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Chinese Steelyard-Gancheng
杆秤
The steelyard is a Chinese invention.As early as 200 B.C.,China be-gan to make a scale of this type big enough to weigh several hundred pounds. The steelyard consisted of the following parts: an arm, a hook, lifting cords and a weight.The arm or beam measured about l.5 metres long, graduat-ed with the weight units- jin and liang*. The hook, hanging from one end of the arm, was used to lift up the object to be weighed. Hanging from the other part of the arm was the freemoving weight, attached on a looped string. On the arm was fixed one, two or three lifting cords, placed much closer to the hook than to the other end. Anything to be weighed should be picked up by the hook, while the weigher lifted up the whole steelyard, holding one of the cords.He then slided the weight left or right until he found a perfect balance of the beam. He then read the weight from the graduation mark on which the weight-string rested.
杆秤是中国发明的历史最悠久的一种衡器。早在公元前200年前，已有了各种规格的杆秤砣，大的足以称重几百斤的物品。杆秤由木制的秤杆、金属秤砣、提绳等组成。秤杆长约1.5米，上面标有斤两刻度的星点。秤杆的一端悬挂着秤钩，用来吊起要称重的物品。秤杆上还挂有一个自由移动的秤砣。在靠近秤钩的一端固定了一到三个提绳。称重时必须用秤钩勾起物品，称重人提着提绳举起整杆秤，并将秤砣左右滑动直到完全平衡，然后根据秤砣上的绳子所在的星点位置读出重量即可。
This kind of steelyard is still in widespread use at market gatherings in China.They may be made in varying sizes working by the same principle, with the large ones to weigh food grain in bulk, pigs or sheep or their carcasses, and medium-sized ones for smaller transactions. There is also a miniature steelyard only about one third of a metre ( about i foot)long,graduated with liang and qian,**.Used to weigh medicinal herbs and silver or gold, it first appeared about l,000 years ago.
至今在中国的集市上仍然广泛使用杆秤。尽管大小不同，原理都是一样的。大的用来称粮食、牲畜等，中等的用来称稍小的物件。还有一种只有普通杆秤的三分之一长的小杆秤，上面的星点刻度是“两”和“钱”，是用来称中草药或金银的。这种小杆秤最早出现于1000多年前。
The steelyard is more convenient than the platform scale. Not only can it be carried around easily, but there is also no need for a whole set of weights.Corre-sponding to the lifting cords are different sets of graduation marks on the arm for different measuring ranges.
杆秤和台秤相比更加方便，因为它易于携带，也不需要一整套的秤砣，不同的重量范围取决于秤杆上不同的提绳。
It is perhaps worthwhile to mention that the equal-armed platform scale ap-peared in China earlier than the steelyard with a sliding weight. A scale of the for-mer description with a complete set of weights was discovered lately from a tomb near Changsha, Hunan Province, which dates back to the Warring States Period. It is in size similar to those in use today and its component parts are found to be in good proportions.
还值得一提的是，在中国天平秤比杆秤出现得更早。在湖南长沙出土的天平带有一整套的秤砣，据考为战国时期所造。它的大小和目前使用的天平大小接近，组件比例合适。
* One Jin, equals 500 grams or about l.1 pounds; it used to be divided into 16 liang , but now 10 lian,g .
* 一斤相当于500克或1.1镑，古代一斤是16两，而现在是10两。
** A qian is orie-terith of a liang.
*一钱为1/10两。
