An honest living

For five generations, the Jiang family has made traditional scales, and has gained a reputation for fine craftsmanship

For more than 2,000 years, traders in China have been used a type of scale known as a "steelyard" for weighing commodities of all kinds, including grain, livestock and vegetables. While more sophisticated weighing technologies have since been invented, many traders still use steelyards, particularly in small towns and villages, relying on their accurate measurements for their daily business.

In the Xinzhou district of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, the Jiang family has been making steelyard scales for 200 years, the craftsmanship passed down through five generations. The Jiang Zhengxing Steelyard shop has a reputation for reliability, and the accuracy of its products is guaranteed, earning it the name "conscience steelyard".

Inside the shop, among the city's winding market streets, a range of steelyards with various weights attached can be seen hanging from the walls, the tools of the trade scattered about the place.

Fifth-generation craftsman Jiang Yuanbin is hard at work, helping his customer Ba Jinkun fix a scale that has succumbed to wear and tear.

Ba has used the scale for his recycling business for the past 15 years, and it still weighs accurately, although the iron ring needs repairs.

"I bought this steelyard here on my first day of business," Ba says. "It isn't convenient to carry an electric scale with me. Many people told me that Jiang's steelyards are accurate and of good quality, and this is the first time I have had to get mine repaired."

The quality of Jiang's scales comes from the complex production process, from selecting and shaping the wood to grinding and polishing the brass. There are 10 main stages to construction, and the process takes about five or six hours, with accuracy and attention to detail required at every step.

"The work is very difficult," Jiang says. "My father used to work from early morning to late at night to make two steelyards."

However, the most important thing when making the scales is to obey the traditional rules that guarantee accuracy of measurement.

"Other scales use iron, but we use brass instead to prevent rust. Brass can keep going over the years," Jiang says. "Iron scales often have poor-fitting edges. We are very careful about that."

An essential component in any steelyard is the weight itself. In China, the earliest units of weight, the quan, appeared in the Xia Dynasty (c. 21st century-16th century BC) and the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC). Since then, the units have changed many times over the centuries, and scale-makers have had to keep pace.

Jiang's scales have always adhered to the official units of the day.

"These 25-kilogram weights have been issued by the government since the founding of new China in 1949," Jiang says, pointing to the weight in front of him.

In order to ensure accuracy, Jiang checks and adjusts the weights every six months. "It's the only way to guarantee precision and accuracy."

Jiang Yuanbin's father, Jiang Duanshan, was respected by locals, both for his craftsmanship and his skill at resolving disputes, even taking care of orphans when the need arose.

Jiang Duanshan's honesty was essential to his professional reputation, since so many people relied on the accuracy of steelyard scales to do business. At times, he was asked to make scales that gave false readings, but he always refused. Now his reputation continues on with his son Jiang Yuanbin and his daughter Jiang Yuzhen.

"One inaccurate set of scales can result in millions of people being cheated," Jiang Yuanbin says. His father told him that the reputation and prosperity of the family depends on making honest scales. "That is our family tradition."

In 1997, the government decreed that the use of steelyards was to be discontinued in cities. However, their use is still common in many smaller towns and villages, with farming and trading families relying on them to weigh their produce.

Different steelyards make use of different weights, and their range dictates the types of produce to which they are best suited. Jiang says the 200-kg steelyards are mainly used for pigs, and the 60-kg ones are best for cotton. The 80-kg to 100-kg scales are used for fish.

While Jiang's family has mastered the skills of making accurate scales, they have had to work hard to pass those skills to each new generation. Jiang's son and daughter have both absorbed the skills of the family business, but it is his son who looks most likely to continue the tradition, having taken a keen interest from an early age.

Jiang says the skills of a steelyard maker are dying out, and to help preserve them, he has applied for the craft to be registered as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinzhou district.

liukun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/13/2014 page29)