引進蒸汽機知識是洋務運動的首要任務之一。江南製造局翻譯的《汽機發軔》、《汽機必以》、《汽機新制》、《兵船汽機》與《汽機中西名目表》是清末介紹蒸汽機知識最完整與豐富的五本書籍。它們分別由偉烈亞力（Alexander Wylie, 1815－1887）、徐壽（1818－1884）、傅蘭雅（John Fryer, 1839－1928）、徐建寅（1845－1901）與華備鈺（生卒年不詳）等合作完成。《汽機發軔》與《兵船汽機》的底本是英國皇家海軍軍官的教科書，顯現清政府強兵優於富國的思維。《汽機必以》內容豐富，涵蓋了海陸各式應用在輪船、火車、農業與工業的蒸汽機。至於《汽機新制》則名不符實，並無較新的內容。《汽機中西名目表》是按徐壽〈汽機命名說〉的構想而成，建立了輪機名詞的中文命名準則。

Introducing the knowledge of steam engines was one of the primary tasks of the Westernization Movement. The Kiangnan Arsenal's translations Qiji faren 汽機發軔, Qiji biyi 汽機必以, Qiji xinzhi 汽機新制, Bingchuan qiji 兵船汽機, and Qiji Zhongxi mingmu biao 汽機中西名目表 are the most complete and comprehensive introductions to knowledge regarding steam engines produced in the late Qing Dynasty. They were completed by Alexander Wylie (1815-1887), Xu Shou 徐壽 (1818-1884), John Fryer (1839-1928), Xu Jianyin 徐建寅 (1845-1901) and Hua Beiyu 華備鈺 (?-?) respectively. In particular, the original texts of Qiji faren and Bingchuan qiji, which were textbooks for the officers of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, advance the view that having a strong army is better than being a rich country. The Qiji biyi is rich in content, covering all kinds of steam engines used in ships, trains, agriculture and industry. As for the Qiji xinzhi, its title is slightly misleading in that there is no new content. The Qiji Zhongxi mingmu biao, which provides a set of naming guidelines for Chinese steam engine terms, was based on Xu Shou's “Qiji mingming shuo 汽機命名說.”