英文摘要 |
Yen Shu 鉛書 is a county gazetteer of Yenshan of the Jiangxi Province published in 1618. Compared with other county gazetteers, its composition format is unique. Moreover, it preserves valuable social and economic data of the ancient times. Especially noteworthy are its detailed records of technological advances in the mining and smelting of lead, copper, iron, silver and so on. More importantly, several records are drawn from works of the Song dynasty such as Yongping zhi 永平志 (a Yenshan county gazetteer in the Song times) and Jintong yaoyue 浸銅要略 (The Essentials of Steeping Copper). These data, however, have not been examined in current scholarship. This article aims to analyze both the compilation of Yen Shu and its records about advances in mining and smelting technology. |