Review and prospect of metallurgical history research in China

I. Review of the history of metallurgy in China

(1) The beginning of research on the history of metallurgy in China

Although dynasties have attached great importance to the history of history, but mainly political history, and the history of industrial technology, especially the history of metallurgy, few people have been interested. In the vast number of historical documents, the contents of metallurgical history are mostly scattered and scattered information, such as the catalogue of products in the annals of food. In addition, the literati's simple memory of the craft can also give us a glimpse of the skills of ancient metal craftsmen. In the Song Dynasty, Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Pen Talk" contains the process of filling steel, but it is only limited to witness records; Tieye Zhi, written by Fu Jun in the Ming Dynasty, was regarded as an important work summarizing iron-making technology, but it was lost long ago. Only the Ming Dynasty Song Yingxing's book "Tiangong Kai Wu" contains relevant ancient metallurgical technology information, handed down to the present, very precious.

Using modern scientific and technological means to study the history of ancient Chinese metallurgy, about the beginning of the Republic of China. With the introduction of modern metallurgical technology and the rise of metallurgical industry, a group of research teams with scientific knowledge began to form, and a number of important research papers on the history of metallurgy were published, the most representative of which were the work of Mr. Wang Jin and Mr. Zhang Hongzhao. Wang introduced analytical chemistry to study ancient metal objects, which was the beginning of the study of the history of metallurgy in China. His publications such as Chemistry of Metals in Ancient China, Chemical Composition of Wuzhuqian and Ancient Application of Lead, tin and zinc pewter, and Nickel in Chinese Copper Alloys were the first to study the history of metallurgy and chemistry in China. He later published the book Metal Chemistry and Golden Dan in Ancient China. Mr. Zhang Hongzhao made a breakthrough in the invention and research of ancient zinc smelting technology, and published the Origin of Zinc in China and the Origin of Zinc in Ancient China Again. Liang Jin's "Zhou Dynasty Alloy Composition Investigation" is also an important research achievement in this period. Foreign expert Dinglan's "China Iron Ore Annals" not only deals with iron ore resources, but also has an overview of Chinese traditional and modern iron smelting technology. Wang is the author of the History of Metallurgical Industry in China, which can be regarded as the earliest comprehensive article on the history of mining and metallurgy in China. These ancestors not only attached importance to the literature research, but also attached importance to the archaeological material, so that the research of Chinese metallurgical history from the beginning has the right direction and method.

History of Metallurgical Industry in China. Home page

From the 1930s to the 1940s, due to the changes in the domestic and foreign environment, the research on the history of metallurgy was relatively flat, but there were some studies worthy of attention. For example, Chinese archaeologists unearthed the ancient copper casting site for the first time - Yin Ruins copper casting site, Liu Yuxia published a study on Copper smelting in Yin Dynasty; During the Anti-Japanese War, Zhou Zhihong investigated the process of Beibeisu steel in Chongqing and published the Creative Achievements of China's early iron and Steel smelting technology.

From the 1950s to the 1960s, the history of science and technology in China was formally incorporated into the track of national scientific research. In 1957, the Laboratory of Natural Science History of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was established, and Hu Shuhua, director of the library of Beijing Iron and Steel Institute, was hired to sort out and study the history of ancient Chinese metallurgy on a part-time basis. Due to the development of archaeology, many smelting sites have been excavated and a large number of metal artifacts have been unearthed, which provide rich materials for further research. A number of important achievements have also been published, such as Li Hengde's "Iron and Steel Metallurgy Technology in Chinese History", Zhou Zeyue's "On Several Problems in the history of Metallurgy in ancient China", Zhang Zigao's "Six different Aspects", Hua Jueming's "Preliminary Report on Metallography Investigation of Iron ware in the Warring States and Han Dynasties", Ling Yeqin's "Discussion on the casting technology of large copper bells in Beijing Ming Yongle". His works include the Invention and Development of Iron Smelting Technology in Ancient China by Yang Kuan and a Brief History of the Development of Iron Smelting and Steel Making Technology in China by Local Methods, and the Draft of Chinese Chemical History (Ancient Part) by Zhang Zigao.