Following up on Chinese Economy: The Introduction of Paper Money, this week we’ll discuss the Chinese Economy from the standpoint of its iron industry.
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Early human history is usually studied in three periods: the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages.
As far back as the Shang Dynasty (1600-1100BC), the Chinese people began to learn to use iron. From what has survived archaeologists and historians have learned that the Shang were skilled workers in bone, jade, ceramics, stone, wood, shells, and bronze.
The Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) saw rapid development of the iron industry. Before the Iron Age, before the advent of iron smelting, the main source of the metal was meteoric iron. Early cultures used meteorites to craft weapons and jewelry long before anyone knew how to extract iron from ore.
It took thousands of years for people to make iron. To make bronze, you combine tin and copper, melting them at about 950 degrees Celsius. Iron needs a furnace that can handle 1,538 degrees Celsius. A big advantage with iron was that you only need one metal.
In the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), iron smelting technology made further progress, as indicated by the appearance of various kinds of furnaces, the use of refractory materials and bellows that were made of leather and powered by human strength.
China has become the leading iron ore consuming nation. Producing more than half of the world's steel, it does not have comparable iron ore reserves, making it heavily reliant on imports of the key input.
China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG), a centralized buying agency for iron ore created in July 2022, is set to be the world's biggest iron ore buyer, acting on behalf of 20 the largest Chinese steelmakers.
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