«——[·Preface·] ——»
Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, was economically developed and culturally prosperous, and was one of the most powerful countries in the world at that time. The population is large, the city is dense, the economy is developed, and fires are frequent. According to the "History of Song", "The fire in the city continued for many years. The "Tokyo Menghualu" also recorded: "In the winter and October, there was a fire in the divisions of Kaifeng Prefecture and the four gates. ”
On November 26, the third year of Jingde (1006) of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Yin Zhang Qixian of Kaifeng Prefecture said: "The fire in the city has been going on for years. After verification, what Song Zhenzong said was true, according to the "History of Song and Official Records": "Kaifeng Prefecture has a fire ban order." Despite frequent fires, the Song Dynasty government took a series of effective measures to strengthen the prevention and management of fires.
1. Establish specialized institutions to strengthen fire management
During the Song Dynasty, the fire management made great progress, a special management agency was established, more methods for fire control were established, and all aspects were improved, making the fire management in the Song Dynasty more orderly, effective, scientific and reasonable.
The Song Dynasty was a historical period of very rapid economic and cultural development on the mainland, during which economic and cultural exchanges between various regions became more frequent, the economy became more prosperous, and various natural disasters occurred at the same time.
As one of the natural disasters in the mainland, fires occurred very frequently during the Song Dynasty. For fires, the most important thing is prevention. First of all, we must do a good job of publicity work, so that the public is aware of the harm and seriousness of fire. The second is to take preventive measures. Both of these points were achieved to the extreme during the Song Dynasty.
First of all, do a good job of publicity. During the Song Dynasty, because the frequency of fires was too high, a large number of fires would occur every year, and after each fire, there would be a large number of casualties.
Secondly, we must strengthen preventive measures and do a good job in fire prevention in daily life. For preventive measures, it is necessary to have sufficient fire fighting facilities and fire extinguishing equipment to deal with fires. For the Song Dynasty, there were already perfect firefighting facilities and fire extinguishing equipment. However, because the rulers of the Song Dynasty pursued too much of a hedonistic life, they neglected the construction and maintenance of fire fighting facilities and fire extinguishing equipment.
Finally, prevention must be done. This is a very important part of prevention. This requires the Song Dynasty to strengthen the construction and maintenance of fire protection facilities to ensure the normal use of fire protection facilities.
2. Strict management system to strengthen fire prevention
On the basis of inheriting the previous dynasty, the Song Dynasty further improved the relevant legal system.
First, on the basis of the previous generation, the Song Dynasty further improved fire prevention legislation and attached importance to fire prevention publicity. First of all, the Song Dynasty clarified the causes of fires caused by human factors and natural factors, and made a clear distinction between fires caused by these two factors. Second, the Song Dynasty strengthened the investigation of responsibility for fire accidents. Due to the characteristics of fire accidents involving a wide range of personnel and causing large losses, the criminal liability arising from fire accidents is strictly distinguished, and the compensation methods are clearly stipulated. The subjects bearing criminal responsibility in a fire accident include the individual firefighter, as well as the unit and government officials.
Second, the Song Dynasty clearly stipulated the fire alarm system. According to the law of the Song Dynasty: "Whenever there is a fire alarm, it shall be reported in a complaint." In the event of a fire, local officials should immediately report to the imperial court and deal with it in accordance with the instructions of the imperial court. Those who fail to report a fire in time will be punished with fines, beheading, exile and other punishments.
The fire alarm work shall not be interrupted without authorization within the specified time, and if a fire occurs, the police shall be reported in time and corresponding measures shall be taken to prevent the spread of the fire; Immediately after the outbreak of a fire, it is necessary to organize rescue personnel and materials; After the fire is extinguished, the scene should be cleaned up in time, the battlefield should be cleaned up, and the relevant departments and personnel should be reported at the beginning of the word "newspaper".
