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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 |