一、世界最大的煤炭生产国和消费国中国是世界上最早发现和利用煤炭的国家。中国有文字记载的开采和利用煤炭的历史,可追溯到2500年前的春秋战国时代。到明朝,已掌握有效的地下采煤技术,煤炭已成为炼铁的主要燃料。新中国成立初期,煤炭产量只有3200万吨,开采和利用技术十分落后。40年来,煤炭工业得到迅速发展。1949～1989年原煤产量平均每年增长9.1%,1989年产量达10.54亿吨,居世 First, the world’s largest coal producer and consumer China is the first country in the world to find and use coal. The documented history of the exploitation and use of coal in China goes back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period 2,500 years ago. By the Ming Dynasty, effective underground mining technology had been mastered and coal has become the major fuel for ironmaking. In the early days after the founding of new China, the coal output was only 32 million tons, and the technology for mining and utilization was very backward. For 40 years, the coal industry has developed rapidly. From 1949 to 1989, the average annual output of raw coal increased by 9.1% annually, reaching 1,054 million tons in 1989