introduction
Yan Yuan wrote in the "Yan YuanJi Xue discerning one": "Nothing to talk about the heart, and repay the king when he is dying." It was aimed at criticizing those courtiers for not doing practical things in ordinary times, and when they were in danger, they had to express their loyalty with death.
Yan Yuan has always advocated practical learning, believing that this kind of courtier, it is better to learn more practical knowledge than usual, become a talent of the Jingbang Jishi, and use death to maintain his so-called honor, just like a "very shameful" "woman's state".
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were also many people with such "feminine attitudes". Of course, there are also people who advocate industry to save the country and do their part for the development of the nation. For example, Zhang Zhidong, a representative figure of the Western affairs school at that time, the hanyang iron factory under his management had a very high product quality, and until now the railway rails made in Hanyang can still be used normally. Experts say each rail is priceless.
▲Panorama of Hanyang Iron Works in the late Qing Dynasty
01
In the sixteenth year of the Qing Dynasty (1890 AD), the Hanyang Iron Works, which was built under the auspices of Zhang Zhidong, a famous minister of the late Qing Dynasty, was officially started, which was the largest steel plant in the Far East before the establishment of the Hachiman Iron works in Japan, and the earliest government-run steel plant in modern Chinese history.
Zhang Zhidong, the founder of Hanyang Iron Works, was the governor of Huguang at the time, and he was extremely intelligent from an early age, and he learned the yuan in the township examination and won the third place in the examination. At the age of 27, he was hand-picked by Empress Dowager Cixi as a tanhua. Later, I will enter the picture and achieve great achievements.
When Zhang Zhidong was the governor of Huguang, he planned to mine coal and build a steel plant.
At that time, it was the Western Affairs Movement, and Zhang Zhidong, who had the idea of building a steel factory, thought that the imperial court would naturally allocate funds, and it would not help himself or Huguang. Funding is naturally not a problem.
▲Zhang Zhidong old photo
So the first thing is to think about the technical problems first. At that time, due to the backwardness of smelting technology, the world used 100 tons of coal and 20 tons of iron ore to smelt 1 ton of steel.
So most of the world's steel mills at that time were either built next to coal mines, or next to mines, or both.
Later, due to the improvement of smelting technology, it has been possible to achieve 10 tons of coal, 5 or 6 tons of ore can produce a ton of steel. At this time, the most important thing to consider is the demand, otherwise it will be smashed if it cannot be sold.
However, at the beginning of the establishment of Hanyang Iron Works, there were no coal mines and iron mines around. This caused a lot of criticism at that time and now.
However, at that time, the governor Zhang Zhidong also carried out his own considerations, and the site selection at that time was either in Daye or looking for another place. But Daye could not solve the problem of ore. Therefore, Zhang Zhidong considered building in Hanyang, because at that time, the Luhan Railway would soon be built, coupled with the convenient waterway transportation in Hanyang, the raw material problem was well solved.
▲The current site of Hanyang Iron Works
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Next up is the purchase of boilers.
At that time, there were two main smelting methods in the world: one was the acidic besse hemp method, and the other was the alkaline Martin method.
Which smelting method did Zhang Zhidong choose?
At that time, Zhang Zhidong did not consider which method to use, he felt that China's smelting technology has a thousand years of history, the technology is mature, and why bother with ore, so he bought the most expensive boiler from Britain and began smelting.
However, his move was also criticized, because at the beginning of the Hanyang Iron Works, many products were smelted and unqualified.
At that time, many people felt that he did not test ore and choose a matching method, so there was an inferior product.
▲Old photo of Hanyang Iron Works
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Later, due to the huge cost of raw materials of Hanyang Iron Works, the economy was not enough to make ends meet, and the government's arrogant and ignorant management, Hanyang Iron Works was on the verge of bankruptcy.
It was not until the twenty-second year of Qing Guangxu (1896 AD) that Sheng Xuanhuai, the candidate of Sipin Jingtang, took over the iron factory.
Through Sheng Xuanhuai's borrowings from all over the world, coupled with changes in raw materials and processes, the steel plant gradually improved and sales channels opened. However, the good times did not last long, and on October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out, coupled with the First World War, and eventually the Hanyang Iron Works went bankrupt.
Although the reputation of Hanyang Iron Works was not good at the beginning, the quality of the later "Hanyang Made" was leveraged.
In 2012, it was discovered that on the Wanbai special line in Wanyuan City, there was a section of railway track that read "Made by Hanyang Iron Works in 1903".
On a bridge in Luoyang County, Shaanxi Province, in 2015, several steel rails were also found with the words "COCKERLL-1908-AT" and "KTPE-RSW1909". After 100 years, it is still strong and durable, which shows its excellent quality. Netizens also praised: "Too strong! ”
▲Rail photo
epilogue
Zhang Zhidong's "Time of Mourning" has clouds: "Tai Ji does not ambush, peel off the poor and follow it." Tai is not the way of heaven, stripped back in man-made. "During the period of the Western affairs movement, many industrial factories were established. In addition to the Hanyang Iron Works opened by Zhang Zhidong, there are also the Anqing Ordnance Institute founded by Zeng Guofan, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and the Beiyang Navy built by Li Hongzhang, and the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau founded by Zuo Zongtang. Although these industries were founded at the beginning to consolidate the rule of the Qing Dynasty, they injected a new vitality into our national industry and strengthened the economic and industrial construction of China at that time.
Resources:
"Yan Yuanji Xue discerning one"
"Time of Mourning"