Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 1: Introductory Orientations

Science and Civilisation in China #1

by Joseph Needham, Ling Wang

All Western-born men are aware of a touch of immaturity in their own self-consciousness and sufficiency when chance confronts them with notions about Chinese civilisation, a civilisation and a way of life reaching far back to the dawn of History, so unlike any other, so subtle, so simple-seeming, so imperturbable. And the Western mind, admitting its own vast ignorances, has been restless to invent and to entertain romantic and faulty conjectures.

Great space divides us from China; the language itself, entirely self-contained, has sprung from quite other roots than ours; Chinese society, philosophy, art, religion, and custom, seem, at times, to exhibit no likenesses with ours. What then of science, from mathematics to technology? What did the Chinese do; and how different was it from the science of our own ancestors?

The way to overcome such a separating desert of ignorance is, we know, to study; but there seemed to be no easy stages; to learn even the elements of so different a life of humanity demanded a greater labour than we were able to afford, longer time than we could hope to spare, for a reward we seemed very well able to do without. At some point (almost beyond imagination) in pre-history began a divergence between our human ancestors; each divergent branch stands ignorantly, comprehending little of the other. But in this book we are provided with a new footpath for would-be students to follow. A man of the West has trodden a path for us, and pioneering, has given us the possibility of reclaiming our world from a long-continued ignorance.

This book is the Introductory Volume of a full run of seven, entitled "Science and Civilisation in China". To prepare his readers to study a complimentary human culture, Dr Joseph Needham begins by examining the structure of the Chinese language; he reviews the geography of China, and the long history of its people, and discusses the scientific contacts, which have occurred throughout the centuries, between Europe and East Asia.

The whole work is completed in MS, and from now publication should go steadily on. Dr. Needham, a Fellow of the Royal Society, is a biologist renowned for his work in Biochemistry and Morphogenesis. he had the fortune to live and work for some years in China, enjoying opportunities which enabled him to discuss with many Chinese savants the roots of the great human problems of cultural diversity. To this theme he had felt impelled to devote years of thought and research.

Needham's later volumes in this work deal in detail and in turn with Chinese Philosophy, with the development of Scientific Thought, with Mathematics, with Human Law and the Laws of Nature, with Astronomy, Meterology, Geography, Cartography, Geology, Physics, Engineering, Shipbuilding, Navigation, and the Arts of War; with Textiles, Paper, Printing, Chemistry, Ceramics, Metallurgy; and with the Biological Sciences, Agriculture and Medicine. this is followed by a survey of the particular characteristics of all Chinese science, illuminated by whatever was of significance in the Chinese social background.

The survey of these many fields of enterprise, moreover, is based mainly upon primary sources in Chinese literature (sometimes now first translated here) and in Chinese archaeology. Throughout hie enquiries Dr Needham has had the research assistance of Mr Wang Ch'ing-Ning (of Academia Sinics and Trinity College, Cambridge) and has profited by criticism and advice from many scholars and experts.

The books are fully illustrated, and each volume is equipped with its own bibliographies and indexes. Each volume, as it appears, will be separately available; though it is expected that the Introductory Volume will be wanted by general readers and specialists alike.

Genres: History, China, Science, Nonfiction, Asia, Philosophy, Academic

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Joseph Needham was a British biochemist, historian and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941, and a fellow of the British Academy in 1971. In 1992, Queen Elizabeth II conferred on him the Companionship of Honour, and the Royal Society noted he was the only living person to hold these three titles.

Reviews

[Jrobertus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first volume of a giant set. It gives an overview of ancient China's astonishing scientific and engineering advances. For example, they made blades of steel (not iron) that has an alloy makeup nearly identical to the latest Western technology. This is a cultural must read.

[Michael O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Needham also explains how ancient Chinese is very hard to translate, which is why for example a translation of the Tao may say "take no action" when the characters actually mean "take no action against nature". Very helpful!

The articles stand alone so if you like bronze casting you'll go nuts, and you can skip the chapter on ship building. The 20+ volume set is available through libraries.

[Angela Randall]

It's really rare to find Science and Civilisation in China as a single volume. It's probably best to look for the individual sections and buy the lot. Although, after volume 3, each volume tends to be split into several parts. So, it's going to be a huge pain.

Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 1
Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 2
Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 3

[Barack Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

397-Science and civilisation in China-Joseph Needham-Technology-1956

Barack
2021/12/31

" Science and civilisation in China ", first edition in 1956. It describes the scientific and technological achievements of ancient China. It first examines the structure of the Chinese; then it reviews the geography of China and the long history of its people and discusses the scientific contacts between Europe and East Asia over the centuries.

Joseph Needham was born in London, England in 1900 and died in 1995. Studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University. He is famous for his scientific research and writings on the history of Chinese science and technology. He was elected as a member of the Royal Society in 1941 and as a member of the British Academy in 1971. In 1992, Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the Medal of Honor, and the Royal Society pointed out that he was the only living person to hold these three titles.

