There is a city called Jiuquan in Gansu Province, China. When you see this name, you will certainly think of producing fine wine here. But did you ever know that oil was produced here in ancient times?

in 578 ad, China was in the southern and northern dynasties, and the western region of China was often invaded by foreigners. Jiuquan city, located in the west of China, was also attacked by the Turkish aristocratic army. In the face of foreign troops putting siege equipment on Jiuquan City, the residents were angry. They remembered that laojunmiao, near Jiuquan, produced oil, which can burn, so they poured oil on enemy siege equipment with firearms and lit it. The blazing flame burned the siege equipment to pieces, and the enemy couldn't save it, so the siege failed. Jiuquan city has been defended, and in this defense war, it is oil that has made great contributions.

petroleum, a flammable liquid fuel, was discovered long ago in China. Oil is recorded in the Book of Changes, an ancient book in 811 BC. As early as the Western Han Dynasty in the first century BC, ancient Chinese people learned to use oil. About 1811 years ago, Ban Gu, an ancient Chinese historian, mentioned this fuel in his book Hanshu. The book says: "High slaves have water that is flammable." Gao Nu is today in Yan 'an, Shaanxi Province, where there is a river called Qingshui. "Burning" is an ancient word, which is the word "burning" today. This passage says that the water near Yan 'an can burn. Ordinary water won't burn. The water here can burn because it contains oil. This shows that people at that time knew how to use oil. Although people didn't know the name of oil at that time.

In the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, it is recorded that the "stone paint" in Jiuquan is extremely bright and inedible. "Stone paint" was what people called oil at that time. In the Tang Dynasty, oil was also called "stone fat water". In the military workshop in Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan) in the Song Dynasty, there was a workshop for making "fierce fire oil", which also refers to oil.

The first person to "correct the name" of petroleum was Shen Kuo, a famous scientist in the Northern Song Dynasty. In his book A Talk on Mengxi, he devoted a special section to petroleum. The book mentioned: "There is oil in Yanchang. Yan is now in Fuxian County and Yan 'an County, Shaanxi Province. Here, Shen Kuo mentioned the name "oil" for the first time, and it has been used ever since.

Shen Kuo also said in the book: "It is said that fat water is produced in Gaonu County, that is, it is also born in the water, and sand and stones are mixed with spring water, and it comes out disconsolately. The natives followed () it with a pheasant, but it was picked into the scorpion, which was quite like pure paint. However, it was as hemp, but the smoke was very thick, and all the curtains were black. " This passage means that in the past, it was said that the water that can be burned in Gaonu County is fat water, which also comes from water, but it often appears in a trance with sand and spring water. The local people used to touch it with chicken feathers and put it in a jar, which was as thick as paint, but it lit up like hemp, and there was a thick smoke, which made the wall curtains dark. He also predicted: "oil is built at most, and it is born in the endless underground. If it is not loose, it will be exhausted from time to time." At that time, oil, like coal, was mostly buried in the ground, and only a few of it flowed out. At that time, Shen Kuo pointed out that oil was buried in the ground, and the reserves were very large, unlike the use of pine firewood, which would soon run out. The great exploitation of oil in the 21th century verified Shen Kuo's great prediction, which once again showed the greatness of the Chinese nation.