Xiang Yu is known for his infinite strength and outstanding martial arts.
In 202 BC, Xiang Yu was besieged by Liu Bang's army in Xiaxia (now south of Lingbi County, Anhui), Xiang Yu broke through to Wujiang (now Wujiang Town, Hexian County, Anhui).
Pull out the mountains and cover the world, and the times are not good. If you don't die, you can't help it, and you can't help it!
In Xiang Yu's view, his most conceited and proudest advantage is his vigorous strength of "pulling out the mountains" and his ambition of "covering the world".
Regarding Xiang Yu's strength, he didn't talk nonsense. It is recorded in the "Historical Records of Xiang Yu Benji":"He is more than eight feet long, he can carry the tripod, and he is talented, although the children of Wuzhong are all afraid of his nationality."
Xiang Yu is more than eight feet tall, and the weights and measures stipulated by the Qin Dynasty are equivalent to 27 today72cm, the small size is equivalent to today's 231cm。After conversion, Xiang Yu's height should be at 19 meters to 22 meters between.
It is precisely because of such a burly figure that he has great strength and can carry the big ding. His strength was greater than that of ordinary people at that time, so the disciples in the Wuzhong region were very jealous of Xiang Yu's divine power.
How much does Xiang Yuju's tripod weigh?
Sima Qian only recorded Xiang Yu's height and "strength to carry the tripod" in the "Historical Records". It doesn't say how heavy the tripod is.
In other wild histories and folklore, Xiang Yu's strength is so great that he can lift a 1,000-pound tripod.
Does this 1,000-pound tripod exist?How much does Xiang Yuju's tripod weigh?Pushing aside the fog of history, we can infer in two ways:
1. Take "Qin Ding" as a reference
At present, the largest bronze tripod of the Qin Dynasty that has been discovered is the "Qin Dynasty Bronze Ding" in the burial pit of the hundred opera figurines of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang.
The tripod is 61cm tall and weighs 212kg, making it the largest and heaviest Qin tripod found so far.
You must know that in ancient times, the tripod was a symbol of a person's identity, rank and social status. There are strict restrictions on the number of tripods and the size of the tripods. The higher the status, the greater the number and the heavier the weight.
It is recorded in ancient documents that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the princes could use nine tripods, the Qing doctor could use seven tripods or five tripods, the scholars could only use three tripods or one tripod, and the Son of Heaven could use twelve tripods.
From this point of view, the tripod raised by Xiang Yu back then must be lighter than the bronze tripod of the Qin Dynasty found in the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. At that time, Qin Shi Huang had already unified the six countries, as the top regulation of the country, if the weight of the tripod in other regions surpassed the weight of the Qin tripod, it would be a violation.
It can be speculated that Xiang Yuju's tripod will not exceed 212kg.
Second, take the "weighing instrument" of Chu as a reference
During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a small weighing instrument in the Chu State, called "Mu Heng" and "Copper Ring Right", which was mainly used to weigh ** currency.
There are a total of ten complete ring rights, namely: one baht, two baht, three baht, six baht, twelve baht, one tael, two taels, four taels, eight taels, and one catty.
Among them, one baht weighs 069 grams, one or two weighs 155 grams, a pound weighs 2513 grams, ten pieces add up to about 500 grams, which is two catties made by Chu.
Because Xiang Yu is a native of Chu State, the story of raising the crown when he was young also happened in Chu State. It is very likely that the people who lived in the state of Chu at that time were measured by the standard of the state of Chu.
So Xiang Yu's so-called tripod that can lift "a thousand gold weights" is converted into today's weighing unit, which is 500 catties.
There is still some credibility in this figure. Compared with the 212kg with reference to "Qin Ding", these two values are relatively close, with a difference of only 26 kilograms.
In the opinion of Wen Shijun, he is still more inclined to Qin Ding's data. Because of wild history and folklore, the so-called ability to lift "thousand catties" is likely to be exaggerated, and at the same time, there was no specific measurement of the "thousand catties" at that time.
Another point, in other literature, there are data records about Xiang Yu's lifting of the Ding, saying that Xiang Yu can lift more than 700 catties. If converted according to this data, then Xiang Yu lifted a weight of 350 catties.
This may be more reasonable.
The heaviest weightlifting record in modern times
In the weightlifting competition at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Hercules Hussein Lazarad from Iran broke the world record by lifting a barbell weighing 263 kilograms.
To date, this record has not been broken. 263 kilograms, converted into 526 kilograms, much more than Xiang Yu's 350 kilograms.
But modern weightlifting is in the form of a barbell, which is easier to grab with your hands. The ancient tripod had no obvious point of focus, and it was much more difficult to lift than today's barbells.
It is precisely because of this that Xiang Yu, who had divine power in ancient times, is comparable to the strength of today's weightlifters. Therefore, the so-called "divine power" rumored by the ancients can almost be achieved by many modern people through training.