Do you know the history of metallurgical development in ancient and modern China and abroad?

The earliest known iron tool in China is the Shang Dynasty iron blade unearthed in Hebei. It was later confirmed that it was forged from meteorite with higher nickel content. In addition, there are the meteorite iron blades of Pinggu, Beijing, and the bronze iron blades of the late Shang Dynasty in Henan. These indicate that the early use of natural iron by primitive peoples was universal.

There are rich iron deposits in many areas of our country. Especially in the Central Plains, the hometown of ancient bronze technology with a long history is also the cradle of ancient Chinese iron smelting technology.

Around the 6th century BC, China invented pig iron smelting technology. Especially during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the two processes of block iron smelting and pig iron smelting were produced almost at the same time. These two methods have been developed in parallel for a long time in the history of our country and played their respective roles in different situations.

How much do you know about the three major metallurgical technologies? I will show you in the next issue!