One of the cultural relics, since its excavation, has not only filled the blank without examples for China's ancient metrological science, but has been ahead of other countries in the world for more than 600 years/kloc-0, and is even regarded by many people as one of the evidences that modern times "crossed" the ancient times. It is a bronze caliper unearthed in China at the end of last century.
Archaeologists unearthed an ancient tomb in Ganquan Township, northwest of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, which was recognized as the early Eastern Han Dynasty. According to historical data, ancient map descriptions and archaeological site research, Ganquan Township was a burial group of princes and nobles in the Han Dynasty.
A 2,000-year-old copper caliper was subsequently unearthed from the ancient tomb excavated this time, and it was well preserved. Although the measuring scale on the caliper and the inscription representing the casting year are not clear, the whole caliper is still available, and the function keys are there.
Bronze caliper
Maybe everyone will think that this is just an ordinary copper caliper, and there is nothing special about it. However, this copper caliper is really against the sky. This caliper consists of a fixed ruler, a fixed claw and a fish-shaped handle. Hold the fish-shaped handle with the left hand, and pull the circular handle below with the right hand to slide in the guide groove, and then compare and measure according to the measuring scale above the fixed ruler. According to expert analysis experiments, this caliper can accurately measure the length, width, height, diameter and depth of the measured object.
Bronze caliper
Compared with modern calipers of modern standards, the mathematical basis, manufacturing style and function of this copper caliper are very close to those of modern vernier calipers. The only slight deficiency is that by going up one flight of stairs's copper calipers are only reliable and experienced. However, vernier calipers similar to this kind of bronze calipers were invented by French mathematician Chanban in 163 1, which was more than 600 years later than the copper calipers in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Before this kind of bronze caliper was discovered, although it was recorded in some records in the late Qing Dynasty that China had cast bronze calipers during the new dynasty of Wang Mang in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the inventor was Wang Mang, the emperor of the new dynasty. At that time, Wang Mang took the lead in inventing this kind of copper caliper in order to unify national weights and measures and encourage the development of national science and technology.
Although five bronze calipers rubbings are included in the history books, before liberation, several calipers rubbings in the records have long been lost, and none of the calipers can be confirmed in kind. It was not until Jiangsu discovered this copper caliper that it officially filled the blank in the history of Chinese weights and measures, and also proved the great achievements of China in the fields of science and technology, mathematics and weights and measures in ancient times.
Bronze caliper
At the same time, we also have to sigh how Wang Mang, as an ancient emperor, invented calipers so similar to those made by modern technology under the scientific level and technical background at that time. No wonder when archaeologists finally confirmed that it was not a weapon but a bronze caliper, there was an expert feeling that the wisdom of the ancients really seemed to have crossed the general greatness and the technology was ahead of the world 1600 years!