Reflections | How China’s history of fighting fire reflects a long and difficult struggle
The qualities that made buildings beautiful in premodern Chinese cities also made them dangerously flammable, and fire was a constant threat
It will be a sombre December for Hong Kong as the city recovers from the shock of the massive fire that engulfed seven high-rise residential blocks in Tai Po last week, the deadliest fire in Hong Kong in decades.
At the time of writing, 159 people are confirmed dead and dozens more are injured. Few would remain unmoved by the distraught tears of victims who lost family members and their homes to the blaze.
Fire was a constant threat in premodern Chinese cities, where most buildings were made of wood and built with tightly joined timber frames.
The very qualities that made these structures beautiful and utilitarian also made them dangerously flammable. Dense roof structures trapped heat and smoke, and good ventilation – often necessary for comfort – fed flames instead of stopping them.
Unsurprisingly, successive dynasties invested enormous effort in preventing fires.
Some measures were purely symbolic. Perched on the ends of roof ridges, for example, could be found decorative wenshou: mythical water creatures believed to ward off evil and, in keeping with their aquatic nature, fire.