Illustration of Iron Mould for Making Cannon
Zhupao Tiemu Tushuo(Illustration of Iron Mould for Making Cannon) was the earliest book on making metal mould in the world. It was written by Gong Zhenlin of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and published in 1842.
Gong Zhenlin was very interested in science and technology, and devoted much of his time doing research in this field. During the Opium War against the British invaders in 1840, he was sent to Ningbo of Zhejianig Province, responsible for the production of weapons.
In order to reinforce the military, he made some iron moulds, then used the moulds to produce cannons. He was the first one who used such a method to make cannons in Chinese history. Later, he wrote and published a book on this method, distributing it to the coastal regions that were fighting against the British.
The book discussed in detail the process of using sand to make iron moulds which were then used to make cannons. It pointed out that using iron moulds to make cannons had four main advantages: the iron moulds could be used for several times; the cost was low, the cannons were of fine quality and the cannons could be made within a far shorter time, thus meeting the demands in times of emergencies.
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