Original: Shenzhen ningnanshan source: ningnanshan
In order to understand the position of Chinese industry in the world at the beginning of the founding of the people’s Republic of China,
Recently, the output of China’s major industrial products at the beginning of the founding of the people’s Republic of China was collated according to the output in 1952, because after three years of economic recovery after the founding of the people’s Republic of China, the output of major industrial products reached or exceeded the highest level before the founding of the people’s Republic of China. This “highest level before the founding of the people’s Republic of China” is the national output, that is, not only the industrial output of the Kuomintang controlled areas and the base areas behind the enemy lines, but also the output of all industrial products in the occupied northeast, North and East China under Japanese rule. From these industrial products that China was able to produce at that time, we can experience China’s industrial capacity at that time, and we can also find some interesting things.
In 1952, due to the distortion of international exchange rates of currencies of various countries, there was no authoritative ranking of industrial added value of various countries in the world, but we have two methods to infer,
First, China’s position in the world can be seen from the output of major industrial products at that time. I estimate that China’s industrial added value in 1952 was about the 15th -20th in the world.
Second, according to the US dollar industrial added value data of all countries in the world in 2021 and the actual industrial growth rate published by all countries, it can be pushed back to 1952. In this way, the ranking in 1952 can also be obtained.
The second method I have seen has been calculated before. It is concluded that China’s industrial added value was also outside the top ten in the world in 1952.
That is to say, the results deduced by different methods are similar. At that time, China’s industrial added value was not among the top ten in the world.
I divide them into the following categories. The first category is products that can not be manufactured at all,
Including chemical fiber, watch, synthetic detergent (washing powder), TV, tape recorder, refrigerator, camera, electric fan, daily refined aluminum products, synthetic rubber, ethylene, film film, tractor and automobile.
It is understandable that TV sets are not built here, although they have lagged behind the United States for at least ten years,
We always feel that TV doesn’t seem like a product of that era. That’s because China is too backward, so we feel that TV is not in the same era as China at the beginning of the founding of the people’s Republic of China. However, on April 30, 1939, NBC broadcast President Roosevelt’s speech at the opening ceremony of the world exposition in New York, and then broadcast boxing matches, baseball matches, fashion shows, movies, musicals, etc. for the first time in the history of American television.
Air conditioners were not made in China in 1952. It seems that air conditioners were not products of that time in our impression, but in fact, we were too backward when we had this idea. The world’s first air conditioner was invented in 1902, and carrier, which made air conditioners in the United States, was established in 1915. I wrote in previous articles that this company tried to buy Zhuhai Gree for 900million yuan at the beginning of the 21st century, Fortunately, there was no success.
The company’s air conditioners were used for machines in the early days, but they began to serve humans in the 1920s.
In 1924, carrier installed air conditioners for Hudson department store in Detroit, and in 1925, it installed central air conditioners for the Rivery theater in New York, greatly improving the experience of shoppers and audiences.
In 1928, the U.S. Congress installed air conditioners. In 1929, the White House installed air conditioners. In 1936, air conditioners began to enter aircraft. In 1939, air-conditioned cars began to appear.
However, it was a surprise that even electric fans and watches could not be made in China in 1952. In addition, chemical fiber products would not be made in China in 1952. By 1957, China’s chemical fiber output was only 200 tons of chemical fiber, and the output of watches was only 400. You are right. It was not 4million, but 400.
Chemical fiber was used to make clothes. Before China’s large-scale manufacturing of chemical fiber, cotton was the main raw material for the textile industry. Of course, China’s cotton production was restricted by agricultural production, so it was difficult to solve the problem of dressing Chinese people. The reason why China could only produce 200 tons of chemical fiber in 1957 was due to the technical difficulty and the shortage of oil production. After all, oil is an important raw material for manufacturing chemical fiber.
In 1952, China could not even make watches. I checked that China’s first domestic watch was made in Tianjin in 1955. Why is it so difficult to make watches? It may be because of its small size, high precision of processing and assembly, and the time required for the cooperation of these small mechanical parts. It is a high-tech product.
Other things like cameras and cars were common in European and American countries at that time. Even Japan, whose living standards were lower than those in Europe and America, and Japanese businessmen, journalists and military officers who came to China during World War II, also had many cameras in their hands, leaving a lot of images about China. The automobile industry has been very developed in Europe and the United States, especially in the United States. In 1930, the automobile output in the United States had reached a staggering 5.7 million, and the national automobile ownership had reached 31million. This is an industry with great added value, but China could not participate in it in 1952.
