Figur 24
A pair of fining hearths in Dabieshan, drawn by E. T. Nyström, ca. 1916. In the background a traditional Chinese ‘windbox’ (fengxiang, double-action piston bellows), in the foreground a plate of cast iron and a bar of wrought iron. Fining hearths were often built in pairs and operated in shifts because the hearth suffered less damage from the heat if it was allowed to cool between uses. (Reproduced with the kind permission of Tom Nyström and the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm).

Background to the Great Leap Forward