Table of Contents
1 PREFACE
2 P LA N OF TWO RK
3 BIBLIOG RAPH ICALNOTES
4- GEOG RAPH I CA LINTRODUC TI ON
5 HISTO RI CA LINTRODU CT IO N. THEP RE-I MP ERIALPHASE
6 HISTORI CAL INT RO DUCTIO N. THEEMPI RE OF ALL UNDER HEAVEN
7 CONDITION SOFT RA VEL OF SCI EN TIFICI DEA SANDTECHNIQUESBETWEEN CHINA AND EU ROPE

" THEHISTORYOFSCIENCE is now more and more widely recognized as an element of cardinal importance in the history of human civilization. In the course of this development, it has been natural for Western Europeans to work backward from modern science and technology, tracing the evolution of scientific thought to the experiences and achievements of Mediterranean antiquity."
Today's world of science and technology is still dominated by the West. As a Westerner, it is natural to trace one's ancestry upwards, so the mainstream academic circles have relatively limited research on China's past. However, as China gradually becomes stronger and China has an increasingly important voice in the field of modern science and technology in the future, there will inevitably be more and more researches on ancient Chinese science and technology in the future. If children and grandchildren do better, they will naturally glorify their ancestors.

“ And still today the contribution of the Far East, and especially of its oldest and most central civilization, that of the Chinese, to science, scientific thought, and technology, remains unrecognized and clouded in obscurity.”

In modern times, due to China's backwardness, foreigners took the lead in discovering some of China's own culture. Some are for economic purposes and some are for noble feelings, but in fact, no matter what, these actions objectively accelerate the mutual understanding between China and the world more or less.

" What were the inhibiting factors in Chinese civilization which prevented a rise of modern science in Asia analogous to that which took place in Europe from the I 6th century onwards, and which proved one of the basic factors in the molding of modern world order?"

In the past few decades, Chinese scholars and even scholars from around the world have been interested in the "Needham Question". Of course, there is no correct answer to this question. But the more we think about this issue, the more we may know how China's technological development should go in the future, and how we should try to avoid repeating the mistakes made by our predecessors in the process of exploration.

" Inevitably most sinologists have been of literary tastes and training, and while the progress of the world has forced Chinese scientists and technologists to be bilingual, the converse has proved so little true that the numb er of European or other Western natural scientists with any knowledge of the Chinese language can be counted from country to country only in twos and threes."

Because modern civilization is closely related to Britain, Britain, and the United States, today our scholars must learn English. The things in China are not very eye-catching, and naturally, there are fewer people learning Chinese. When a country becomes stronger, no matter how difficult it is to learn a language, there are more people who want to learn.

" Thus (I) he should have had a scientific training and have been engaged for a number of years upon useful and productive scientific research; (2) he should be acquainted broadly with the history of science in Europe, and should have carried out some original work in one or other aspect of it; and (3) he should have had an interest in, and some acquaintance with, the social and economic background of science and technology in the successive stages of European history. But, on the other hand, (4) he should have had personal experience of Chinese life, and enjoyed the opportunity of extensive travels in that country, preferably neither as a missionary, a regular diplomat, nor a merchant; a (5) he should have a knowledge of the Chinese language, if not adequate for very rapid reading, at least sufficient to permit the consultation of original sources and indispensable works of reference; and (6) he should have had the good fortune of guidance from a wide range of Chinese scientists a d scholars."

Such scholars need to be able to integrate Chinese and Western cultures. Even in today's favorable material conditions, it is not easy to be compatible, let alone a hundred years ago?

" For anyone who had to depend upon translations alone, a work such as the present one would be absolutely impossible, not only because so large a proportion of the necessary sources have never been translated into any occidental language, but also because many of the most reliable sinologists have been extremely careless in their use of scientific and technical terms, even when they understood them."

The so-called "mining copper in the mountains". Similarly, this is the reason why we should learn English well today, because as a graduate student or even a doctoral student, a large number of advanced documents are written in English, and we cannot rely on other people's translations for academic purposes. Similarly, when China's technology becomes stronger and stronger in the future, more and more documents are written in Chinese, and more people will learn Chinese.

“ Today, though the 'white man' may have put down his 'burden' and even forgotten about it, are not Europeans, viewing the effects of modern science and technology in the complete transformation of the habitable globe, tempted too often to say to themselves that after all, this began in Europe with Galileo and Vesalius, and to conclude that Wisdom was born with us? A salutary correction of perspective is necessary. There was a Chinese contribution to man's understanding of Nature and his control over it, and it was a great one."

In fact, in ancient China, we also had many sages who had a deep understanding of nature. Like future generations, we have the responsibility to make a name for them. Foreign scholars are aware of this. As Chinese, we are more responsible for inheriting the good things of our predecessors.

[Stefano Pellegrini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good if you want to have a general understanding of China's history

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in the history of science and technology, you must read at least some of this series (there are abridged editions). Western books have a tendency to concentrate on Europe and the US. I haven't read the latest volumes that have recently come out, have to check out the one on gunpowder at least. Target audience is academia.

The section on the originality is quite funny in spots, the older European writers seemed obsessed the theory that China derived its culture from Western sources and created very little on its own. This is debunked and put back in the pit from which it crawled. The historical introduction is good, if you haven't read a general history of China, this will work as a replacement.

This volume is 70 years old, still pretty good but it has older graphics, fine print not suitable for old eyes, etc.

[Yuri]

Recommended by Tsien Hue Shen to Frank