Regardless of those samples, China’s mass-produced automobile output was zero in 1952, 100 in 1955, 1700 in 1956, and 7900 in 1957. At this time, the first five year plan has been completed.
The text of this article is classified according to the output, but the industrial products in the picture are not, so they may not correspond one by one, so please know in the figure below.
The second category is the products that can be manufactured, but the output is very low. It is of little significance to talk about the self-sufficiency rate of industrial products
In fact, if the output is very low, it can also be listed as the one that will not be built. However, we should relax our conditions and still be listed as the one that will be built. After all, we should not require too high the industrial level of old China.
In 1952, China manufactured 300 film projectors, 2000 tons of plastic, 2000 tons of wool, 5600 tons of silk, 2000 tons of pesticides, 100 tons of chemicals, 8000 tons of pure benzene, 11000 tons of calcium carbide (calcium carbide, the basic raw material of organic synthetic chemical industry), 1800 tons of mining equipment, 6000 kW of power generation equipment, and 8000 sets of fans.
Pay attention to the four items: plastics, pesticides, chemicals and power generation equipment. Most of the drugs needed by our front-line soldiers during the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea were imported, because domestic chemicals were only able to produce 100 tons in 1952. Shanghai and Hong Kong have become important sources of imported chemicals.
In 1952, the output of pesticides used in grain production in China was only 2000 tons, which means that the grains, vegetables and fruits planted in China at that time were all natural, and insects were often found in the mouth.
In addition, China could only produce about 2000 tons of plastics in 1952. This shows that China’s chemical industry was backward at that time, but it is not surprising to think about it. After all, China’s petroleum industry was very backward and was an oil-poor country, so it was normal that the output of plastics was very low. After all, the production of plastics required oil as raw material. Note that China would not manufacture chemical fiber products with oil as raw material in the above.
It can be seen that raw materials are still very important. This can also explain why China was so excited about the discovery of Daqing oil field, and the whole country was so excited that the iron man wangjinxi was promoted as a hero, “industry learns from Daqing”, because the oil industry is not only used for automobile, aviation and ship transportation, but also an important raw material for manufacturing chemical fiber and plastics, such as clothes in our “basic necessities of life”, Before the rise of the oil industry, we could only use cotton as raw material, because we could not produce chemical fiber in large quantities. However, the output of cotton as a crop has always been limited, so the problem of dressing in China has not been solved for a long time.
In addition, although China’s power industry had developed to a certain extent at that time, in 1952, China could only produce 6000 kW of power generation equipment, which could not even meet the demand of a 10000 kW small power station. This is too little, which means that we have to import equipment from the Soviet Union to build a small hydropower station and a small thermal power station. This is very embarrassing.
In 1952, China also manufactured 40000 HP internal combustion engines, 20 railway locomotives and 6 railway passenger cars. I checked the equivalent of 40000 HP of this internal combustion engine. The maximum power of a single Dongfeng 4 internal combustion engine developed by China is 4000 HP. In february1975, both China News and Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong made a long report on the development of Dongfeng 4 locomotive under the title of the birth of 4000 HP internal combustion locomotive. So the 40000 HP internal combustion engine is equivalent to about 10 railway locomotives.
In 1952, China also built 8000 fans. This is interesting. China can still make a small number of industrial fans, but China could not manufacture household fans at that time. Perhaps because there is no market, ordinary families can not afford to buy them. They still need electricity. It is more cost-effective to use fans.
The third category is industrial products that can be manufactured and have a certain output, but are still far from being able to meet self-sufficiency.
In 1952, China manufactured 66000 sewing machines, 80000 bicycles, 13000 tons of cans, 17000 radios, 9000 tons of daily enamel products, 17000 tons of ferroalloy, 190000 tons of sulfuric acid, 192000 tons of soda ash, 79000 tons of caustic soda, 38000 tons of synthetic ammonia, 39000 tons of chemical fertilizer, 440000 tons of oil, 8million cubic meters of natural gas and 14000 sets of pumps.
Sewing machines, bicycles, radios, soaps, ferroalloys, sulfuric acid, petroleum industry, chemical fertilizers, etc. are all industries with a certain technical content. However, apart from the gap between the technology and the medium and high-end level, most of the output needs to be imported.
