Legend of the origin of sixteen-beam balance beam

There is a riddle circulating in southwest Shandong: "When you ask Liu Liu (Yi), ask how old you are-type something (the answer is' weighing')". Known as "Hook Scale" and "Sixteen Liang", the origin of scales needs to start from Fan Li, a "Shang Saint" in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

As we all know, Fan Li was born in Wan Yi, Chu at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. He was a politician, strategist, economist and Taoist scholar at that time. He accompanied Gou Jian, the king of Yue, in Wu for three years, and gave Xi stone to Fu Cha, the king of Wu, with a honey trap. Finally, Gou Jian, the king of Yue, successfully returned to China to develop production. In the end, "where there is a will, there is a way, burn one's bridges, and all customs will eventually be Chu;" Hard-working people, heaven rewards hard work, and never stops. Three thousand Yue families can swallow Wu. " A total victory, Fu Cha, the king of Wu, ruined his family.

In this revenge victory, Fan Li made remarkable achievements. However, he saw through the officialdom, and left Yue with his sweetheart. He went to Tao Qiu (now south of Dingtao District, Heze City, Shandong Province) in the Song Dynasty under his own name "Tao Zhugong". From then on, he and Master Xi sang with women and started to do business. And the more wealth they gather, to a certain extent, they will distribute all the wealth to the poor. In this way, he "gathered three big fortunes and scattered three big fortunes" and was universally respected by the world. The word of mouth of the world is: "loyalty is the country; Wisdom protects the body; Famous for being rich. " Many merchants in later generations built temples for him, molded his golden body and worshipped him as the "God of Wealth". Burn incense and make a wish, and pray for him to bless the businessmen with prosperous business and rolling financial resources.

Legend has it that one day, Fan Li happened to see a farmer pumping water from a well on his way home from a business trip. He saw a tall wooden stake standing by the well with a long crossbar across it. One end of the crossbar is tied with a large stone in proportion and the other end is tied with a long rope. The bucket just goes into the well to pump water, which is very labor-saving.

Looking at it, Fan Li realized that it would be much more convenient if he could make a weighing instrument like this. Recalling the role of lever in pumping water all the way, he was inspired. When he got home, he hurriedly took a three-foot thin huanghuali stick, drilled a small hole at one end, and then put it on with hemp rope. At the proximal end, a tray or hook tied with a rope is set for placing or hooking items, while at the other end, he takes a cylindrical iron block as a weight, moves it back and forth, and evaluates the items according to their specific gravity. That night, he and Shi sat in the yard watching the stars drinking tea and enjoying the cool. A comet broke through the night sky, dazzling, very dazzling. Shi said, "My Lord, look at that fashion, how beautiful it is."

Fan Li echoed the voice: "Yes, it's really beautiful, so beautiful."

He saw the shining stars in the sky filling the curtains like sparkling pearls. Suddenly, he was inspired. If these stars are moved to the scale, won't the sign of weighing come out? He was ecstatic about the sudden discovery, and immediately took out the scale and arranged the six stars of Nandou and the Big Dipper on the scale. He designed that each star represents one or two, and exactly thirteen stars represent thirteen or two.

Tao Zhugong studied scales, and seemed to realize that the purpose of weighing commodities with scales is honesty and trustworthiness, fairness and justice, and not deceiving customers. How to make everyone consciously abide by the morality of "not deceiving each other"? After careful consideration, he set three stars: Fu, Lu and Shou, to warn people to be self-disciplined, honest and trustworthy when using the scale. In this way, the steelyard is exactly sixteen stars representing sixteen Liang (a catty), which is the origin of the "sixteen Liang scale".

In order to further clarify the purpose and significance of the scale, Tao Zhugong specially named each part of the scale, which has profound implications and far-reaching educational significance. As long as people lift the scale with their hands, they will feel the weight. What they call is not only commodities, but also character and morality. The balance beam is called "scale" and the weight hanging under the balance beam is called "force".

This is the origin of what we usually call "balance". Tao Zhugong's weight according to Xuanyuan constellation belongs to the stars, so he called it "force" and was the god of thunderstorm. The Chinese nation is a big agricultural country, and people pursue good weather and people's well-being. This is the moral, so it is self-evident that the weight belongs to the star, and its significance is self-evident. The balance beam is made according to Ziweiyuan located at the northern end of the Big Dipper, which is divided into two columns, and the balance is required to be fair. If Wei Zi fights, it will tilt and lose its balance, so there will be no peace in the world, accidents will happen and the country will be in turmoil. Therefore, it is more important to take the "scale" as the beam.

Those little stars on the scale represent the scale and are also symbols of constellations in the sky. That little silver star stands for "two" and symbolizes the moon in the sky; That little golden star stands for "gold" and symbolizes the sun in the sky. If you want to give people short weight, it is equivalent to losing the sun and the moon. Equivalent to the darkness of the world. The earth has lost the brilliance of the sun. How does everything grow? How do humans survive?

Tao Zhugong paid special attention to the first three stars and named them Fuxing, Luxing and Shouxing, which represent people's happiness, prosperity and longevity. He always warns and reminds people that business people should be honest and don't cheat, otherwise, one or two short blessings, two or two short losses and three or two short lives will be lost.

Hand-cranked rope buckle is called "Weighing Millie", which means observing carefully when weighing, and never being careless. A plate tied with three chains or ropes at one end of a weighing beam is called a "weighing pan" and is used to hold goods.

Isn't there a star on the scale? Before you weigh, you must make a final decision and ask you to trade fairly. To weigh things, we must first weigh our conscience and straighten our hearts.

The ancients have long warned us businessmen: "If you want to deceive the sky and be negative to others, you will hide your heart and hide yourself, and the gods will not bless you." What's the point of this man living in the world if he doesn't even bless the gods? So don't think that missing two catties means taking advantage. In fact, you have suffered a big loss because your life is not blessed. What's the use of asking so much money? Should we all weigh it carefully?

During the Qin Dynasty, in order to carry forward Tao Zhugong's exhortation, Qin Shihuang asked the weigher to write the four characters "All is well in the world" on the scales, reminding people to use the scales in their hands at all times. It is still a necessity in people's life.

Even the long TV series "Prime Minister Liu" begins with a well-known theme song "There is a steelyard between heaven and earth", and the lyrics say: