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- CAST IRON TECHNOLOGY IN CHINA
The Chinese bell in Victoria is made of cast iron. Iron in China is a symbol of firmness, strength, determination, integrity and justice. Cast iron cannot be forged so it has to be immediately cast in the desired shape. Its special qualities are its hardness and its resistance to corrosion.
From archaeological evidence, it appears that the emergence of an iron metallurgy for the making of tools occurred at least as early as the 6th century B.C. in China, but both wrought and cast iron were not perfected and widely used until the 5th century B.C. Iron smelting developed at a fast pace from then on, using charcoal as the principal source of fuel for smelting.
Casting of iron pots, illustration from Tiangong kaiwu.
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