Everyone has heard of Xiang Yu The story of burning the Afang Palace,
I have always had a question, how to put out the fire in ancient times if there was a fire?
You think in ancient times, you used candle oil lamps, and lived in wooden houses. If there were fires in the war, how did our ancestors come step by step?
In this issue, please follow Brother Xiaoma's perspective and take you from the primitive society to see the Republic of China and see what the ancients did to prevent fire.
Primitive clan
In the primitive clan period, people gathered in groups to form tribes, and most tribes dug trenches around. The trenches can not only block the attacks of wild beasts and other tribes, but also have the ability to prevent fire. This trenches are called "fireway", and are also the prototype of the current fire isolation belt .
Today, most people use fire to burn a way in the forest belt. This is a standard fire belt. The fire belt generally follows the ridge, just like an Great Wall .
For example, the following figure is
So you can imagine that this technology was already used by people thousands of years ago!
In addition to the isolation belt, people realized that wooden buildings are prone to fire, so they adopted an isolation technology, one is to apply moist soil on the outside of the flammable wooden columns to form a non-combustible protective layer. As early as the Neolithic Dadiwan culture, a "fire protection layer" constructed by soil was discovered, and a layer of sturdy fire-resistant coating was applied to the wooden pillars.
Wooden columns for soil fire protection in Dadiwan culture
The second is to use building materials that are not so easy to burn, such as using rammed earth wall and brick and stone walls. Archaeological excavations have proved that in the Longshan culture period 4,600 years ago, rammed earth walls that can effectively prevent fire had appeared, completing the transition from burn-in walls (wood bone mud walls) to non-burning walls.
chengzijia cheng wall construction scene
The fire prevention thinking of the ancestors is actually very simple. Isolate things that are prone to fire, or reduce the amount, so that they can't burn it.
Shangzhou time
Then once a fire catches, it is always necessary to put out the fire. At this time, water storage is the key to putting out the fire, and people have designed many water storage tools for this. Since , Shang Dynasty , people have started to use water tanks to store water to extinguish fires. In many Qing palace dramas, we can also see that there is a large water tank in the palace every few meters, called "Menhai", " auspicious tank ", and "Taiping Cylinder". Water should be kept in the tank all year round, keep the water quality in the tank clean in summer, and in winter, ignite the water tank to heat it to prevent the water in the tank from freezing, so as to ensure that once a fire occurs, water can be taken to put out the fire at any time.
Taiping Cylinder in the Forbidden City
Although this kind of water tank can store a large amount of water, it has low mobility. Think about it, the tank is tall and requires a ladder when fetching water, so it is easy to sprinkle water, and when extinguishing the fire, the firefighter needs to be close to the fire scene, which is very risky.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the settlement had developed into cities. The layout of the city divides people from all walks of life into different regions through division. "The Book of Zhou Li·Kaogong Ji" records that "the craftsman is in the country, with nine miles in size and three gates next to it, and nine regular and nine latitudes in the country."
This clearly shows that the city not only has a grid layout, but also uses road walls to prevent fire. In Mandarin, Zhou Yu, it is also recorded that "there are cabbages and forests in the tent, so it is to prevent disasters..." The depressions in the suburbs of the city and the water surface in the garden can be used to defend against fires.
In TV series, we often see shouting in the middle of the night: "The sky is dry, be careful of the fire candle" actually appeared in the Zhou Dynasty."The Literature of Zhou·Tianguan" records that in the spring and autumn seasons of each year, Gong Zheng, who is in charge of the safety of fire use in the palace, would shake Mudu to remind everyone to pay attention to fire prevention.
However, what the Zhou Dynasty officials held was not Gong but a wooden bell, a kind of copper bell with wooden handles.
Overall, in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, from urban planning, garden construction, and personnel supervision, it has been said that disaster prevention work is already in place.
