The transition to iron in Ancient China (original) (raw)

1999

Abstract

The making of iron emerged late in China - later than in many other parts of Eurasia. Yet it flowered with exceptional quickness. Within a period of less than three centuries, China advanced from its first known experiments with smelted iron to a position of leadership. Perhaps by 200 B.C. and certainly by 100 B.C., the Chinese iron industry had become the largest and most technically innovative anywhere in the ancient world. The purpose of this paper is to explore that remarkable transformation. The first section examines the evidence for iron in China before 400 B.C. The second and third sketch the phase of rapid development that occured between 200 and 1 B.C. The fourth focuses on the distribution and dating of various Chinese technical innovations : blast furnace smelting, white iron casting, fining, malleabilizing, and solid-state decarburizing. The fifth section discusses the origin of ironmaking in China, the reasons for its unusual but surprisingly modern character, and why ...

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