Today (November 9) is National Fire Day . Among all kinds of disasters, fire is one of the most frequent and common disasters that threaten public safety.
The ancient Chinese people accumulated rich experience in fire prevention in their long-term production and life practice. Today, David He shares ancient fire prevention measures with you and feel the consistent fire prevention wisdom of the ancients.
"The sky is dry, be careful of the fire candle", this is the classic line we often play in TV series. As the name suggests, to beat people is to tell others time by hitting them. In addition to reporting time, there is another responsibility for beating people, which is to check urban fire safety and avoid large-scale fires in cities. It can be called a fire alarm.
The history of beating people can be traced back to weekly . According to the book "The Book of Zhou", the earliest officials in my country to manage fire safety were established during the Zhou Dynasty, and were called "Si Shu". The daily responsibility of the Siying Company is to patrol around the city streets, and use a wooden hammer to knock the bell to remind people to pay attention to fire prevention. The previous article mentioned that the night watchman shouted while beating the gong: "The weather is dry, be careful of the fire and candle." In fact, it was passed down from in the first week of html.
As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, in the 11th century BC, the discussion on preventing problems before they happen was first proposed in " Zhouyi ". The "Book of Changes·Second Classic" records: "The image says that water is above, and water is great for the sake of trouble. A gentleman prevents it by thinking about trouble."
At the large-scale architectural site in Dadiwan, Qin'an, Gansu, archaeologists discovered the site of the fire scene 5,000 years ago. There was a layer of solid fireproof coating on those unburned wooden pillars, which proves that our ancestors were exploring fireproof technology for a long time.
House in the early Qing Dynasty, Shen Zinan's book "Yilin Huikao" records the use of realgar to avoid fire in the Spring and Autumn Period. " Han Feizi·Yu Lao " also records: "A room with a hundred-foot foot burned by smoke from a sudden gap, so the day when the father-in-law is careful of fire, so the father-in-law has no fire." It means that a hundred-foot-high building may be burned because the fire appears in the gap in the chimney, causing a fire, so the old man is careful to cover the gap, so that the fire is not easy to occur.
Let’s look at Mozi again. In the article “Preparing the City Gate”, it says: “Save fire, shoot the fire for smoke and arrows on the city gate, chisel the fan as a stack, apply it, hold the water gutter and the leather basin to save it.” It means that if the enemy shoots rockets at the city gate and wants to burn the city gate, we must chisel the door leaf, install the wooden stack, apply it mud, and use the water gutter and the leather basin to put out the fire. The above records show that the ancestors were constantly exploring the use of realgar and other fireproof coatings to apply them to buildings to prevent fire.
In the Han Dynasty, in addition to fighting against people, there was a new fire protection artifact, that is, Wanghuo Tower. We all know that you can see far and wide by climbing a high place, and this is the principle used by Wanghuo Tower. In the Han Dynasty, Wanghuo Tower was four stories high. This height seems no big deal now, but in ancient times, houses often only had one or two floors. The four-story building of Wanghuo can be said to be a high-rise looking far away.
, and Wanghuo Tower not only has the function of observation, but also has the function of communication and command (in ancient times there was no instant communication system. If a fire occurred, it would be entirely passed on by word of mouth. When the rescue personnel arrived, it would inevitably cause greater losses). In order to solve this problem, Wanghuo Tower specially set up tools such as drums and flags upstairs, which can notify the people to escape and put out the fire through the sound of drums. The flag can better and orderly command the people to participate in fire extinguishing work. Therefore, Wanghuo Tower is a relatively effective fire warning method in ancient times, and can be regarded as an ancient "fire alarm".
During the Tang Dynasty period, the government organized a fire fighting organization specializing in fire fighting and fire fighting, and called it "Wuhoupu". At that time, the "Wuhoushou" was mainly found in major cities such as , Chang'an, , Luoyang, etc. They were usually distributed in various markets and shops.In addition to staffing, "Wuhoushu" has also begun to use some effective fire fighting tools.
Since the Tang Dynasty, leather bags and splashing tubes have been used to extinguish fires. The so-called leather bag is a water-filled tool made of animal skin, and the splashing cylinder is more advanced. According to the record of the book " Tongdian " in the Tang Dynasty: "If the enemy set fire to a fire, use thick bamboo to grow one meter long, remove the joints, use thin skin to make a bag, store three or four stones of water, and place the barrel in the bag, and tie it like a splashing barrel." Simply put, insert a bamboo tube into the water-filled belt and seal it. When extinguishing the fire, squeeze the leather bag hard and the water will spray out from the bamboo tube. Does it look a bit familiar? Yes, it is a bit similar to the modern high-pressure water gun .
