Huangjinliucaoduishiqizaoyelianjiyi
01 · Historical Records
In January 2002, Zhaoyuan was designated as the "Gold Capital of China." Gold mining and smelting in Zhaoyuan originated in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and had already become prosperous by the Song dynasty. The craft of gold sluice, stone-heap smelting-furnace smelting is an invention of the people of Zhaoyuan; passed down from the Song dynasty to the present, it has a history of over a thousand years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Zhaoyuan City in Shandong Province is China's largest gold mining and smelting base, with gold veins distributed throughout its territory. The craft employs tools such as iron hammers, stone mortars, stone mills, stone rollers, sluices, winnowing baskets, and ceramic vessels (or crucibles); the entire production process—including crushing, grinding, sluicing, and smelting—is carried out entirely by hand. This ancient mining and smelting craft has long played an important role, and its gravity separation method is still in use today.
Archival Records of the Production Process
The craft of gold sluice, stone-heap smelting-furnace smelting employs tools such as iron hammers, stone mortars, stone mills, stone rollers, sluices, winnowing baskets, and ceramic vessels (or crucibles); the entire production process—including crushing, grinding, sluicing, and smelting—is carried out entirely by hand.
Crushing the ore
Hammer and mortar break the run-of-mine ore into fist-sized lumps.
Grinding the ore
Mortar and mill grind the lumps into even fine sand, the precondition for cleaning.
Rushing the sluice
Sand is shoveled onto a sluice where water carries off the lighter gangue and leaves the heavier gold on felt.
Panning with the dustpan
The concentrate is shaken in a dustpan until lighter sand slips away and the gold remains.
Stone-hearth smelting
Ore is smelted in clay crucibles set on stone-built hearths and cast into ingots.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
This craft is not concentrated in towns and cities in Zhaoyuan, but is scattered among villages along the gold-mining belt. Jiucu Jiangjia Village in Fushan Town, Zhaoyuan City, is one of the better-preserved sites. The inter-village division of labor within this integrated mining-and-smelting chain is as follows: villages where veins outcrop are responsible for drilling and quarrying rock; villages at valley mouths handle ore grinding and sluicing; villages near water sources handle smelting and ingot casting; and the villages are linked by donkeys carrying ore and semi-finished products between them. In terms of tools, almost every village has its own complete set of iron hammers, stone mortars, stone mills, stone rollers, sluices, winnowing baskets, and ceramic vessels (crucibles)—crude implements, yet each corresponds exactly to the particle size of the ore: the stone mortar crushes coarse ore, the stone roller grinds fine sand, the sluice separates gold particles using water flow and gravity, and the winnowing basket handles the final manual sorting. This division of labor had already taken shape in the Song dynasty, and was only gradually replaced by modern ore-dressing equipment thereafter. Into the twentieth century, some villages still used the old sluice gravity-separation method, because uneven ore grades mean manual sorting has an irreplaceable role. After Zhaoyuan was named the Gold Capital of China in January 2002, the scale of gold mining grew daily, yet the number of artisans who can fully carry out this manual process has become fewer and fewer.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The craft of gold sluice, stone-heap smelting-furnace smelting can not only serve as a reference for guiding today's gold production, but also possesses important historical, cultural, and scientific research value in itself. Because the craft is transmitted mainly through oral instruction and personal demonstration, mastery of the technique relies entirely on individual experience, and it lacks theoretical synthesis and scientific documentation, the number of people who now master this traditional craft is small and shows a declining trend. It is an urgent priority to protect this craft as soon as possible and facilitate its smooth transmission.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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