Traditional Chinese Yuekou locks
<p>In the Qing dynasty (1644–1911 CE), the town of Yuekou, in Hubei Province, was an important and renowned lock production center. Yuekou locks produced there won high acclaim for their use of quality materials. Transported via water routes, they were marketed in other provinces in...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Mechanical Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://ms.copernicus.org/articles/11/411/2020/ms-11-411-2020.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>In the Qing dynasty (1644–1911 CE), the town of Yuekou, in Hubei Province, was an
important and renowned lock production center. Yuekou locks produced there
won high acclaim for their use of quality materials. Transported via water
routes, they were marketed in other provinces in China and other Southeast
Asian countries. Even today, Yuekou locks are the favorites of antique
collectors. After the introduction of the Western-style pin tumbler lock in
the 1950s, the popularity of traditional Chinese locks began to decline, and they disappeared from
the market. Receiving no attention from people, they were forgotten. From
2009 to 2016, the research team visited Yuekou eight times to conduct field
research and interview surviving locksmiths and their descendants, achieving
significant results. There are six main types of Yuekou locks, including
combination locks, regular locks, pull-back locks, maze locks, multi-stage
locks, and hidden-keyhole locks. The crafting of Yuekou locks is conducted
in four stages: material preparation, molding, shaping, and assembling. The
entire process is operated manually. This work introduces the historical
development of Yuekou locks, summarizes the verbatim interviews, explores
the production of Yuekou locks, and analyzes the types and structures of
Yuekou locks.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 2191-9151 2191-916X |