Science and Civilisation in China
Science and Civilisation in China (1954–2008) is a series of books initiated and edited by British biochemist and self-trained Sinologist Joseph Needham (1900–1995). They deal with the history of science and technology in China. To date there have been seven volumes in twenty-seven books. The series was on the Modern Library Board's 100 Best Nonfiction books of the 20th century.[1]
In 1954, Needham—along with an international team of collaborators—initiated the project to study the science, technology, and civilisation of ancient China. This project produced a series of volumes published by Cambridge University Press. The project is still continuing under the guidance of the Publications Board of the Needham Research Institute (NRI), chaired by Christopher Cullen.[2]
Needham's transliteration of Chinese characters uses the Wade-Giles system, though the aspirate apostrophe (e.g., ch'i) was rendered 'h' (viz. chhi; traditional Chinese: 氣; Mandarin Pinyin: qì). However, it was abandoned in favor of the pinyin system by the NRI board in April 2004, with Volume 5, Part 11 becoming the first to use the new system.[3]
Volumes
| Vol. | Title | Contributors | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vol. 1 | Introductory Orientations | Wang Ling (research assistant) | 1954 | |
| Vol. 2 | History of Scientific Thought | Wang Ling (research assistant) | 1956 | OCLC |
| Vol. 3 | Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and Earth | Wang Ling (research assistant) | 1959 | OCLC |
| Vol. 4, Part 1 |
Physics | Wang Ling (research assistant), with cooperation of Kenneth Robinson | 1962 | OCLC |
| Vol. 4 Part 2 |
Mechanical Engineering | Wang Ling (collaborator) | 1965 | |
| Vol. 4, Part 3 |
Civil Engineering and Nautics | Wang Ling and Lu Gwei-djen (collaborators) | 1971 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 1 |
Paper and Printing | Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin | 1985 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 2 |
Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Magisteries of Gold and Immortality | Lu Gwei-djen (collaborator) | 1974 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 3 |
Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Historical Survey, from Cinnabar Elixirs to Synthetic Insulin | Ho Ping-Yu and Lu Gwei-djen (collaborators) | 1976 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 4 |
Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus and Theory | Lu Gwei-djen (collaborator), with contributions by Nathan Sivin | 1980 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 5 |
Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Physiological Alchemy | Lu Gwei-djen (collaborator) | 1983 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 6 |
Military Technology: Missiles and Sieges | Robin D.S. Yates, Krzysztof Gawlikowski, Edward McEwen, Wang Ling (collaborators) | 1994 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 7 |
Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic | Ho Ping-Yu, Lu Gwei-djen, Wang Ling (collaborators) | 1987 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 8 |
"Work in progress" | |||
| Vol. 5, Part 9 |
Textile Technology: Spinning and Reeling | Dieter Kuhn | 1988 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 10 |
"Work in progress" | |||
| Vol. 5, Part 11 |
Ferrous Metallurgy | Donald B. Wagner | 2008 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 12 |
Ceramic Technology | Rose Kerr, Nigel Wood, contributions by Ts'ai Mei-fen and Zhang Fukang | 2004 | |
| Vol. 5, Part 13 |
Mining | Peter Golas | 1999 | |
| Vol. 6, Part 1 |
Botany | Lu Gwei-djen (collaborator), with contributions by Huang Hsing-Tsung | 1986 | |
| Vol. 6, Part 2 |
Agriculture | Francesca Bray | 1984 | |
| Vol. 6, Part 3 |
Agroindustries and Forestry | Christian A. Daniels and Nicholas K. Menzies | 1996 | |
| Vol. 6, Part 4 |
"Work in progress" | |||
| Vol. 6, Part 5 |
Fermentations and Food Science | Huang Hsing-Tsung | 2000 | |
| Vol. 6, Part 6 |
Medicine | Lu Gwei-djen, Nathan Sivin (editor) | 2000 | |
| Vol. 7, Part 1 |
Language and Logic | Christoph Harbsmeier | 1998 | |
| Vol. 7, Part 2 |
General Conclusions and Reflections | Kenneth Girdwood Robinson (editor), Ray Huang (collaborator), introduction by Mark Elvin | 2004 | OCLC |
Summaries
There have been two summaries or condensations of the vast amount of material found in Science and Civilisation. The first, a one-volume popular history book by Robert Temple entitled The Genius of China, was completed in a little over 12 months to be available in 1986 for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to China. This addressed only the contributions made by China and had a "warm welcome" from Joseph Needham in the introduction, though in the Beijing Review he criticized that it had "some mistakes ... and various statements that I would like to have seen expressed rather differently".[4] A second was made by Colin Ronan, a writer on the history of science, who produced a five volume condensation The Shorter Science and Civilisation: An abridgement of Joseph Needham's original text, between 1980 and his death in 1995.[5] These volumes cover:
- China and Chinese science
- Mathematics, astronomy, meteorology and the earth sciences
- Magnetism, nautical technology, navigation, voyages
- Mechanical engineering, machines, clockwork, windmills, aeronautics
- Civil engineering, roads, bridges, hydraulic engineering
Editions
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Notes
- ↑ Modern Library, 1999. 100 Best Nonfiction."
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ volume 5, part 11, page xxxii
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
- Robert Finlay, "China, the West, and World History in Joseph Needham's Science and Civilisation in China," Journal of World History 11 (Fall 2000): 265-303.
- Justin. Lin, "The Needham Puzzle: Why the Industrial Revolution Did Not Originate in China," Economic development and cultural change 43.2 (1995): 269-292. JSTOR link
External links
- Science and Civilisation in China on Google Books
- Jim's life
- Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Magisteries of Gold and Immortality
- Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Historical Survey, from Cinnabar Elixirs to Synthetic Insulin
- Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus and Theory
- Ceramic Technology
- Fermentations and Food Science
- General Conclusions and Reflections