Qin and Han
let us push time to Qin and Han dynasties. It’s not that Xiao Ma Ge intentionally skipped Spring and Autumn Warring States Period , but because it is difficult to develop a large-scale city in troubled times, there is no essential progress in disaster prevention technology.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, the unified of was realized, and urban planning technology became more and more mature. At this time, the fire prevention theory of cities began to appear. For example, Eastern Han thirteenth generation grandson of Xunzi Xun Yue "Shenjian·Miscellaneous Words" says: "One is defense, two is rescue, and three is warrant. Before it happens, it is called defense. If it is triggered and stopped, it is called rescue. If it is done and blamed, it is called warning. Prevention is the best, and saves second, and warning is the lowest." Disaster prevention is the best strategy. After all, preventing fires will not cause losses. This is also the least costly practice~
At this time, the clearest picture of Xun Yue on the Internet, Xiaoma Ge tried his best.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, with the rapid development of architectural technology, people began to express fire prevention metaphors through some symbolic designs. The most famous one is " caisson ".
The term "caitae" was first seen in Hanfu . The caisson first appeared on the top of the Yungang Grottoes in Northern Wei and the Longmen Grottoes in . The appearance of the caisson is like a concave well, and the "well" is decorated with algae, so it is called a caisson. The earliest caisson in existence is the caisson on , Dule Temple Guanyin Pavilion. In essence, this thing has no effect on building structures, it is used to protect building fire safety.
Guanyin Pavilion caisson
Why does this decoration of caisson metaphor for fire prevention? According to the folk reading " Fengshutong " of Han Dynasty, "The palace is a courtyard. The well is the image of the east well. The water is the object of the water. It is all because of the fire." In other words, the caisson is a well on the ceiling, and many of the pattern decorations of the caisson also come from aquatic plants such as water and lotus. They are all things in the water, which means fire prevention. The term "
caisson also means the meaning of the East Well Star Constellation. It is recorded in the earliest existing astronomical document "Records of the Grand Historian: Tianguan Book" written by the great historian of the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian, (about 145 BC or 135 BC) in my country: "The eight stars in the East Well are the main water Heng." Dongjing is well situated , the name of the star official is one of the twenty-eight constellations, and there are eight stars. The ancients believed that it was the main water.
To sum up, it is a well built at the highest point of the palace and pavilion, and decorate it with lotus, water lilies, lotus root and other algae aquatic plants, all of which are hoped to suppress the fire demon.
Later, the caisson became more and more exaggerated, and some made a vortex:
Some put gossip on it
The palace directly invited the dragon king.
did not satisfying in drawing, and there are also carved dragons
In my opinion, this is the ancient version of fire sprinkler
But we can really spray water now, what's the truth~
At this time, the component that raised the roof of the ancient building is called " chubby ", and is mostly the animals in the water such as fish tail, dragon head, dragon tail, etc.
The dynasty gradually evolved into a dragon shape, and in fact it was the beginning of the symbol of preventing fire through water beasts.
Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty was the peak of urban development in my country, Chang'an was the largest city in the world at that time, with a population of more than 1 million. Such a super-large city must consider disaster prevention.Therefore, dozens of kilometers of moats were established outside Chang'an City , and there are also many water bodies of palace gardens to prevent fire. There are canals and ditches on both sides of the street.
Zhuque Street
In the Tang Dynasty, the Chang'an court had an official position as "Jinwu Guard", which was in charge of patrolling and guarding the palace and the capital day and night. The public security fire protection organization with the "Wuhoupu" was built at the grassroots level: 100 people in the big city gate, 30 people in the big city gate, 20 people in the small city gate, and 5 people in the small city gate, forming a public security fire protection network system throughout the city.
Chang'an layout map of Tang Dynasty
What did you think of when you saw the above picture? Is
exactly the same as the reconstruction of Catania ? Yes, the development of cities is convergent, because everyone has a purpose - fire prevention.
During the Tang Dynasty, people began to use leather bags and splash tubes to extinguish fires. When I arrived at Northern Song , I had water bags, water bags, pumps, and slags for easy carrying tools. When there is a fire, everyone uses these tools to extinguish the fire, which is similar to today's fire extinguishers.
Firefighting equipment recorded in " Wujing Zongyao "
Does it seem like there are quite a lot of tools? In fact, these tools are very primitive and are essentially no different from modern water guns. For example, the water bag is made of horse or cow's skin, which can hold three or four hundred kilograms of water, remove the bamboo joints in the middle of the long bamboo pole and tie it to the bag mouth. When there is a fire danger, three or five strong men grab bamboo with the help of the bag mouth, and the water will spray along the bamboo barrel towards the fire. But do you think how much water can you put even if you make a water bag with cowhide? It is extremely troublesome to move such heavy things around, and that pump is even more dropping in the bucket. I think it's not left to use the bucket to get it quickly.
