Preface
Since human beings have a source of fire, they can no longer live without fire, which is a great progress in human civilization, which can not only help people get out of danger, but also provide warmth.
Some people even think that even in modern times, the steam engine was invented, and this role was not found to be important in how to make fire and use fire, but in ancient times, the development of fire treatment was relatively slow.
The most primitive way to take fire
In history, the first way people came into contact with fire was to drill wood to make fire, and the discovery of this method was also accidental, in the very beginning, people ate raw meat.
At that time, when the Suiren clan was hunting in the wild, they happened to see sparks burst out when woodpeckers peck at tree trunks.
In the beginning, when the ancients ate food, gastrointestinal diseases often occurred, and even poisoning, which would be very harmful to the human body for a long time.
However, as long as the food has been roasted with fire, it is different, firstly, it can remove the parasites in the raw meat, and secondly, it can also make the food better to eat, which is very beneficial to the human body.
At first, the Suiren clan only thought that the fire was hidden in the trees, but they didn't think about how to use it, and only when the lightning struck the wood because of the weather did they try to throw food into the fire.
Unexpectedly, the food roasted by the fire was so delicious, and the Suiren clan began to study how to create fire through their own methods, and also invented the way to drill wood to make fire, which marked that people were able to make a qualitative change in their lives.
Wildland survival expert Bell will show how to use wood to make fire, in addition to carrying a variety of fire-making equipment when surviving alone in the wilderness.
However, although this method has been proven to be effective, it is still difficult for most inexperienced ordinary people to master and has the potential to cause damage to the skin of the heart.
By the time of the Zhou Dynasty, although this way of making fire was continued, it also went through a lot of changes, the simplest example is that with the different seasons, the wood used to make fire is also different.
In the weekly rituals, there are different records of what kind of wood should be used in different seasons, and at this time, the name of the fire is also changed.
This method was still used until the time of the Southern Dynasties, and this change was more due to the Zhou Dynasty's recognition of its own national etiquette.
Of course, the ancients were very clever, and they soon discovered that in addition to the method of drilling wood to make fire, other methods could be used to make fire.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to find a place where there is a lot of sunlight, put a flammable tool there, such as tin foil, and let it spontaneously combust.
This method continued until the Han Dynasty, when the tin foil was mainly turned into a copper mirror, and then a very dry wormwood was placed underneath.
This method of making fire is recorded in the ancient book Mengxi Writings, and the process of making fire is described in great detail, which is also an important method for ancient people to make fire.
Therefore, if the ancients wanted to go far away, but it was inconvenient to carry a large number of tools at hand, they would bring a bronze mirror on their bodies, but this method also had a fatal drawback.
Since the source of fire is caused by the sun's rays, it means that when the sun does not appear, such as at night or on a rainy day, it cannot start a fire.
Therefore, by the time of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, this method of making fire was once again replaced, and people discovered flint, which also represented the progress of human technology.
A further way to take the fire
In ancient times, people actually invented many tools that could make fire, the simplest of which was matches, which greatly facilitated people's lives at that time.
The earliest record of matches in the mainland can be traced back to the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, invented by a court maid of the Qi Kingdom, and this invention is unknown how many years earlier than in the West.
The invention was relatively simple, and the main step was to dip some sulfur on the sticks, or tie a lot of sulfur to the blocks, and when it was time to start a fire, simply put the sticks close to the flint and hit them several times, and sparks would be generated.
As a result, it succeeded in making a fire, and due to the relative simplicity of this way of making fire, it was even introduced to Europe as a gift, and was highly recognized by the locals.
Over time, the Europeans gradually improved and polished on the basis of this improvised match, and eventually developed their own matches.
In 1827, an Englishman named Walker, who innovated on the basis of the Chinese improvised match, replaced sulfur with antimony trisulfide and potassium chlorate and applied them together to wooden sticks.
With this improvement, people no longer had to get close to the flint, but only rubbed the sandpaper to ignite the sticks, an innovation that became the origin of the invention of the modern match.
Compared to Chinese matches, this kind of match is indeed more likely to catch fire, but there is also a certain risk that the wooden stick may spontaneously combust.
More than twenty years later, a Swede made a new attempt to fix sulfur and potassium chlorate on wooden sticks, respectively, a practice that had a certain chemical basis.
In this way, he separated the oxidizing agent from the reducing agent, further improving the fire efficiency and safety of the match.
By the time of the Qing Dynasty, this kind of fully evolved match ship returned to China again, and at that time it was still called a foreign product by many people, but this statement is wrong, because the roots are actually in China.
By the time of the Qing Dynasty, this sufficiently improved match was again introduced to China, and many people at the time referred to it as a foreign product, however, this claim is wrong, as the roots of the match are actually in China.
Since this match was very cheap, it was quickly accepted by the Chinese, however, the Chinese factories at that time did not have the conditions for production, so many people still refer to matches as foreign fire.
In Europe, this kind of match has also been widely popularized, and in the fairy tale "The Little Match Girl", we can find that matches have become an essential tool for almost every European.
Other methods of illumination in ancient times
This method of making fire can be said to be the ancient black technology, it only needs to blow lightly when using, it can immediately produce flames, whether it is at home or out, fire folds provide great convenience.
The principle of being able to ignite a fire breaker is called "re-ignition" in chemistry, which means that a substance that could have continued to burn is temporarily extinguished due to lack of oxygen, and can resume combustion once there is an oxygen supply.
Although the principle of the fire fold seems simple, the production process is actually very complicated, which also makes the fire fold a symbol of the ancient magnates.
To make a fire fold, you first need to soak and beat the white potato vines, then add cotton, reeds and other materials to continue soaking and hammering, and finally, add flammable materials such as sulfur and saltpeter.
This process takes a lot of time and effort, so the making of fire folds is very precious, so in ancient times, it was generally only used by wealthy people.
The last tool is more like a tool, it was first discovered very early, and people began to use it during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
This kind of tool is cheaper and more suitable for ordinary people, this tool is fire sickle and flint, which became one of the main ways of life of ancient people.
There is such a record in the "Water Margin", at that time, people believed that the fire sickle and flint were one of the most important tools, in addition to the fire sickle and flint, there were two tools for combustion.
That is, velvet and coal, combined, these four tools can allow the ancients to realize the freedom of making fire, and it is more practical for the common people.
The fire sickle is called this name not because it is shaped like a scythe, but because there is a steel structure around the fire sickle, which can easily hurt the hand. So you need to put a sleeve on it.
epilogue
Ancient China was very rich in inventions, but the difference with Europe was that Europe was more focused on making money through mass production in factories, while many of China's excellent inventions were limited to the use of the aristocracy.
However, these fire-making tools have indeed helped the Chinese survive one warm winter after another and eat hot meals one after another over the past thousands of years.