关于中国古代煤炭历史研究的几个基本问题

Some Fundamental Issues on Coal History Research in Ancient China

中国是世界上发现、开采和利用煤炭最早的国家之一。煤炭的开采和利用对于中国古代的社会进步和经济发展曾产生过重要作用。煤炭经历了漫长的演进过程,煤炭的来源众说纷纭,国内学术界尚未形成共识。在古代中国的不同时期和不同地域,煤炭曾有数十个不同的名称。用手工生产煤炭的场所统称为煤窑。古人对煤炭的利用经历了饰物、装饰品、生产生活燃料等过程,煤炭在中国古代的用途相当广泛。

China is one of the earliest countries in the world that discovered, mined and utilized coal. Coal mining and utilization played a vital role in promoting social progress and economic development in ancient times of China. The coal has undergone a long evolution process. Opinions differ as to the evolution of coal, and the domestic academia hasn＇t yet arrived at a consensus. In different periods and different regions of ancient China, more than ten different names were given to coal. The place where coal was mined manually was called the coal pit. The utilization of coal in the past took on different scenarios, first as ornaments, then as decorations, and finally as fuels for production and livelihood, which shows that coal was utilized for various purposes in the remote past in China.