514 Sino-Iranica 



to import the alloy from China, and their HonzO (Pen ts*ao) give for- 

 mulas for its preparation. 1 The Koreans read the same word not or 

 not-st. The French missionaries explain it as "composition de differents 

 m£taux qui sert a faire les cuilleres, etc. Airain, cuivre jaune (premiere 

 quality). Cuivre rouge et plomb." 2 



The history of zinc in the East is still somewhat obscure; at least, 

 it so appears from what the historians of the metal have written about 

 the subject. I quote from W. R. Ingalls: 3 "It is unknown to whom is 

 due the honor of the isolation of zinc as a metal, but it is probable that 

 the discovery was first made in the East. In the sixteenth century zinc 

 was brought to Europe from China and the East Indies under the name 

 of tutanego (whence the English term tutenegue), and it is likely that 

 knowledge of it was obtained from that source at an earlier date. . . . 

 The production of zinc on an industrial scale was first begun in England; 

 it is said that the method applied was Chinese, having been introduced 

 by Dr. Isaac Lawson, who went to China expressly to study it. In 1740 

 John Champion erected works at Bristol and actually began the manu- 

 facture of spelter, but the production was small, and the greater part 

 used continued to come from India and China." The fact that in the 

 eighteenth century the bulk of zinc which came to Europe was shipped 

 from India is also emphasized by J. Beckmann, 4 who, writing in 1792, 

 regretted that it was then unknown where, how, and when this metal 

 was obtained in India, and in what year it had first been brought over 

 to Europe. According to the few notices of the subject, he continues, it 

 originates from China, from Bengal, from Malakka, and from Malabar, 

 whence also copper and brass are obtained. On the other hand, W. 

 Ainslie 5 states that by far the greater part of zinc which is met with 

 in India is brought from Cochin-China or China, where both the cala- 

 mine and blende are common. Again, S. Julien 6 informs us that zinc 

 is not mentioned in ancient books, and appears to have been known in 

 China only from the beginning of the seventeenth century. 



W. Hommel 7 pleaded for the origin of zinc-production in India, 

 whence it was obtained by the Chinese. He does not know, of course, 

 that there is no evidence for such a theory in Chinese sources. The 



1 Geerts, Produits, p. 641; F. de Mely, Lapidaire chinois, p. 42. 



2 Dictionnaire cor£en-francais, p. 291. 



1 Production and Properties of Zinc, pp. 2-3 (New York and London, 1902). 



4 Op. cit., Vol. Ill, p. 408. 



s Materia Indica, Vol. I, p. 573. 



8 Industries de l'empire chinois, p. 46. 



7 Chemiker-Zeitung, 1912, p. 905. 