Fourth, the Song Dynasty also improved the fire reporting system. The Song Dynasty further improved the fire reporting system on the basis of the previous generation: first, the responsibilities of relevant personnel were clarified; Second, it stipulates that relevant personnel must report and feedback relevant situations in a timely manner; Third, it stipulates a confidentiality system for all kinds of information; Fourth, it stipulates special treatment methods for special circumstances; Fifth, instructions to the emperor in special circumstances must also be reported in a timely manner; Sixth, officials who derelict their duties in fire accidents should also be punished in a timely manner.
3. Establish fire-fighting facilities and increase fire prevention efforts
In order to improve the public's awareness of fire prevention, popularize fire prevention knowledge, and increase fire prevention efforts, the Song Dynasty took a variety of measures starting from the establishment of fire fighting facilities, which played a role in eliminating fire to a certain extent.
(1) Establish fire protection facilities.
As early as the Song Dynasty, fireproof pools were built in Kaifeng, Hangzhou and other places. Kaifeng is the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, and there is a waterhole inside and outside the city, commonly known as the "Tokyo Bianhe", which is used to store water and extinguish fires. A trench is dug on one side of the pool to facilitate the channeling of water into the pool. Around the waterhole, there are pavilions, pavilions, warehouses, production workshops, etc., for fire prevention. There are three fire pools in Kaifeng City: one is the water curtain cave in Yingtianmen; the second is the sluice gate on the north bank of the Bianhe River; The third is the Royal River outside the Nanxun Gate.
In December of the fourth year of Shaoxing (1134), when Emperor Gaozong of Song and Zhao Zhi visited Lin'an, he ordered Yan Boyu, Chen Hongjin, and others to build a fire pond in the south of the city. In the spring of the following year, a fire pit was built in the south of the city and a fire pit in the west of the city. In order to make the fire pool have a good fire extinguishing effect, it is required to use water four times a year: the first time is "April 26th Water Spring Temple"; The second time is "the fifth day of the first month of June"; The third time is "September 17"; The fourth is November 23.
(2) Promote new fire extinguishing appliances.
During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song, he ordered the widespread use of new fire extinguishing equipment such as "water dragons" and "water tanks" in Jingshi and prefectures and counties. For example, on the night of September 26, the fourth year of the Taiping Xingguo (979), Emperor Taizong of Song lit a lamp in the palace pavilion of the eastern capital Luoyang and was besieged by fire. The ministers were worried about the safety of the emperor, so they suggested to Emperor Taizong of Song: "Why should Your Majesty worry about living in the deep palace?" May Your Majesty sit in the palace of public opinion... If the water comes and stops... Although the water dragon is full of fire, it is difficult to extinguish. Emperor Taizong of Song was overjoyed when he heard this: "I also know it." So he ordered the craftsmen to make fire extinguishing equipment such as water hoses and water tanks.
(3) Establish fire prevention schools and fire protection associations
In order to raise the public's awareness of fire prevention, the Song Dynasty government established various forms of fire prevention schools and fire associations in various places.
4. Strengthen fire prevention publicity and raise the awareness of fire prevention among the whole people
In order to enhance the public's awareness of fire prevention, the Song Dynasty government attached great importance to fire prevention publicity, and would carry out a nationwide publicity and education activity every year.
At the end of each year, the Song Dynasty government held a grand "Shehuo" event, a large-scale folk entertainment event held almost every ten years from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty.
The "social fire" activities of the Northern Song Dynasty were relatively large in the northern region and relatively small in the southern region. During the Southern Song Dynasty, with the development of social economy, the economic and cultural center shifted to the southeast coastal areas, and the "social fire" activities in the southern region also flourished day by day.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, the "social fire" activity had become a regular and fixed ceremony.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, folk "social fire" activities were not only large-scale, but also diverse: some places chose local folk festivals to hold social fire performances; In some places, after holding local traditional folk festivals, community fire performances will be held; In some places, "Shehuo" performances of different scales are held in different seasons.