Song Dynasty
Time came to the Song Dynasty, which was also the era of the fastest development of fire prevention technology. Song Dynasty Due to the prosperity of the private economy, urban construction in various places began to pay attention to fire prevention. For example, the capital of the Song Dynasty, Bianjing, is , Kaifeng .
The capital of the Song Dynasty moved from Chang'an to Kaifeng. Kaifeng City The central urban area of five lakes and four rivers surrounded the urban area, with a water area of more than 220 hectares, accounting for about 1/10 of the built-up area of Kaifeng's central urban area. It is known as the "Northern Water City". Therefore, Kaifeng City is full of water systems, and the urban area is divided through the water system to prevent fire.
Today we look at the Qingming River Map of each dynasty, which is surrounded by Qushui River, and the scenery of the water city is full of scenery.
Promote tile houses on buildings. clay tiles itself is fired at a high temperature of thousands of degrees and has stronger fire resistance. No matter how long the high temperature weather is experienced, the strength of the roof tiles and fire-retardant properties can ensure that the roof is safe and sound!
Song Dynasty tiles unearthed from Japan
tile This thing is actually Western Zhou , but it is mostly used in palace buildings. Since the Song Dynasty, most cities have also started to use tiles.
Fire Lane is a common name for streets and alleys commonly used in South . It was founded in Southern Song when the Song and Jin dynasties fought. It was not only designed for fire prevention, but also convenient for combat use.
In the 13th year of Chunxi in the Song Dynasty (1186), a fire broke out in the famous commercial district of Nan City (now the area around the Catyu Tower), and more than 10,000 houses were burned. In order to eliminate future troubles, Zhao Shanjun, the governor of Ezhou, made a quick decision and took measures to "fire alleys". "Shi Nan City, Shanjun urgently went to see things, relaxed the bamboo and wood tax, mobilized the people, opened ancient ditches, and created fire alleys to eliminate future troubles." The cities in the south are built along the river, with the alleys curved and narrow. The fire lanes created by the Southern Song Dynasty are wide and straight, and there are open drainage ditches on both sides of the lane, so that the fire across the street will not spread.
Fire alley is wider than traditional alleys and alleys, which is also conducive to travel and marching.Fire Lane, as a road lower than the "street", has also spread to other northern cities.
There was already a dedicated firefighting army in the Song Dynasty, called Army patrol , guarding corners. The responsibility of military patrol shops is to extinguish fires and prevent fires. This is also the world's first urban fire brigade established by the state.
At that time, "The fire ban in Kyoto was very strict. It was midnight. Both officials and people must turn off the lights regularly and do not violate the situation." At night, soldiers from patrol shops walked around the streets and urged residents to turn off the lights on time to eliminate the fire hazards.
The group of people at the door are the anti-corner
The "Wanghuo Tower" has also been established in Kaifeng City, which means that fire prevention facilities have become part of urban construction. In order to discover the fire in time, the government also built a fire building with hope on high ground. According to the records of " Tokyo Menghualu ", there are people watching the building day and night, and there are several houses downstairs, hundreds of soldiers stationed, and various fire-fighting equipment are equipped. Once the soldiers on the roof find the fire, they can rush to the fire scene to extinguish the fire as soon as possible. The Fire Watch Tower, also known as the Fire Watch Tower, is the earliest fire station in China.
Wanghuolou in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"
Finally, let's talk about the fire fighting tools of the Song Dynasty. At this time, people were still using pumps, but they had upgraded to "water dragon". It is not like the pump in the Tang Dynasty that absorbs water and sprays as much water, but the internal water rod is wrapped with a layer of cotton wool to increase air tightness. When used, pull the movable water rod, use atmospheric pressure to press the water into the cylinder, and then aim at the ignition place to push the water forcefully. By pressurizing, the pressure of the water head can be increased. Compared with the "toy water gun" in the Tang Dynasty, it is still much more advanced.
"Water Dragon" consists of an oval large wooden barrel, two copper piston cylinders and a cross-bar. When used, it starts the cross-bar to drive the piston and spray water out of the water conveyor belt with pressure. Now we look at the water dragon. All the elements on it are for extinguishing fires, which shows how much fire prevention in the city is valued.
