Research On The Coal Mine In Hunan During The Anti-Japanese War

Hunan Province,whose total coal reserves ranks on the top of our country,has an abundant coal resources.The coal mines distribute all over the province and possess the quality of being easily mined. The coal resources were firstly mined at the end of Nansong Dynasty. Hunan coal mining has gradually flourished since then. In modern times, Hunan coal mining has further developed. However, the way of coal mining here still lagged behind on the whole.On the eve of Anti-Japanese War, considering the strategic significance of the coal energy, the National Government adjusted and regulated the industial and mining construction policies to meet the wartime needs. So, Hunan Province Government, together with National Military Commision, National Resources Commision and some bureaucrats--Song Ziwen, Sun Ke, etc, put more investment into Hunan coal mining industry and laid special stress on constructing a group of coal mining enterprises, such as Liling Coal Enterprise and Xiangnan Coal Enterprise, to satisfy the urgent needs for coal energy, which demonstrated the gratifying achievements of Hunan coal mining industrial construction. From the outbreak of war to the year of 1943, the toatal coal output of Hunan Province steadily went up. A number of projects, such as Xiangnan Coal Mining Enterprise, Yangmeishan Coal Yard, Liling Coal Mining Bureau and Qiyang Guanyintan Coal Mining Engineering Department,etc, played an mportant part during the wartime——they supplied a large amount of coal to industry and mining enterprises which moved to inland and to the railways, having suppoorted the Anti-Japanese War forcefully.Along with the development coal mining industry in Hunan, the number of coal mines increased sharply. Although they came from the bottom of the society,the coal miners worked hard in coal mines, having made due contributions for the victory of Anti-Japanese War with their own practical actions. There were two functions of Hunan coal mines during the wartime. First, in military, they fuelled a lot of coal for the industrial and mining enterprises whiah moved to inland and for the transportation of Canton-Hankow, Hunan-Guangxi, and Guangxi-Guizhou railways. Second, these coal mines had not only made the indusrial distribution of Hunan, even the whole China become more resonable, but also had promoted the development of Hunan industry, thus laid a foundation for Hunan's industrilization.In brief, Hunan Province is located in the centre of China, and its economy had less developed. Therefore, the effect of coal mining industry had been limited. However, because the coal use in industry and railway locomotive engines increasd sharply, relying on its rich coal resources and important strategic position, the effect and the status of Hunan coal mining industry in the whole country have been significantly improved.