The Song Dynasty folk "social fire" activity is closely related to the occurrence of civil fire. After a fire, local residents will express their dissatisfaction and anger about the fire through the form of "social fire".
The Song Dynasty government also attached great importance to fire prevention publicity and education for the people.
In July of the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Xining of the Song Dynasty (1075), the Song Dynasty government launched a large-scale fire prevention education campaign throughout the country.
In this publicity and education activity, the Song Dynasty government mainly took the following measures: first, through the distribution of leaflets, the posting of propaganda posters and other forms of fire prevention publicity and education to the public; The second is to train local residents on fire safety knowledge; The third is to train local residents in the use of fire fighting facilities; The fourth is to arrange firefighters to explain fire prevention knowledge at the scene when holding a "social fire"; The fifth is to train local residents on fire safety knowledge.
5. Strengthen fire investigation and strictly pursue responsibility in accordance with law
During the Northern Song Dynasty, it was Hubu who was in charge of the fire. However, due to the large number of fires and the fact that each fire caused significant damage, household officials often felt overwhelmed when dealing with fires.
In order to solve this problem, the Song Dynasty government took a series of measures.
First, improve the treatment of fire investigators. Because the rewards for firefighters in the Song Dynasty were very rich, many people regarded firefighters as objects of "high salary" in fire prevention work. However, in actual work, due to the lack of specialized firefighting talents, some local governments and competent departments often do not pay enough attention to firefighters.
In order to solve this problem, the government of the Northern Song Dynasty stipulated: "Where there are fire alarms and people and animals in the fire police station and in the internal and external official temples, social warehouses, warehouses, warehouses, schools, mansions, etc., one official shall be the chief official for the examination." If they arrive, they shall order the magistrate of the prefecture, the lieutenant of the prefecture, and the chief of the bureau of the prefecture to report the place of fire and all the contents to the officials for inspection."
This provision has allowed the status of firefighters to be enhanced.
Second, improve the fire investigation system. The fire investigation system in the Northern Song Dynasty was mainly reflected in three aspects: First, a series of rules and regulations on fire investigation were formulated. There are many provisions on fire investigation in the "Compilation of the Song Meeting"; Second, the responsible subjects of fire investigation are clarified. In the Song Dynasty's "Compilation of the Continuation of Zhi Tong", there is a stipulation: "Thieves and fire thieves should be arrested in the lawsuits, and the precedent should be followed; If the prefect or prefectural order cannot catch the thief and mistakenly arrests the thief, he shall be punished for the crime that the officials cannot arrest the thief; Third, the behavior of fire investigators is regulated. The government of the Song Dynasty stipulated: "Whoever should arrest thieves within five days after the fire starts, and those who mistakenly arrest thieves because the prefectural and county orders cannot be arrested, shall be guilty of the crime they have wronged."
Author's opinion:
The fire protection system and measures of the Song Dynasty are relatively complete, and the frequency of fire occurrence is relatively low, although there have been no serious fire accidents, but its fire control has achieved certain results. First of all, the awareness of fire prevention has been strengthened, and the public's awareness of fire prevention is an important reason for the effectiveness of fire protection work in the Song Dynasty. Secondly, effective measures, such as establishing fire prevention facilities, increasing fire prevention efforts, strengthening fire investigation, and strictly pursuing responsibility according to law, are all effective measures taken by the Song Dynasty government in fire control.
Of course, the fire prevention measures of the Song Dynasty government also have certain limitations and drawbacks, such as the imperial court has no clear legal provisions on the private storage of fire by the people, which sometimes causes fires. At the same time, because the Song Dynasty government punished the private establishment of gunpowder magazines and the storage of flammable and explosive materials by the people, it sometimes caused fires.
Bibliography:
The Long Compilation of the Continuing Zhi Tong, vol. 589
Manuscripts of the Song Meeting, volume 649
"Song Hui's Manuscript, Criminal Department, Fire Prohibition".