Shuilong in the Qing Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The government began to set up fire protection shops, and were equipped with water buckets, cloud ladder , fire hooks and other fire-fighting equipment. The earliest fire-fighting equipment was the rattan water gun.
The Luanyiwei warehouse in the Ming Dynasty had particularly strict fire protection facilities. Every seven houses are vacant, filled with three-piece soil until the roof, forming a 5-meter-thick firewall. From the outside, it is a house without doors and windows, but from the inside, it is a 5-meter-thick firewall. The main function of these firewalls is that when the building catches fire, the scattered Mars will not enter other rooms with the airflow, causing a larger fire.
Forbidden City Luanyiwei Headquarters
The Hui style horse head wall we are familiar with today also originated from the Ming Dynasty during the Hongzhi period . Huizhou In order to solve the problem of fire prevention in the crowded buildings in the city, He Xin, the prefect of the city, created the " firewall ", which was later promoted. Each household built its own firewall and beautified and decorated, making it look like a tall horse head. Therefore, the "horse head wall" with "pink walls and black tiles" became an important feature of Hui style architecture .
Qing Dynasty
Time came to the Qing Dynasty. During the Kangxi period, a fire squad (machine bucket) was opened, Kangxi , Yongzheng , and Qianlong dynasties, with no less than 200 people. According to the "Qing Dynasty Hui Dian", there were 308 copper and iron tanks filled with large belly in the Forbidden City . At this time, the water tank is supported by the water dragon equipment, so it is more convenient to get water when extinguishing the fire.
At this time, the water dragon has evolved into a simple fire truck with wheels. In addition to using water dragons, firefighters also have buckets, buckets, gongs, line numbers, torches and oil lamps, large flags and small flags (big and small flags are all in blue background and white), ladders (bamboo), alarm bells, hooks, knife saws, axes, leashes, lanterns, cloaks, hats, and fire vests, which basically form the complete set of equipment of the ancient fire brigade.
After the thirteenth year of the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty (1881 AD), the Qing government purchased a large number of Western fire-fighting equipment - rickshaw-style water dragons, and hired 50 husbands to rescue the fire. After watching the scene of the water dragon extinguishing fire, the Qing Dynasty poet Wu Dongfa also wrote a poem for him. The description of "several people work hard to move the cardinal, breathing and sending left and right" vividly shows the infinite power of the water dragon.
Railway -type water dragon
After transformation, the water dragon can be activated with a motor, and the water dragon is also upgraded to a machine dragon.
Republic of China
In the Republic of China period, there was " candle car ", also known as fire extinguishing trains and firetrucks or fire trucks. They are specialized in firefighters. On the one hand, they transport firefighters to the firefighters, and on the other hand, they help pump water to extinguish fires, and use a mobile ladder to help firefighters go upstairs and shoot water to extinguish fires. The wooden boards on both sides can stand. At the end of the article, let me spread a fun little knowledge to you. In ancient times, most buildings had no hooks on the doors, which means that plaques were usually placed on the city gates, palace gates, hall gates, and temple gates of ancient buildings to indicate the name of the building, but as long as the word "gate" appears, the writing method is usually the same, that is, the last stroke of the word "gate" does not have a hook.
The Ming Dynasty "Ma Shi Ricopal" records: "The Song Dynasty capital Lin'an Yudie Hall disaster, and it extended to the hall gate. The prime minister used the character "door" with a foot hook, which was accompanied by a fire pen, so it caused a fire. The quotation was withdrawn and the fire was extinguished. Most people who wrote the door forehead did not hook the feet." The ancients believed that the character "door" with a hook would bring fire trouble, so if the character "door" appeared in the later royal buildings, they did not have hooks to avoid the suspicion of "fire hook".
Whether it is the grid layout of the city, the evolution of fire protection facilities, or the structure and metaphor of building fire protection, they are the crystallization of Chinese national wisdom. I also hope that everyone can protect Chinese fire in the design project and pay attention to fire protection. After all, only with a safe environment can you have a better life.
OK, that's all for this issue. I am Xiaoma Ge, a person who focuses on fire prevention. Ant landscape, seeing the big from the small, let's see you next time~
