and Impartiality
The ancients also chose to correct the instruments of weights and measures in February
It is thought that this will make the appliance more accurate
The emperor gave the ruler to his courtiers at this time
It is also for exhortation and encouragement
"Aiqing, I will give you this ruler today, I hope that no matter how big or small you are, you will have a law, and be as fair and just as a ruler. ”
So, how beautiful is the Tang ruler that can be given as a gift?
Flowers, vines, birds, clouds
They are all common haute couture patterns
The craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty took a moment of romance as far as the eye could see
It's all fixed in the square inch
△ gilt chisel copper ruler
Bai Juyi once received a delicate red-toothed silver ruler
and wrote the "Ruler of Thanksgiving on the Neutralization Festival"
"Today, it is announced that the ministers and others will have one red tooth and one inch of silver...... The heart of the next Ming degree, the virtue of the above table. ”
Hand → calipers → calipers
The history of the ancients' measurement and advancement
Before the ruler appeared
How did the ancients measure all things?
At first, the ancestors used their own bodies as rulers
to measure everything you see
The saying of "cloth knows the ruler" and "steps to set the acre".
Hence this
Until the Shang Dynasty
Rulers made of bones appeared
With the popularization and application of the ruler
Bamboo, wood, copper, and jade are all used to make rulers
△Warring States bronze ruler Nanjing Museum collection
△ Han bone ruler collection of Nanjing Museum
△ Han painted jade ruler Lingtai County Museum collection
The style of ruler is becoming more and more abundant
Outside of the general ruler
The Han Dynasty also created
The ancient version of the "vernier caliper"
△ Eastern Han Dynasty copper calipers
It is used to measure cylinders, spheres, or irregular objects
Every "version upgrade" of the ruler
Behind it is the pursuit of "precision" by the ancients
and the condensation of wisdom
A flower, a bird
A small world on a ruler
Let's see
The Tang Dynasty's unique aesthetics
and romantic ingenuity that has been passed down for thousands of years
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