The iron smelting technology in ancient China was more developed than in the West, but why was plate

The appearance of European plate armor was not accidental, but the result of scientific and technological development, thanks to the fact that around 1400, there was a major breakthrough in materials science, that is, the invention of the blast furnace: the rise in the combustion temperature made it possible to cast iron (before that it was all block iron), and the production of steel increased significantly. On the other hand, the advent of hydraulic forging machines and the development of metallurgical technology under the guidance of Renaissance science laid the foundation for a leap in armor technology in this era, making the 15th century an era of great development in plate armor forming.

It was quickly discovered that the protective power of plate armor and the flexibility brought to soldiers under the same weight were unmatched by other iron armors, and it also provided more convenient conditions for hot and cold processing. Whether it is chain mail, scale armor, or armor, because its constituent elements (small iron rings, armor pieces, etc.) are too small, the processing is extremely cumbersome, which not only consumes manpower, but also makes it difficult to process and strengthen.

It is believed that the reversal of the situation of the Hundred Years' War between England and France in the middle of the 14th century was not unrelated to the invention of plate armor. The confrontation of plate armor with the English longbow is considered a typical example of the "shield" surpassing the "spear".

At the same time, it is also a sign of the maturity of plate armor. From the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th century, plate armor entered its heyday. It also ushered in a new period in history.

Since there are so many benefits of plate armor, why can't China make it? The reason is very simple, because China does not have any of the technologies such as blast furnace steelmaking and hydraulic forging machines required to manufacture plate armor! To put it bluntly, ancient China's science and technology were too backward to make plate armor, and any other rhetoric was purely to make excuses for backwardness in science and technology, and the truth of the matter is this!

Iron is made of iron ore smelting, the emergence of iron has made epoch-making progress in human history, at the same time, it has also made our daily life more convenient, so that our quality of life has been further improved, and we are inspired to continue to pursue a better quality of life.

The world's first iron-smelters were the Hittites, who lived in Asia Minor around 1400 BC. From 1300 BC to 1100 BC, ironmaking was introduced to the Two Rivers and Ancient Egypt, while parts of Europe entered the Iron Age around 1000 BC. However, pig iron smelting at that time was block iron smelting, and it was not until the end of the Middle Ages (about 1400) that hydraulic blast furnaces were invented in Europe.

The date of the beginning of the use of iron in China has not yet been determined, and the earliest iron found belongs to the Spring and Autumn period, and most of these iron tools were found in Changsha, Hunan. After the middle of the Warring States period, the unearthed iron tools were widely used in different fields, so that the use of iron tools promoted the development of agriculture and handicrafts in ancient China. In addition, in terms of agriculture, from the beginning of the barbaric farming technology, to the bronze tools of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, to the iron farming tools of the Spring and Autumn periods, the progress of science and technology promoted the development of agriculture, and the iron plough and ox ploughing finally became the main farming method in ancient Chinese agriculture.

In terms of handicrafts, many iron tools appeared, which not only improved the efficiency of the handicraft industry, but also improved people's quality of life, and promoted the great progress of the ancient handicraft industry.

In terms of operations, the armies in Chu, Yan and other regions were basically equipped with iron equipment, which not only improved the combat effectiveness of the army, but also boosted the morale of officers and soldiers and promoted the unification of ancient feudal society. In addition, during the Warring States period, iron tools were also introduced to Japan through Korea. During the Western Han Dynasty, the application of iron tools was more extensive, and there was a significant improvement in quantity and quality.

By the Eastern Han Dynasty, iron became the most important tool.

According to the metallographic examination of early ironware, it was found that the lump iron and pig iron in our country may have been produced at the same time. Moreover, from the late Spring and Autumn Period to the early Warring States Period, it was an important development stage in the history of ironmaking during the Warring States Period.

At this time, the early block iron smelting had been improved to block carburizing steel, and the white pig iron had developed into malleable cast iron.

In the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, the rise of gray iron and cast iron decarburized steel, followed by the emergence of a new process of pig iron frying steel (including wrought iron).

During the Han Dynasty, Du Shi invented the water drain, which was a tool for blasting wind to smelt iron. At that time, people used water drains to smelt metals, and made all kinds of iron tools for production and life, which not only enriched people's spare time, but also allowed people to find more fun in busy agricultural production, so that metal smelting tools have made great progress, which is in a leading position in the whole world. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, frying steel and 100 steelmaking continued to develop, and in the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the steel filling process appeared.

At that time, it was able to produce white pig iron, hemp pig iron, gray pig iron, white and black malleable cast iron, and even the "ancient Chinese spherical graphite cast iron" which was very similar to the metallographic structure of modern ductile iron. In addition to alloy cast iron and ductile iron, which was successfully developed in 1947 and used magnesium and rare earth metals as nodularizing agents, the raw Huai brigade iron products in the world today are still these kinds. It can be seen that the ironmaking technology of the Han Dynasty in China has reached a mature stage.

The steel technology of the Han Dynasty in China was far ahead in the world at that time. As early as the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, China's steel products were transmitted to Europe through the famous Silk Road. The first-century Roman scholar Pliny wrote in his book The Naturalist that in the European market at that time "although there were many types of steel, none of them could be comparable to steel from China".