Tripod Lifting
扛鼎
Pod is an instrument made of bronze and used to cook in ancient China. Usually it has three or four feet and two ears on each side for people to hold it. A pod is very heavy, which usually has a weight of a few hundred jin and sometimes more than one thousand jin. Because of its feet and ears convenient for people to lift it up and its weight Tripod Lifting became one of the sports to practice muscle and show strength in ancient times.
鼎，指中国古代的一种用青铜制成的、用于烹煮食物的器皿，通常有三尺或四尺，两侧有耳，供把捉。鼎很笨重，往往轻则几百斤，重则逾千斤。因为鼎有足、有耳，便于用手提举，且重量较大，故扛鼎成为古代用于锻炼体力、显示力量的一种运动。
Wars in ancient China were contests of courage and power. Men of unusual strength were respected. The best way to show that you were powerful was to lift up a pod of more than 1,000 jin.
古代战争主要是一种勇气和力量的较量，所以，力大无穷的大力士往往受到人们的推崇。而显示力大无穷的最好办法，就是能把重逾千斤的鼎举起来。
It was very popular in the Han dynasty as a game to show one's physical strength. It was still an important performance of Baixi at least in the Eastern Han.
扛鼎作为一种显示体力的运动，在汉代较为流行。至少在东汉时期，扛鼎仍是一种重要的百戏表演项目。
There were two ways for the ancient people to lift the pod, one of which was to use a single hand and the other two hands. To use single hand to lift the pod means to lift it up by holding only one of the feet, and by two hands means to hold the two ears of it and turn it over, the feet pointing to the sky, then lift it over the head. As we know, it is a cook instrument and not made for people to do physical training, so it is dangerous and easy to hurt people. Therefore, after Tand and Song dynasties, it had become a history with the appearance of the lifting instruments such as stone discs and stone padlocks.
古人扛鼎，主要有两种方法，一种是单手举，一种是双手举。单手举即用一只手抓住鼎的一足，把它举起来。双手举即用双手抓住鼎的双耳，把鼎翻过来，使鼎足朝天，然后举过头顶。但是，因为鼎毕竟是一种食器，它不是专门为人锻炼体力而制造的，故扛鼎运动也存在一定的风险，极易对扛鼎者造成伤害。因此，到唐宋以后，随着石担、石锁等举重器械的产生，扛鼎便渐渐成为一种历史。
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