Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 7, Part 2: General Conclusions and Reflections

Description

Joseph Needham, who died in 1995, was the greatest British historian of China of the last 100 years. His Science and Civilisation in China series caused a seismic shift in western perceptions of China, revealed as perhaps the world's most scientifically and technically productive country in pre-modern times. But why did the scientific and industrial revolutions not happen in China? Joseph Needham reflects on possible answers to this question in the concluding volume of this series and provides fascinating insights into his great intellectual quest. Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Illustrations......Page 7 Tables......Page 8 Abbreviations......Page 9 Series Editor's Preface......Page 11 Volume Editor's Preface......Page 13 Vale Atque Ave......Page 20 Foreword......Page 40 a. Science and Society in East and West......Page 48 b. The Roles of Europe and China in the Evolution of Oecumenical Science......Page 71 c. The Nature of Chinese Society: a Technical Interpretation......Page 90 d. History and Human Values: a Chinese Perspective for World Science and Technology......Page 114 e. Literary Chinese as a Language for Science......Page 142 f. Conclusions......Page 246 Appendix. Joseph Needham: a Soliloquy......Page 279 Bibliographies......Page 288 A. Chinese books before +1800......Page 289 B. Chinese and Japanese books and journal articles since +1800......Page 293 C. Books and journal articles in western languages......Page 294 General Index......Page 311 Back......Page 331