Fire brick in China: From mining to architecture

Abstract

Focusing on fire brick, an industry-based approach is adopted to address the development of refractory material in China. Fire brick was introduced into China in the mid-nineteenth century and stimulated wide application in modern structures afterwards, but it has received very little attention from historians. The study largely depends on different archival materials, rare books, and fieldwork. It reveals, for the first time, that fire brick was locally produced in China starting from the turn of the twentieth century, and that the development pioneered the path to modern ceramics in China thanks to coal mines and industrial constructions. The research opens a broad historical picture of knowledge circulation between Asia, Europe, and the USA, and exposes the scientific value in the historical materials today. It draws further conclusions regarding China’s modern shift from traditional to western brickmaking system, as discussed in 5ICCH.