The idea being, if an earthquake causes the building to shift from left to right, the rod stretch and pull it back in the opposite direction, preventing the building from shaking itself to smithereens.

这个想法是，如果地震导致建筑物从左向右移动， 则杆会拉伸并将其向相反方向拉回， 从而防止建筑物自身摇晃成碎片。