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Simp l e and p l a i n bronze
locks appeared in the Bronze Age.
A thin, flat piece of spring can be
found in the lock. The geometric
relativity and the bouncing effect
between the key and the spring
were the mechanism for locking and
unlocking. The design of locks got
more complicated in the Spring and
Autumn Period; some locks were
designed with secret mechanism
inside. And, some said that Lu Ban
greatly improved Chinese locks for
popular uses and mass production
in the Warring States Period around
500 BC.
The app l i ca t i on of l a rge
quantity of metal locks started in the
late Eastern Han Dynasty around
200 AD, with bronze as the major
material. And, some locks were
designed with the patterns of animals
and insects, such as tigers, panthers,
kirins, turtles, and butterflies, … etc.
Locksmiths' technology level was
pretty developed in Tang Dynasty
(618~907 AD). The usage of metal
splitting spring locks, mostly made
of bronze and partially of brass,
iron, silver, or gold, was getting
popular. And, the types, shapes, and
engravings of locks were getting
diversified.
較為簡單古拙的銅鎖出現
於青銅器時代，鎖內裝有片狀
彈簧，利用鑰匙與彈簧片的幾
何關係與彈力作用來上鎖與開
鎖。到了春秋時代，鎖具的設
計開始複雜化，有些並裝有機
關。至於鎖具的普遍使用，相
傳是起因於戰國時代魯班的加
以改進。
金屬鎖的大量使用，始於
東漢末年 ( 約公元 200 年 )，材
料以青銅為主，並且出現了鏤
有虎、豹、麒麟、龜、蝴蝶等
動物與昆蟲造形的設計。唐代
( 公元 618~907 年 ) 的製鎖工
藝相當發達，簧片鎖的用途日
益普遍，除了佔多數的青銅製
品外，有些則為黃銅、鐵、銀、
或金製品，其種類、外形、及
雕花亦日趨繁多。
‧漢代銅鎖
Brass lock of Han dynasty
179x37x19mm 601g