【Sea and River Tales】The Story of Kerosene Extraction and Sperm Whales
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Kerosene is commonly known as “foreign oil”. Just as matches were called “yanghuo,” nails were called “yangding,” and bicycles were called “yangziche,” people habitually added the character “yang” because these items originated from abroad. Generally speaking, “kerosene” refers to oil used for lighting (although it has other uses as well), and it is completely different from the fuel used for lighting by ordinary people in the past. We will not go into detail regarding the lighting fuels used in ancient China; generally, they were animal oils or vegetable oils. Those with similar experience know that when vegetable oil is burned, the light produced is dim, and there is an unpleasant odor along with black smoke; it is not an ideal fuel for lighting. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, foreign kerosene companies were doing business in Hangzhou, and this fuel, with its high brightness, stable flame, no black smoke, and no strange odor, quickly became widespread. Kerosene, in fact, is petroleum that has been produced through certain processes; its history is not very long.
In 1859, commercial oil extraction was successfully carried out in Pennsylvania, United States. Only thereafter did petroleum products such as kerosene begin to have an impact on the world. Before this, in order to obtain light, humans tried every means to get fuel, and sperm whales suffered as a result. Human history of whaling is very ancient; an rock painting discovered in Busan, South Korea, depicts scenes of humans fighting whales from small boats. The Basques in medieval Europe made a living by whaling. It is certain that early humans could only hunt whales in coastal waters or use whales that had run aground. Moreover, early humans hunted whales to meet their most basic survival needs. For example, the Basques mainly target bowhead whales. Captured whales can provide meat, skin, fat, as well as baleen used to make lining for clothing. Humans at that time certainly realized that whales, with their large amounts of fat, were an excellent source of material for lighting. However, due to limitations in navigation technology, long-distance fishing is not yet feasible.
From the Age of Exploration to the early 18th century, people used whale fat for lighting and to make household items, leading to the rapid development of the whaling industry. However, at this time, sperm whales had not yet become a target for humans, at least not a primary one. Whaling at that time mainly involved hunting whales that gathered in coastal areas, such as South Tugit Island, which was a key focus for the whaling industry in the United States. Hundreds of humpback whales gather here every autumn and winter – they have high fat content and are very easy to catch. With the strong market demand following the Industrial Revolution, the whaling industry grew increasingly prosperous. Large whale pods in coastal waters are becoming increasingly rare, forcing people to go further and further out to sea. During this process, sperm whales were caught by chance, and it was discovered to their surprise that these whales’ large heads contained \"whale oil,\" a product with higher profits. Compared to ordinary whale oil, sperm whale oil burns more completely and has little odor, which results in a better reception in the market. For this very reason, people built large whaling ships and set out into the oceans in search of sperm whales. In the 19th century, the United States became the leader in whaling and a nightmare for sperm whales.
Overfishing has led to a sharp decline in the population of sperm whales, but huge profits are attracting more and more people to get involved. Although whaling at sea is full of dangers, casualties among sailors are very common. But people are still willing to take risks, hoping to get rich overnight. If this continues, by the 20th century, sperm whales might indeed be at risk of extinction. Fortunately, commercial oil extraction began, and advances in chemical technology have also made petroleum products increasingly inexpensive. Sperm oil, which is primarily used as fuel for lighting, was naturally hit hard. Thereafter, whale oil production in the United States plummeted, replaced by a surge in oil production. Oil saved the sperm whales. Kerosene, as a petroleum product, has also become a higher-quality and cheaper commodity that is sold around the world. History is always full of various surprises and coincidences. What would happen if the commercial exploitation of oil were delayed by another 100 years? I can’t imagine it.
:hug::hug::hug::hug:
Thor starred in a movie that depicted the life of whalers back in those days, providing detailed descriptions of how whaling was carried out and how whale blubber was obtained
Back in those days, people really did eat raw meat and drink blood
Kerosene (lamp kerosene； kerosene ； Kerosene mainly refers to a chemical substance, which is a type of light petroleum product. It is obtained from natural or synthetic petroleum through distillation or cracking. The singular term “kerosene” generally refers to lighting kerosene. Also known as lamp kerosene, it is also referred to as “fire oil”; commonly called “foreign oil,” and in Cantonese it is called “fire water.”
Petroleum by-products have been used as adhesives and waterproofing agents since ancient times. More than 2,000 years ago, Arab scientists attempted to distill petroleum into individual components that could be used for specific purposes. As new uses for petroleum were discovered, its demand also increased significantly. In the 9th century, the Persian alchemist Al-Razi – who developed sophisticated methods of distillation and extraction, and discovered sulfuric acid and kerosene by distilling green vitriol (oil) and petroleum respectively – described in his writings a method for refining kerosene from petroleum. In China, kerosene was already known in the Guangdong region as early as the Ming Dynasty