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, for the needs of fire prevention, refractory materials such as bricks and tiles were widely used in buildings. At the same time, the development and utilization of stone materials, the construction of stone towers, grottoes, and carving stone statues played a positive role in preventing fires and preserving Buddhist buildings and Buddha statues. In 784 AD, Du You, a famous politician and historian of the Tang Dynasty and the author of "Tongdian", was the governor of Lingnan at that time. He introduced many new fire prevention measures and made great contributions to local fire safety.
"New Book of Tang Dynasty: Biography of Du You" states: "You are the one who opens a large street, and diffuses the fire to prevent fires." It means widening the roads, building various houses must be planned, and leaving enough space between the houses, not too dense. According to the current saying, there must be fire protection spacing . "Download a large street and analyze the electric siege", in just seven words, reveals the earliest and most typical fire protection plan in ancient my country.
Song Dynasty , based on the Tang Dynasty, the fire fighting team was upgraded even more. The world's earliest professional firefighting agency, the "Submarine Fire Team", was established. The "Submarine Fire Team" of the Song Dynasty was equipped with the most advanced fire-fighting equipment in the world at that time, such as anti-vibration equipment, barrel ropes, banners, axe saws, lanterns, fire vests and other equipment, which were all funded by the government. In addition, it is also equipped with relatively modern equipment, such as cloud ladders, which can be used to extinguish fires in high-rise buildings; the pump is the earliest fire pump ; the water bag, that is, the utensil that holds water when extinguishing fires, has a very high professional level.
After the Song Dynasty, the public fire protection system of the government actively establishing professional fire brigades was almost interrupted, but it was continued by grassroots official offices and private fire extinguishing organizations. In addition, people's fire prevention awareness is still very strong. Yuan Dynasty scientist Wang Zhen , has successively compiled " Agricultural Books " and "Miscellaneous Records", and included the fire protection technology monograph "Fa Changsheng House" and "Legal Plaster Appendix".
During the Ming Dynasty, there was a more detailed division of labor on fire prevention. The fire protection work in the palace began to be managed by the Imperial Guards, and local grassroots regimes set up general armor to be responsible for fire thieves (they took turns to stay at night, ringing, reminding people to pay attention to fire thieves). In some places, patrol shops (added shops) are set up for the general armor and firemen to rest and hide from the rain and snow.
The patrol shop is equipped with knives, guns and other weapons, firefighting equipment such as fire hooks and buckets. Some cities have also formed professional firefighting troops - Firefighters. It is mainly used to defend against fires caused by enemy fire attacks and prevent other fire hazards. Some of the fire soldiers have 50 people and some of them have 100 people. They are located in the center of the city or in places with dense buildings and crowded people. They are equipped with buckets, rattan buckets, mahjongs, bamboo ladders, axes, saws and other fire-fighting equipment. The earliest fire-fighting equipment is rattan bucket water guns.
Ming Dynasty, in 1503 AD, the prefect of Huizhou prefect He Xin pointed out: "Disasters are in the sky, and prevention is in the people. The best way to control the wall is." He organized the people to build firewalls, effectively ensuring the safety of residents' lives and property. The "He Gong Firewall" created by He Xin can block the fire and prevent the spread of fire, so it is called " Firewall ". It is one of the main features of Hui style residential buildings.
During the Qing Dynasty, fire protection was more modern, and the prototype of modern fire trucks could be seen in the Qing Dynasty.The firefighting team at that time invented a fire extinguisher called the "water dragon car". It 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 use pressure to spray water out of the water conveyor belt, which is very similar to the modern principle of fire extinguishers. This primitive fire truck had a range of 20-30 meters, and was the most advanced fire extinguishing weapon at that time.
Forbidden City Luan Yiwei warehouse, the main purpose is to preserve the emperor and queen's ceremonial guards, and the fire prevention facilities are particularly strict. 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; 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.
During the Ming Dynasty, large metal water tanks were cast in the palace. Each water tank was 1 meter high and weighed more than 1,500 kilograms, and more than 1,000 liters of water could be stored in the tank. By the Qing Dynasty, the large water tank in the palace increased to more than 300, and eunuchs were arranged to fetch water into the tank every day. In order to prevent freezing, they also had to put cotton covers on the water tank and heat the water tank with charcoal fire.
in the late Qing Dynasty , with the impact of Western civilization, in the field of fire protection, the Qing government also began to prepare for the establishment of a modern fire protection team. In 1902, the Qing government established the Fire Brigade of the Southern Section Patrol Bureau in Tianjin, becoming the first fire brigade in the modern sense in Chinese history.
Looking back, the fire protection in ancient my country took the same theory and measures, providing a good reference for the modern fire protection system.
The weather is dry and the weather is cold. The use of fire and electricity has increased significantly, and it has always been a season of frequent fires. David He reminds you that you should pay attention to preventing problems before they occur when heating and electricity.
Source: Zhujiujun, People's Information