For example, the annual output of chemical fertilizer used in agriculture is only 39000 tons, which is far from enough. This output is not enough to meet the grain production of a province. Considering that China only produced 2000 tons of pesticides in 1952, China’s agricultural production in 1952 really depended on heaven.
In 1952, China could only build 80000 bicycles a year. Only the rich could afford bicycles. There are also radios. Only 17000 radios were produced nationwide in 1952, while the output of oil was only 440000 tons nationwide in 1952, which seriously restricted the development of China’s ship, automobile, aircraft and other industrial economies.
Therefore, this “with a certain output” still means that most of them need to be imported, but it is slightly better than “extremely low output”. For example, the country only produces 17000 radios a year, which can be used by the people of the whole country. Even important units and institutions can afford it. The annual output of chemical fertilizer is only 39000 tons, even 40000 tons, which is enough for one county and one city, so the country still has to use farmyard manure. Speaking of farmyard manure, it reminds me of my childhood. At that time, grandpa had to go to the cesspit under the pigsty to scoop out the fertilizer, and then pour it on the land with a ladle.
Uncle Lei Feng’s deeds include collecting excrement. In Chinese villages at that time, there were fights in order to snatch excrement, and there was no need to worry about no one to deal with the excrement produced in the city. It was a good fertilizer for farmers, and some people rushed to do the work.
The fourth category is industrial products with large output
Light industrial products include: 656000 tons of yarn, 3.83 billion meters of cloth, 4.23 million meters of woolen cloth, 67million pieces of gunny bags, 65million meters of silk fabrics, 370000 tons of machine-made paper and paperboard, 8.56 million thermos bottles, 26million light bulbs, 4.95 million tons of salt, 450000 tons of sugar, 2.65 million boxes of cigarettes, 230000 tons of wine, 3.3 million pieces of leather, 12.33 million cubic meters of wood, 60million pairs of rubber shoes, 420000 tire covers, and 97000 tons of soap.
Among them, the machine papermaking, light bulbs, thermos bottles, tire casings and textile industries have outstanding technical content. In 1949, China’s cotton yarn output ranked fifth in the world, and in 1952, it should also rank among the top five in the world. It can be said that it is one of the rare industrial products in China that can rank among the top ten in the world.
It can also be seen that the output of light industrial products in China is mainly related to “wearing” and “eating”. Including woolen cloth, yarn, cloth, rubber overshoes, leather, silk fabrics, salt, sugar, wine and derived gunny bags. I find it interesting that the annual production capacity of thermos bottles has reached more than 8 million. At least this thing can be made in China on a large scale.
Heavy industrial products include: 66million tons of coal, 7.3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, 1.93 million tons of pig iron, 1.35 million tons of steel, 1.06 million tons of finished steel, 2.89 million tons of coke, 2.86 million tons of cement, 2.13 million standard boxes of flat glass, 640000 kW AC motors, 13700 metal cutting machines, 1.18 million sets of rolling bearings, and 5800 railway wagons.
This shows that at the beginning of the founding of the people’s Republic of China, China had certain capabilities in coal mining, power generation, steel, cement, glass, machine tools, and railway truck manufacturing. The output of coal and cement ranked among the top ten in the world in 1952, while 5800 railway trucks were manufactured. Of course, they were just carriages. In fact, they also had a certain technical content, but this content was not too much. It is surprising that 1.18 million sets of rolling bearings have been manufactured, which is one of the modern industrial products that can be manufactured in large quantities in China.
China’s steel output of 1.35 million tons ranked 18th in the world in 1952, and has not caught up with India, Hungary, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czechoslovakia and Poland.
In 1952, China’s power generation capacity of 7.3 billion kilowatt hours could not enter the top 15 in the world. The power generation capacity of the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Spain, Canada, Australia and the small European countries Sweden, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Austria, Norway and Poland were all higher than that of China.
Why do I estimate that in 1952, China’s industrial added value was about 20 in the world, because the consumption of electricity and steel was behind 15 in the world, and China hardly made any medium and high-end industrial products, so the output value produced by the consumption of electricity and steel per unit could not compare with that of Europe and the United States.
In addition, the output of petroleum, a very important industrial product, was very low, only 440000 tons, and it was difficult to import from abroad, which led to the failure of the development of petroleum related chemical fiber, plastics, automobiles, aircraft, ships, tractors and other industries, which was a great problem restricting China’s development at that time.
