There was formally a state monopoly on iron that would have made local smithing illegal, but there were not enough state smithies to serve that purpose, so the general assumption is that illegal smithies were common.
> genghis khan probably came from a smithy family btw
I have not heard of this and it is facially implausible; the Mongols were not a metalworking people.
“ Paul Pelliot saw that the tradition according to which Genghis was a blacksmith was unfounded though well established by the middle of the 13th century.[27]”
It seems at least the concept of blacksmiths was familiar to the Mongols before or around the time they went into china.
Thats why I explicitly stated “steelworking” instead of “ironworking”. Although they couldnt do it in large quantities the common European smith could use it to enhance his iron products[1]
Whereas even the quality of the steel used by the experts in China (even by the 1600s) is questionable. [2]
[1] https://the-orb.arlima.net/encyclop/culture/scitech/iron_ste...
[2] https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_a/advanced/aa...
[1] is a better lay overview of medieval-era steel-making. And for a great breakdown of forces behind European success in the modern era, see Brett Devereaux's series on EU4 [2]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5djVkOgu8vs
[2] https://acoup.blog/2021/05/28/collections-teaching-paradox-e...