Meng Huo You
Meng Huo You () is the name given to petroleum in ancient China, which practiced the use of petroleum as an incendiary weapon in warfare. Historical records of petroleum During the Eastern Han dynasty, the Chinese historian and poet Ban Gu recorded in the geography section of his Book of Han that a flammable liquid substance are found in the Gao Nu County, located in the northeast portion of present-day Shaanxi Province. This "flammable liquid" was likely petroleum that had seeped through the ground and was floating above the local waters. Four hundred years later, during the late stages of Southern and Northern dynasties, historian Fan Ye cited in the Book of Later Han that the collection and exploitation of petroleum had been around for some time: This "stone-lacquer" is likely petroleum. There are similar records from the Jin and Northern Wei dynasties as well. The earliest mention of "rock oil" (石油), the Chinese name for petroleum, is by a book "Grand Peace Records" from the Northern Song dynasty, and officially designated the current name by Song dynasty polymath scientist Shen Kuo using the description found in his famous book Dream Pool Essays. Due to the chemical characteristics of petroleum