The match industry in China has developed from 1927 to 1937, which provides some noteworthy points for us to study the development characteristics of modern industry in China from the perspective of an industry. The strong will of the national industry to survive and develop, and the efforts of the national government to raise the tariff rate have made gratifying achievements in China's match industry in resisting the dumping of foreign goods and expanding the living space of domestic products. However, the poor living standard and weak purchasing power of farmers caused by the backward rural economy in modern China fundamentally restricted the development of national match industry. The fierce competition in the narrow market has made the young match industry in China take the road of "control" of the industry very early.
In recent years, the theory that matches were invented in 577 AD by the Northern Qi Palace in China during the Southern and Northern Dynasties prevailed. 1986 British temple said in his book China-a country of invention and discovery: "The first match in the world was invented by China people in 577 AD." At that time, "Beiqi was attacked on both sides and lacked materials. Especially the lack of fire for cooking and heating. In desperation, a group of poor maids in Northern Qi magically invented matches. "
Temple's statement should be based on the article "Sending Candles" in Tao's Record of Dropping Out of Farming at the End of Yuan Dynasty and Early Ming Dynasty: "Cutting pine into small pieces as thin as paper, melting sulfur and coating sawdust on the top is called" sending candles "or" national quintessence ",and the cover is also used to get angry instead of lamps and candles. In the sixth year (AD 577), the poor in Qi made a living by sending candles, which was done by Hangzhou people. " However, from the analysis of the article, we can see that the original matches (candles) were not magically invented by poor ladies-in-waiting, but these pampered concubines were so poor that they had to make candles and sell them after death to make a living. In Zi Jian, there is a record that "Chen founded the country in nine years, his concubines were poor, and he made a living by selling candles". The difference between "making" and "selling" has caused confusion in understanding.
But one thing is certain, that is, in the Five Dynasties, Gu Tao clearly stated in Qing Louis that "there is an urgent matter at night, and it is difficult to make it light." A wise man approved the Chinese fir strips dyed with sulfur and put them aside for use. When they met the fire, they got the flame. Since he is a god, he calls for light slaves. Change the name if you have the goods today. "Therefore, the earliest matches, that is, candles, should have been invented before 950 AD (the time when Louis of the Qing Dynasty was written). By the Song Dynasty, sending candles had become a common commodity (see "Old Wulin Story Little Broker"). There is also an important historical material about the invention of this primitive match. In the Song Dynasty, Gao Cheng recorded in the article "Fa Candle" in Ji Yuan Shi: "King Huai of Han invited alchemists, Yan Bagong and others to write" Hongtu ". The law candle is one of them, and the others are not in a hurry for the people, so it cannot be used in the world. However, it started in Liu An. "The method of candle mentioned here is the candle match later. If Gao Cheng's statement is credible, the earliest matches should have been invented by early alchemists in the 2nd century AD. Since sulfur is the main medicine for alchemists, it is reasonable for them to invent primitive matches.
Temple's statement is totally groundless speculation. He said that the invention of matches was due to the lack of kindling. In fact, he doesn't understand that the function of sending candles is to quickly draw flames from kindling and light candles. It is difficult to produce a flame when it is ignited from Mars. The invention of candle is really urgent for people, and the manufacturing method is simple, so it quickly became popular in the world. The use of hair candles is clearly described in Chapter 13 of Luo Guanzhong's Biography of Three Demons in Suiping, "Yong Er sells clay candles to lure the king": "There was a Shen Daizhao who refused to help the dead body and went to the workshop to ask for some kindling for him and gave it to the woman. The woman went to Laner to take out a sulfur candle, put it out on the fire and lit it from the beginning on the clay candle. "
Candle-making, also known as light slave, was also known as light slave in Qing Dynasty. This is indeed a great invention. Its function is to quickly get flame from kindling to light lamps and candles, which makes mankind take a big step in using fire. Although it is impossible to make a fire directly, it is the predecessor of modern matches. It was not invented by the maids of Qi in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but by the magician (Bagong) under the King of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BC.
Candles originated from torches in primitive times. Primitive people painted things like fat or wax on bark or sawdust, and then tied them together to make torches for lighting. Beeswax, which appeared in the 3rd century BC, may be the embryonic form of candles seen today. In the west, there was a time when bees were kept in monasteries to make beeswax. This is mainly because Catholicism believes that beeswax is a symbol of virgin conception, so it is regarded as pure light and is enshrined on the altar of the church. According to the existing literature, the time of beeswax production in China is roughly the same as that in the West. Japanese introduced this kind of candle from China in Nara period (7 10 ~ 784). Compared with modern candles, ancient candles have many disadvantages. Li Shangyin, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "How to Cut Candles in the West Window". Why do poets cut candles? At that time, the wick of the candle was made of cotton thread and stood upright in the center of the flame. Because it is impossible to burn out carbonization, it is necessary to cut off the remaining wick ends with scissors from time to time. This is undoubtedly a troublesome thing. 1820, a Frenchman, Jean Bessie, invented a wick made of three cotton threads, which made the wick loose naturally when burning, and the end just tilted to the outside of the flame, so it could burn completely. However, candles need further improvement. Its material is generally animal fat, which has many disadvantages. Chevelle and others solved this problem. 1809 From June to July, the French scientist Schaeffler received a letter from a textile factory, asking him to analyze and determine the composition of a soft soap sample they sent. He took this letter and thought for a long time, thinking: the study of soap seems to start with raw oil. In the experiment with very simple equipment at school, he studied all kinds of oils and fats needed in the saponification process. After a lot of experiments, he discovered the fact for the first time: in all oils and fats, regardless of their source, the content of fatty acids accounts for 95%, and the remaining 5% is glycerol generated in the saponification process. Through research, he found out the essence of saponification process, and at the same time made an important discovery: candles made of oil at that time, because there was glycerin in them, burned with smoke and smell. If stearic acid is used as a candle, it will not only burn brightly, but also have almost no black smoke and will not pollute the air. Schaeffler told Guy Wojciech Luczak about his findings and suggested that the two of them study how to solve the problem concretely. They saponify the oil with strong alkali, then decompose the soap with hydrochloric acid and take out stearic acid. This is a kind of white material, and it feels greasy. Candles made of it are soft and cheap. 1825, Schaeffler and Guy Lussac obtained the patent for producing paraffin wax stearin candles. The appearance of paraffin wax stearin candle opened a new era in the history of human lighting. Later, someone discovered a large oil field in North America, so a large amount of paraffin can be extracted from oil, and the ideal candle has been popularized and popularized all over the world.