# Ancient Chinese Tomb Traps, Stone Door Locks and Other Mechanisms - Original post: https://www.twitter.com/i/status/2119323145526259901 - Source account: [@DP0STS](https://x.com/DP0STS) - Source language: Chinese (China) - Target language: English - Duration: 2:29 - Published: 2026-11-08 - Machine translated. Check the original before quoting. - Canonical URL: https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms - Original-language version: https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/zh-cn/%E5%8F%A4%E4%BB%A3%E6%9C%BA%E5%85%B3%E5%8E%9F%E7%90%86-%E5%A2%93%E9%97%A8%E8%87%AA%E6%9D%A5%E7%9F%B3-%E6%B5%81%E6%B2%99%E9%99%B7%E9%98%B1%E4%B8%8E%E4%B8%9C%E5%8C%97%E7%81%AB%E5%A2%99.md ## Transcript [0:00](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms) The ancients fixed a silver coin in place, with the other end inserted into a candle. [0:03](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=3) When it burned to a certain point, the coin fell and the candle went out. [0:07](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=7) The principle behind the black- and- white stone ball doorstop at an ancient underground tomb’s entrance: First, the stone door was shut. [0:11](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=11) The workers pushed a black stone ball into a groove to hold it shut. [0:13](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=13) Beside the final door, they made a sloping ramp and placed a white stone ball beside the door. [0:17](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=17) After everyone inside had come out, they pulled the stone door shut, and the stone ball rolled into a circular groove to hold the door shut. [0:23](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=23) This is the famous quicksand tomb of Duke Mu of Qin. [0:25](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=25) Tomb robbers never succeeded. Inside was a quicksand trap. [0:28](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=28) Once triggered, the quicksand would pour down, and grave robbers could only sleep here forever. [0:33](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=33) The tomb of the King of Yue had three doorstop stones. [0:35](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=35) As the workers left, they stepped on the stones to close the tomb door. [0:38](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=38) The three stone slabs tilted up, sealing the stone door shut. [0:40](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=40) The King of Yue’s jade burial suit was kept safe. [0:43](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=43) Legend has it this is a treasure box handed down from the Shang dynasty. [0:46](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=46) I use it to hide my rice scoop. If anyone tries to steal it, [0:54](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=54) A trap often set at the entrance to ancient tomb passages: Once someone opened the passage, the trap would drop and block the entrance, striking intruders and serving two purposes at once. [1:07](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=67) Legend has it this is an ancient underground tomb’s spiked- board anti- theft trap. [1:10](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=70) The ancients hid the mechanism behind the door. [1:11](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=71) After hanging the spiked board, they shut the tomb door. [1:14](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=74) All you had to do was push the tomb door open. [1:16](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=76) A common mechanism in underground tombs is the self- falling stone. [1:18](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=78) As the door closes, the stone drops and wedges it shut. [1:21](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=81) The cleverest way to defeat it is to use a hooked nail key to push the self- falling stone aside. [1:25](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=85) Open the stone gate. [1:28](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=88) They say this trip-stick trap was invented by Zhuge Liang. [1:31](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=91) Pull down the vertical bar, and the stick in the middle trips them. [1:33](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=93) If enemy troops attack, few will make it back. [1:36](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=96) When Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times in the wilderness, he gave every soldier a伸縮结, also called the Three- Not- Fall knot. [1:45](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=105) In ancient warfare, to slow the enemy's advance, pitfall traps were often used. [1:49](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=109) Build it this way, and a thousand troops can cross. [1:52](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=112) This is an automatic fishing trap left behind by Jiang Ziya. [1:55](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=115) Once a fish pulls the line, the bamboo rod below drops and triggers the mechanism. [2:00](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=120) This is a counterweight trap passed down from ancient times. [2:02](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=122) Stack two short sticks and weigh them down with a stone, then wedge a wooden slat between them to hold them apart. [2:10](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=130) Legend has it this is the Tang Sect's hidden spike trap. [2:12](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=132) Once a martial arts master falls into the pit, they can't escape. The more they struggle, the tighter it gets. [2:17](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=137) This is how the old- timers' model of a Northeastern Chinese heated wall works. [2:21](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=141) The candles are like firewood, and with the chimney effect, the entire heated wall can warm the room. [2:27](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/ow89TL1Aghg1/en/ancient-chinese-tomb-traps-stone-door-locks-and-other-mechanisms?t=147) That's the wisdom of the older generation.