How did ancient people predict earthquakes before the invention of the seismometer?

When an earthquake comes, people are often at a loss. Although there is no need to run away from a small earthquake, but you cannot run away from a big earthquake, everyone has the desire to survive. Nowadays, many cities have earthquake early warning systems, which even start warning 30 seconds in advance. According to today's technology, it is nothing. But in ancient times, people did not have such advanced technology, but ancient earthquakes rarely caused casualties. So How did they take preventive measures before the earthquake struck?

In ancient times, earthquakes were called earthquakes. Most people thought that they were God's punishment for the current era, just like floods and droughts. Therefore, every time a natural disaster occurred, the emperor was the one who had the biggest headache. Because at this time the people will think that because of the emperor's incompetence, God will punish the world. At this time, what the emperor does is very important.

In fact, we know now that we cannot grasp the rules of earthquake occurrence. The only thing we can do is to predict and prevent disasters before they strike. The Chinese have carried infinite wisdom since ancient times. As early as ancient times, people slowly accumulated experience through many earthquakes and created many methods to predict earthquakes. China became the first country on earth to conduct earthquake predictions.

I remember that Sima Qian recorded in "Historical Records" that "Yang" is suppressed and cannot come out, and "Yin" is forced and cannot steam, so earthquakes occur. He believes that earthquakes have a certain relationship with the imbalance of Yin and Yang, among which "Yang" is "Heaven" represents "Heaven", and "Yin" represents "Earth". This statement proves that since that time, the Chinese have discovered that earthquakes have some connection with nature and celestial bodies.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the seismometer appeared. This was mankind's first earthquake prediction instrument, which changed people's panic about earthquakes. However, many people at that time were still skeptical, thinking that earthquakes were instructions from God. How could they predict them with this thing? Once the seismograph warned that there would be an earthquake in the northwest of Luoyang City. Since the earthquake was very small, no one paid attention to it. A few days later, people from the northwest came over and told them that there had indeed been an earthquake there a few days ago.

In addition to professional instruments such as seismographs, even before the invention of seismographs, ancient people also judged earthquakes through changes in water levels and abnormal behavior of animals. This method is still used today. For example, when there is an earthquake now, my first reaction is to look at the water cup next to me. If the water is shaking in the cup, I am sure there is an earthquake. Poultry, chickens, ducks, pet dogs, and wild animals, snakes, etc., will all behave abnormally before an earthquake, and from this, they can also judge that an earthquake is coming.

Although earthquakes can be predicted since ancient times, earthquakes are very harmful. How to take preventive measures to protect yourself and your family before an earthquake strikes is the most important thing. . There was a major earthquake during the Yongzheng period. At that time, Emperor Yongzheng panicked and ran out of the Forbidden City with his entourage and family. Finally, he tried to find a way to escape on a boat because he felt that he would not feel the amplitude on the water. Later, the Joseon Dynasty learned about this and laughed at Yongzheng because of it.

In fact, it was much more convenient for ancient people to escape than in modern times. First of all, there were not many houses in ancient times and there was open land everywhere. Secondly, in ancient times, all bungalows were mostly made of wood or bamboo. The bamboo-wood structure is not only flexible and light, but also has very good earthquake resistance. Moreover, when the ancients built houses, they would strictly refer to the construction style of ancient Chinese buildings. Therefore, unless it is an extremely lethal earthquake, it will generally not cause damage to the house.

In fact, we don’t have to worry about the ancients at all, because many of the things and methods we use now are precious treasures passed down to us by our predecessors. As we stand on the shoulders of our predecessors and move forward, we must maintain a passionate heart and believe that the spirit of our predecessors has been left to us. When we face any difficulties, we can show the perseverance of the Chinese people.