欣闻自己Iron and steel in ancient China一书中文版即将出版的消息,我感到十分荣幸。中文版的绝大部分内容我都亲自读过,玉牛的翻译也是相当到位的。应我本人的建议,我们按照中文读者的习惯对全书结构进行了改动,删掉了部分中文读者非常熟悉、仅是有助于英文读者了解中国相关背景的介绍。
另一方面,本书英文版成书于25年前。这20多年间不断出现的新考古材料,证明原书中的一些观点已经过时。因此,我们在原有的八章内容中翻译了其中的第四到第七章。
原书第一章简要介绍了中国青铜时代的历史背景并提出青铜冶炼独立起源于中国的观点。而近些年梅建军先生及其他一些学者的研究表明该观点并不成立。第二章中提出中国古代冶铁技术可能独立起源于中国东南部的吴国。然而,根据目前在新疆发现的最早的人工冶铁材料表明,中国古代冶铁技术极有可能是独立起源于新疆或是源于某西方的非中原文化体系。而以第二章观点为基础的第三章也就没有翻译的意义了。第八章主要基于第一到第三章的过时结论,放到25年后的今天来看,自己都有些不好意思了。
原书第四和第五章(中文版第一和第二章)中的内容,并没有随着新材料的发现而有太多的变化。第六和第七章(中文版第三和第四章)主要涉及华觉明、李京华、柯俊、韩汝玢等第一代中国冶金考古工作者所发表的研究成果。中国的年轻冶金考古学者们大多也以他们的研究思路与结论为方向,而少有学者进行新方向的拓展。这两章详细阐述了冶金考古所涉及的必要冶金学知识,特别是针对那些具备一定化学基础且习惯于技术性思维的读者。当然,我希望其他读者也能够从中获益。
我由衷希望此中文译本能对那些感兴趣,或即将致力于中国古代钢铁技术史研究的同学们有所帮助。
Donald B. Wagner 华道安
2017年5月4日
Introduction to the Chinese translation of Iron and steel in ancient China.
Donald B. Wagner
4 May 2017
I feel very pleased and honoured that my book will be published in Chinese. I have read most of Yuniu Lis translation, and find that he has done an excellent job. At my request he has made this into a Chinese book: Some information in the original book is necessary for Western readers but very familiar to Chinese readers, and here he has made some cuts. At the same time he has added material that Chinese readers expect to see in a book of this type.
The book was published 25 years ago, and newer archaeological work has shown parts of it to be incorrect. Therefore, of the eight chapters of the original, this translation includes only Chapters 47.
The original Chapter 1 gave a brief history of the Bronze Age in China and argued that bronze was independently invented in China. Newer research by Prof. Mei Jianjun and others shows that this is not correct. Chapter 2 argued that iron was independently invented in Southeast China, in the ancient state of Wu , but newer research shows that the earliest iron within the present borders of China has been found in Xinjiang. There it may have been independently invented, or it may have come from the West. Chapter 3 attempted to explain the background for the invention of iron in Wu, and with our new knowledge that is now clearly irrelevant. Chapter 8, Concluding remarks, depended so heavily on the incorrect statements of Chapters 13 that it is somewhat embarrassing for me today.
Chapters 12 on historical matters(Chapters 45 in the original)have not been greatly changed by newer research. Chapters 34(Chapters 67 in the original), perhaps the most important part of the book, were based on the publications of the pioneers of Chinese archaeometallurgy: Hua Jueming, Li Jinghua, Ke Jun, Han Rubin and others. Later work by younger scholars has largely confirmed their conclusions, but little has been done in China to extend their work in new directions. These chapters put that work into the context of a general explanation of the necessary technical metallurgy. They were written especially for readers who know some chemistry and are accustomed to technical thinking, but I hope that others will also be able to profit from them.
I hope that the translation will prove useful to students beginning the study of the amazing history of iron technology in China.