Discourses on Salt and Iron
Yan Tie Lun(Discourses on Salt and Iron), written by Huan Kuan in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), was an important work on ancientChina's economic policies, such as state control on salt and iron businesses.
The book was actually a record of a state conference on administrative and economic problems held in 81BC. At that time, officials and scholars were summoned by the emperor to discuss state policies. Huan Kuan took down their discussions out and put them in order.
The 60-chapter book is now one of the most important sources on the development of ironing technology and economic conditions during the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD). The first 41 chapters were mainly the records of discussions on salt and iron policies held in 81BC, while the rest of the 19 chapters were mostly comments.
The book also recorded ancient Chinese scholars' discussion on the relationship between power and economy, agriculture and industry and commerce, production and consumption, and spirit and material. It not only serves as an important source for studying ancient Chinese economic thoughts, but also provides precious experiences for solving economic problems.
Summary on Extraction of Bronze
Jintong Yaolue(Summary on Extraction of Bronze), written by Zhang Qian of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), is a book on the method of extracting copper from the mineral water that contains copper.
During the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Zhang Li, one of Zhang Qian's offspring, consecrated the book to the government. In the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Wei Su made some annotations to the book, calling the extracting method in the book costs little, but produces much.
Book on Iron Smelting
Tie Zhizhi(Book on Iron Smelting) was a book compiled in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), introducing the iron smelting technology at that time.
The book consisted of two volumes and had been long lost. It was written by Fu Jun who was born in Nan'an,FujianProvince. He was the official in charge of industrial production before he went to Zunhua, one of most important iron smelting bases at that time, to run an iron factory.
Exploitation of the Works of Nature
Tiangong Kaiwu(Exploitation of the Works of Nature) was a famous book on technology in ancientChinaand was finished in 1637 in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The book was divided into 18 categories, covering almost all the important production technologies and processes in agriculture and handicrafts. Three categories deal with mining and metallurgy technology and hardware, with five others on mining and processing of nonmetal minerals.
Thanks to the advanced technology, the scale, output of the metal smelting and processing industry in the Ming Dynasty occupied a leading position in the world. So the book devoted one fourth of the length to introducing the achievements in this sector, especially in mining, washing, smelting and processing of seven metal minerals, including gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead and zinc.
The book was written by Song Yingxing who was born inJiangxiProvincein 1587. It has been referred to as the world's first encyclopedia of agricultural and handicraft production. Soon after it was published, it was translated into several languages including German, Japanese, English and French.
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