The tinderbox city: The industrialisation of fire disasters in Hankou, China, 1849–1944

Q2 Arts and Humanities
Chris Courtney
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

One winter evening in 1849 the Yangzi River caught fire. The conflagration broke out on a sampan moored between Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang, the three sister cities known today as Wuhan.3 Here, the harbours were so crowded that observers often described how a ‘forest of masts’ seemed to stretch out to the horizon.4 This forest was now ablaze. The poet Ye Diaoyuan immortalised the disastrous scenes, describing a cacophony of gongs beaten to warn of the oncoming inferno, ash floating into the air, and water turning red in the flickering light of the flames. The fire consumed all vessels in its path, from humble cargo sampans to ornate flower boats (huachuan)—a euphemism for floating brothels. Those aboard were trapped ‘like fish swimming in a cauldron’, yet if they jumped into the river they faced the very probable risk of drowning. So many chose this latter option that Ye remarked
火药桶城市:1849-1944年中国汉口火灾的工业化
1849年的一个冬夜,长江发生了火灾。大火发生在停泊在汉口、武昌和汉阳之间的一艘舢板上,这三座城市今天被称为武汉。3这里的港口非常拥挤,以至于观察者经常描述“桅杆森林”是如何延伸到地平线的。4这片森林现在正在燃烧。诗人叶调元将灾难性的场景永垂不朽,他描述了为警告即将到来的地狱而敲锣打鼓的刺耳声音,灰烬漂浮在空中,水在闪烁的火焰中变红。大火烧毁了沿途的所有船只,从简陋的货运舢板到华丽的花船(华船),这是漂浮妓院的委婉说法。船上的人被困“就像在大锅里游泳的鱼”,但如果他们跳进河里,他们很可能会面临溺水的风险。许多人选择了后一种选择,叶说
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来源期刊
International Review of Environmental History
International Review of Environmental History Arts and Humanities-History
CiteScore
0.50
自引率
0.00%
发文量
11
审稿时长
26 weeks
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