Why is it that the industrial added value of China was certainly not high at that time? We all know that the exchange rate is largely determined by what you can export. In 1952, China had almost no competitive export industrial products. In that year, industrial products accounted for only 16.6% of China’s export commodities.
Apart from flour, cigarettes and wine, in 1952, China’s output of major industrial products included textiles, coal, cement, rolling bearings, light bulbs, glass, thermos bottles and tire casings. Among them, the output of textiles, coal and cement was determined to be among the top ten in the world.
Cement and glass are building related products with a high self-sufficiency rate,
Cement is really interesting. In 1889, China had its first cement plant in Tangshan, which opened the prelude to China’s cement industry. By 1952, the output could enter the top ten in the world. This was one of the few modern industrial products with a little technical content in old China.
As for the glass industry, in 1922, the national capitalist zhouxuexi initiated the establishment of Qinhuangdao Yaohua Glass factory jointly invested by Luan mine and Kaiping mine, which is known as the “cradle of China’s glass industry”. The Belgian technology and machinery used to manufacture glass, such as taking technology as a share. Later, he also established glass factories in Dalian and Shenyang. By 1949, China had only three flat glass factories in Qinhuangdao, Shenyang and Dalian, The annual output is 1.07 million TEUs. The remaining few glass factories mostly adopt manual operation process.
The automobile industry, electronic industry (radio, television, telephone, communication equipment, tape recorder, etc.), aviation industry, power generation equipment, medium and large-scale shipbuilding, chemical fiber, chemical fertilizer, ethylene, pesticides, chemicals, railway locomotives and other middle and high-end fields are almost empty.
Therefore, at the beginning of the founding of the people’s Republic of China, the industrial products with relatively large output and high self-sufficiency rate include:
Textile industry, papermaking, cement, glass, light bulbs, thermos bottles, coal, rolling bearings, and other food industries such as cigarettes, wine, salt, sugar and flour. Matches were not included in the statistics of major industrial products, but China’s self-sufficiency rate at that time was also OK. It can be seen that except for a few heavy industrial products such as coal and cement, the basic products with large output are light industrial products. In addition, the ammunition used by the Army (bullets, grenades, shells, etc.) is not included in the statistics by the Bureau of statistics. The self-sufficiency rate of this ammunition part is still relatively high, but the self-made weapons part is very poor.
In 1952, light industry accounted for 64.47% of China’s industries, while heavy industry accounted for 35.53% of China’s industries. The production of electricity, steel and oil was insufficient, which made it impossible to manufacture a large number of machinery and equipment. If there were no machinery and equipment, the factory would not be able to produce, or the produced cars, ships and aircraft could not be used because of the lack of oil, coal and electricity. At the same time, the manufacturing of consumer goods for daily use also requires the consumption of heavy industrial products such as steel, plastic and chemical fiber, such as bicycles, radios and recorders for the electronic industry, textiles and plastic products for daily use.
At that time, China could not freely purchase production equipment from Europe, America and Japan to build factories. The Soviet Union became the only source, and highly relying on the Soviet Union was not what we were willing to accept. Therefore, China took the route of giving priority to heavy industry at that time. However, heavy industry requires a large amount of capital investment and is a capital intensive industry. At that time, half of the country’s heavy industry was in the northeast. Therefore, the first five year plan at the beginning of the founding of the people’s Republic of China adopted the mode of concentrating national resources, giving priority to the construction of the northeast, and then spreading to the whole country.
In this process, Chinese farmers stood up again as if they had participated in the war of resistance against Japan and the war of liberation in large numbers before the founding of the people’s Republic of China. In 1952, only 16.6% of China’s foreign exchange in exchange for Limited exports was industrial products, 80% of which depended on the export of various agricultural and sideline products and raw materials, such as beans, tung oil, tea, bristles, casings, eggs, silk, tungsten sand, mercury and silk, The precious foreign exchange earned by farmers’ hard work throughout the country is used to import advanced equipment and technology mainly from the Soviet Union and other countries, and give priority to the development of heavy industry in Northeast and North China.
This is not the last time that Chinese farmers have made contributions to the motherland. After the reform and opening up, thousands of them have packed their bags, left their hometown, and gone to coastal factories thousands of miles away to work. They have contributed a large number of labor forces to China’s industrialization. They have also settled in cities in the wave of urbanization, purchased a large number of urban commercial housing, and made great contributions to local finance.