Star scale

Star scale

In the new house I just moved in, a deep millet wooden scale hung on the white wall, and a row of golden fixed stars shone brightly. Every time a guest comes to the house, he is always attracted by it and becomes an unavoidable topic between the host and the guest.

It was my second grandfather, the last star in the village, who left it to me many years ago. he said that hanging a wooden scale at home could ward off evil spirits and keep the whole family safe. Of course I don't believe this. I just keep it as a traditional handicraft.

My second grandfather is the only one who knows star scales in Shiliba village, but it is a pity that he has been gone for many years. When I was a child, I used to play in his house, watching him knock on the stars and listening to him tell various stories about scales.

He said that according to the theory handed down by the older generation, the wooden pole scale was invented by Lu Ban. Lu Ban saw the Big Dipper and the South Dipper in the sky, so he engraved 13 stars on the scale and set 13 taels as a jin. After Qin Shihuang unified the six Kingdoms, he added Fu Lu Shou Samsung, exactly 16 stars, changed one jin to 16 taels, and issued an edict to unify weights and measures, which was gradually popularized throughout the country.

There is another saying that the wooden pole scale was invented by Fan Li. After Fan Li Gui Yin Ding Tao went into business, he saw a fishmonger selling fish at both ends of a horizontal bamboo pole, putting water canister and fish at the same time, and finally calculating silver and silver according to the scale of the water surface in the water canister. Fan Li was inspired to further improve the bamboo pole. In order to stop the behavior of illegal traders from being short, he added Fu Lu Shou Samsung to the 13 star flowers, indicating that they lack one or two less happiness, two or two less wages, and three or two less longevity. We can't verify these, but at least it shows that the star name has a long history in our country.

A seemingly simple wooden scale requires care and perseverance when it comes to doing it.

The second grandfather star scale has many working procedures, and the process is very complicated. He first chose Chen Fang's jujube wood planing scale for more than two years, which is not easy to deform and does not crack. Due to the limited resources of jujube wood, neem wood, apricot wood, persimmon wood and so on are sometimes used. Then fix mouth, install Daozi, scale plate, calibrate scale, fix star, nail star flower, then polish and clean, scale rod dyeing and coloring, and finally make iron hooks and other auxiliary processes, each link requirements are extremely strict, otherwise a small mistake may affect the accuracy of measurement.

The second grandfather adjusted back and forth with his head down, murmuring to me, "there can be no deviation, ah, if the scale is not correct, it will be short, and fairness will be lost!"

The administrative staff of the industry and commerce department come to check regularly to see whether the scale is up to standard, and only after the inspection is qualified will a certificate be issued to allow sales to the market. It is impossible for the testers to check each scale one by one, but to conduct a spot check. The second grandfather uses the weights provided by them to check them one by one to ensure that each scale is up to the standard.

The second grandfather used to say that being a man is like being a scale. we should be honest, obey the rules, live up to our conscience, and not be a black-hearted scale. Once, a foreigner came to him with a gift and asked to make a special scale, which was refused on the spot.

It is precisely because these craftsmen strictly abide by the rules handed down by their ancestors and uphold morality and justice in star scales, so the scales made are called fair scales. It contains not only unique professional knowledge and exquisite technology, but also fair and just humanistic thoughts and strong feelings. When I was a child, when I went to the market with my mother to buy vegetables, the seller always held the weighing pole high, and my mother handed over the money with a smile, which may be the traditional culture embodied in the wooden scale.

After the reform and opening up, modern weighing instruments such as electronic scales occupy the market, and traditional scales gradually lose the opportunity to display their talents. Coupled with the fact that it takes a long time to learn apprenticeship, many young people are willing to go out to work and do not learn this skill.

The second grandfather was getting old and could not work any more. he wanted to pass on the skill to his son, but both sons refused. Looking at what used to be called the head of a hundred workers, it could once be called the golden rice bowl craftsmanship, and the second grandfather often sighed that the ancestral craft was broken in his hands, but it was a pity!

The data show that the craftsmen of Huixing scale are widely distributed. In addition to our southwestern Shandong Province, there are craftsmen of Huixing Libra in Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei and other places. Like their second grandfather, they all face the embarrassing situation of losing their skills.

Star scale embodies the wisdom of our ancestors, is the continuation of traditional history, and is an important symbol of our five thousand years of history and traditional culture. It is understood that the relevant local government departments have been declared as intangible cultural heritage and put forward corresponding protection measures.

According to a master surnamed Meng in Xieji Town, Shan County, 30 miles from my hometown, in his fifties this year, he has learned star scales from his father since childhood, but his star scales are not only sold in the traditional market, but also sold as tourist souvenirs in some tourist attractions. In the land of southwestern Shandong, this dying handicraft may continue, and he may be the last Libra in southwestern Shandong. (Shuai Zhixing)