Song Dynasty Iron-Smelting Technology

Timeline

1. 960–1040Cizhou (present-day southern Hebei) · Handan CityThe early Song inherited the Tang tradition of shaft-furnace iron smelting, using charcoal as fuel and human or animal power for blast, producing farm tools, weapons, and cast-iron goods in Cizhou, Hebei, and elsewhere. Furnaces at this stage were mostly earth-and-timber structures; output rose with population growth and the commercial revolution, but shortages of forest fuel began to emerge.
2. 1040–1090Xuzhou (area related to Su Shi's tenure as prefect) · Xuzhou CityIn the first half of the 11th century, a forest crisis in North China drove widespread use of coal for civilian and industrial purposes. Su Shi's 'Song of Coal' describes coal as 'fit for casting gold and iron'; chemical analysis and texts indicate Song blast furnaces had begun replacing part of the charcoal with coal and coke. Water-powered bellows were also adopted in iron smelting to raise furnace temperature and output.
3. 1101–1110Song dynasty blast furnace site at Kuangshan Village · Wu'an CityRemains of large Northern Song iron-smelting furnaces survive at Kuangshan Village in Wu'an and elsewhere; the furnace bodies used an open-top shaft structure, supported externally by wooden frames and rammed earth or built into hillside caves. At this time the Cizhou iron industry supplied large quantities of pig iron for weapons, farm tools, and coinage; Song furnace design and the use of mineral fuels represent the mature form of pre-modern iron-smelting technology.