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A study of the production and use of iron and steel in early China, and simultaneously a methodological study of the reconciliation of archaeological and written sources in Chinese cultural history. Includes chapters on the technology of iron production based on studies of artifact microstructures.
Hailian Chen’s pioneering study presents the first comprehensive history of Chinese zinc—an essential base metal used to produce brass and coin and a global commodity—over the long eighteenth century. Zinc, she argues, played a far greater role in the Qing economy and in integrating China into an emerging global economy, than has previously been recognized. Using commodity chain analysis and exploring over 5,800 items of archival documents, Chen demonstrates how this metal was produced, transported, traded, and consumed by human agents. Situating the zinc story within the human-environment framework, this book covers a broad and interdisciplinary range of political economy, material culture, environment, technology, and society, which casts new light on our understanding of early modern China.
Drawing on history of science and philosophy of knowledge, this wide-ranging collection of essays on varieties of diagram, schema, technical illustration and chart offers a challenging new interpretation of technical knowledge in Chinese thought and practice.
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In this wide-ranging interdisciplinary work, the authors draw on history, anthropology, and materials engineering to present a comprehensive and ambitious examination of the multifaceted roles of iron and steel throughout history and the current and future challenges faced by the steel industry. Ohjoon Kwon, Joo Choi, and Hae-Geon Lee provide readers with an in-depth understanding of the history of iron and steel and their impact on human society from a materials engineering perspective. They begin by describing the characteristics of iron and steel and the history of human use of and interaction with these metals by compiling the fundamental knowledge necessary to understand iron’s unique...
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Comprehensive historical account of the production and use of iron and steel in China in their political and economic context. An initial chapter on the traditional Chinese iron industry introduces the important technical concepts and the ways in which technology, geography, and economics influence political phenomena. Further chapters cover developments from the Han to the Tang, the technical evolution and economic revolution of the Song period, and economic expansion under the Ming. A final chapter investigates the debt of the modern steel industry to Chinese developments.
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