Weights Equitable Chinese Traditional Trade-off Apparatus Design Study

As an excellent example of traditional Chinese implemental design, the traditional Chinese balancing instrument, in virtue of its distinct measurement mode, reflects the design ideology and cultural values of its design. The major research objectives of this paper are the design characters and cultural values of design of traditional Chinese balancing instrument. It has various forms of designs including balance, SC, weigh lever, balancing weigh lever ("Deng Cheng"in Chinese), etc., among which, balance came into existence prior to lever; in particular, lever as a traditional Chinese balancing instrument, has been adopted all the way along owing to its simple design and convenience in use. The traditional balancing instrument is a typical application of lever principle—the mechanical design theory of balancing instruments, into implemental design and manufacture, and the mechanical motion theory of lever determines the fundamental principle of application of traditional balancing instrument. Based on the longitudinal observation of the historical development of balancing instrument design, this paper studies the ups and downs of various kinds of traditional measuring appliances, which are classified into two design models from"balancing type"into"lever type", and by comparing and analyzing the typical designs of different periods, traces the historical track of traditional Chinese measuring appliance design in developing from"balancing type"into"lever type"and makes out the progress and general principle of its evolution. In this paper, the author studies the design characteristics of traditional balancing instruments horizontally on the basis of the theory of design art, and carries out a comprehensive research on the design tradition and context of traditional Chinese balancing instrument based on the study of its structure, physical appearance, techniques, and comes to the ontological study of design of traditional Chinese balancing instrument. Moreover, the author abstracts the law of the dynamic development of the mutual penetration and interaction between the design of balancing instrument and social life style culturally and psychologically on the basis of the dialectical relationship between implement and culture. The essence of traditional balancing instrumental design is to establish a convention for weighing substance, and its standardization and orderliness are inseparable elements of the Chinese traditional social order; the physical application of"justice"and"fairness"of the design interacts with the just and fair social value and morality of traditional Chinese society. Through the comprehensive analysis and overall study of the design pattern, structure and culture of traditional Chinese balancing instrument, there are three points worth our contemplation regarding the evolution law and the instinct characteristics of the design, namely, first, the evolution conception of"inheritance and carry-forward"of implemental models; second, the traditional functionalist value of"full utilization orientation"in design; third, the cultural value of the inherent design"that reflects philosophical reasons". Such contemplations on traditional balancing instrument design shall definitely have some edification on the modern design.