A brief history of the three major stages of the development of locks in China

(1) The leap of lock--three-spring lock: At the end of the second century BC, the reed lock produced in China was introduced into ancient Rome with the "Silk Road". So far, the Graz City Museum in Austria also houses the reed locks of the Han Dynasty in China. Because the wooden lock was not strong enough, it was later made of bronze, but the structure was simple. In the Han Dynasty, copper reed structure locks, commonly known as three-spring locks or reed locks, used the elastic force of two or three plate-shaped copper sheets to achieve sealing and opening. Because the reed device can make a variety of changes, and the keyhole shape can be used to determine the key pattern, the safety performance and confidentiality are a big step forward compared with the wooden lock, and the scope of use is also wider, so it is called the wide lock. This type of lock has been continuously improved since the Tang Dynasty. It has been used until the 1950s. More than 120 different styles have appeared. Some use special techniques such as secret door, orientation, two-open, keyless, and text password to make the lock. The degree of confidentiality has increased significantly.

A brief history of the three major stages of the development of locks in China

A brief history of the three major stages of the development of locks in China

(2) Modern lock--blade lock: In the 19th century, European manufacturers invented the advanced cam rotor lock, the key of the 8th century AD, the East Romans made the original blade lock, also known as the keyhole lock, using the key tooth flower Switch the gap of the blade that matches the lock in the lock to switch. In the 18th century, the British Dannick Porter invented the cam rotor lock. The inner metal blade of the lock was rotated by the spring. The key inserted into the lock must first be turned into contact with the lock tongue to open.

A brief history of the three major stages of the development of locks in China

A brief history of the three major stages of the development of locks in China

(3) The origin of the lock--wood lock: The world's earliest locks originated from China's wooden locks, or wood structure locks. Early wooden locks were discovered in the Yangshao cultural site dating back 5,000 years. The Zhou Dynasty has written records about the locks and keys of the wooden locks. The early wooden locks were simple in structure and cumbersome in shape, and were mostly made of bamboo poles and the like, which were easy to open. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, after the public shift (ie Luban) was improved, the confidentiality was enhanced and the key was made from copper. In the folk, wooden locks have been used until the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

A brief history of the three major stages of the development of locks in China

A brief history of the three major stages of the development of locks in China

Wrong, also called "Shaw", "", "starter". It is made of animal teeth or animal bones, shaped like a sickle-shaped hook. In fact, the knot is the earliest lock, which is the earliest key. This is the prototype of our country's locks. This kind of used from the Shang Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, and later changed to jade system, evolved into a decorative ornament on the aristocratic costume. In the Yangshao culture period of 5,000 years ago, the Chinese ancestors created wooden locks mounted on wooden framed buildings (see "China Encyclopedia·Light Work Volume"). This is the oldest lock in the world and can be called the "world's first lock." This kind of wooden lock has been passed down in the folk, such as the white wood lock of the Ming Dynasty, which was used in the construction of the Zhejiang area. There are similar wooden locks in the Kunming Yi village. Although Yin Shang has entered the Bronze Age, it mainly uses copper to make large-scale drinking utensils, food utensils and rituals, which have not been used to make locks. Its development period was from the Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties. After the Qing Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn Period entered the Iron Age. Archaeology proved that during this period, people used iron locks, copper locks, silver locks, gold locks, etc., such as the bronze of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The locks, the metal locks of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the silver tail locks of the Tang Dynasty, and the locks of the Song Dynasty have a fairly high level of technology. In particular, the iron three-spring lock of the Han Dynasty has been used for more than 1,000 years in China. Its prosperity period was during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The locks of various materials developed synchronously. The copper locks and iron locks were mostly used, and the craftsmanship was more elaborate. There was great innovation in the difficulty of unlocking and the shape manufacturing. For example, the three-color copper lock of the Ming Dynasty, the white crane lock of the Qing Dynasty, the code lock, the secret door lock, the four-lock lock, the inverted zipper, and the locks of various characters, animals and characters are dazzling and beautiful. Some locks have a complicated structure, a clever design, and a strange mechanism, which is difficult for ordinary people to open. The number of teeth has increased to 1,600. Later, various improvements have increased the number of key teeth to tens of thousands of changes. The key to the blade lock is beautiful and generous. It is recognized as a symbol of locks and keys. Many countries make it a large golden key and give it to friends and VIPs, symbolizing respect, peace and friendship. China began to produce blade locks from the Qing Dynasty, and was gradually replaced by marble locks after the 1930s. After the founding of New China, there are still many companies that produce iron padlocks with blade structures. Locks are not only the daily necessities of human beings, but also cultural (folk) objects, which represent the culture of a country and a nation in different historical periods. China's locks have been stretched for thousands of years, and it was born almost simultaneously with human ownership. At first, humans simply wrapped their valuables with animal skins, tied them tightly with ropes, and finally put a special knot on the opening. This tightly tied knot can only be picked up with a tool called "wrong".