Misplaced Pages

#394605

133-447: Bowuzhi (博物志; "Records of Diverse Matters") by Zhang Hua (c. 290 CE) was a compendium of Chinese stories about natural wonders and marvelous phenomena. It quotes from many early Chinese classics , and diversely includes subject matter from Chinese mythology , history , geography , and folklore . The Bowuzhi , which is one of the first works in the literary genre of zhiguai "tales of anomalies; supernatural stories", records

266-490: A fangshi "master of esoterica" who was especially skilled at numerological arts, and a voracious collector of books, especially ones "strange, secret, and rarely seen". Many anecdotes in Six Dynasties period books portray him as a "learned arbitrator of 'scientific' knowledge". The (early 5th century) Yiyuan 異苑 "Garden of Marvels", by Liu Jingshu 劉敬叔, provides two examples. First, Zhang recognized dragon meat that

399-433: A Harvard reviewer claimed "will go down in the history of science as Joseph Needham's magnum opus, " little knowing what would come later. Although his career as biochemist and an academic was well established, his career developed in unanticipated directions during and after World War II . Three Chinese scientists came to Cambridge for graduate study in 1937: Lu Gwei-djen , Wang Ying-lai , and Shen Shih-Chang ( 沈詩章 ,

532-489: A Ming recension. They conclude, "It is a scissors-and-paste scrap-book of a work, and is not Hua's original work", and suggest "Probably the original work is lost, and meddlers having scoured all the works that quote the Bowu zhi, have compiled the present text, supplementing it with passages drawn from other Xiaoshuo [fiction]." The missionary sinologist Alexander Wylie summarized the standard Qing dynasty scholarly opinion of

665-458: A better future. The Bible, in Sanderson's teaching, supplied archaeological knowledge to compare with the present. During school holidays, Needham assisted his father in the operating rooms of several wartime hospitals, an experience that convinced him that he was not interested in becoming a surgeon. The Royal Navy, however, appointed him a surgeon sub-lieutenant, a position that he held for only

798-532: A better government now than for centuries", but on a visit in 1972 he was deeply depressed by the changes under the Cultural Revolution . Needham married the biochemist Dorothy Moyle (1896–1987) in 1924 and they became the first husband and wife both to be elected as Fellows of the Royal Society . Simon Winchester notes that, in his younger days, Needham was an avid gymnosophist and he

931-489: A comeback, Empress Jia had him murdered. Sima Lun (the Prince of Zhao), a granduncle of Emperor Hui, plotted a coup d'état to remove Empress Jia from power. He tried to persuade Zhang Hua to join him, but Zhang Hua was reluctant to do so. In May, after Sima Lun successfully overthrew Empress Jia, he had her several of her supporters and associates (including Zhang Hua) executed along with their families. Sima Lun then usurped

1064-533: A comparative advantage in developing technology in modern times. Lin blamed the institutions in China for preventing the adoption of the experiment-based methodology. Its sociopolitical institution inhibited intellectual creativity, but more importantly, it diverted this creativity away from scientific endeavours. Totalitarian control by the state in the Chinese Empire inhibited public dispute, competition, and

1197-514: A few months. In 1921, Needham graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge . In January 1925, Needham earned an MA . In October 1925, Needham earned a PhD . He had intended to study medicine, but came under the influence of Frederick Hopkins , resulting in his switch to biochemistry . After graduation, Needham was elected to a fellowship at Gonville and Caius College and worked in Hopkins' laboratory at

1330-506: A full month before its effect wears off!" This clearly describes liquor and not ordinary wine, and was the earliest known Chinese reference to "frozen-out wine". "'Frozen-out wine' then, in all its primitive simplicity, was, we would suggest, an important step on the road from beer or wine as such to distilled 'strong liquor'." Furthermore, Wang Jia 's (c. 370) Shiyi ji says Zhang Hua made lethal jiǔyùn chūnjiǔ 九醞春酒 "nine fermented spring wine" or xiāochángjiǔ 酒腸消 "gut-rotting wine" using

1463-438: A high degree of self-esteem. Just as put forward by Landes (2006), the downward tyranny combined with the cultural triumphalism had made China as a state to become a bad learner. (p. 11). It is clear China could not be able to accept any information from their inferiors. The High-Level Equilibrium Trap. High population, although sometimes it can be a cheap source of labor which is necessary for economic development, sometimes

SECTION 10

#1732791161395

1596-464: A part that could not be found elsewhere in Chinese civilization. The mainstream school of thinking of the bureaucratic Chinese elite, or ' Confucianism ' (another problematic term) in his vocabulary, seemed to him to be less interested in science and technology, and to have 'turned its face away from Nature.' Ironically, the dynasty that apparently turned away from printing from 706 till its demise in 907

1729-537: A person rather than a people. The Shanhaijing also mentions the Jigong "Country of Singlearm", whose people "have one arm and three eyes" and "ride on piebald horses", without any reference to flying vehicles. Bowuzhi Chapter 6 has two consecutive items describing highly potent liquors, possibly the first references to "freeze distillation" or technically fractional freezing . This technique for concentrating alcohol involves repeatedly freezing wine or beer and removing

1862-689: A poor section of town, rose to become a Harley Street physician, but frequently battled with Needham's mother. The young Needham often mediated. In his early teens, he was taken to hear the Sunday lectures of Ernest Barnes , a professional mathematician who became Master of the Temple , a royal church in London. Barnes inspired an interest in the philosophers and medieval scholastics that Needham pursued in his father's library. Needham later attributed his strong Christian faith to Barnes' philosophical theology, which

1995-605: A second anecdote, Zhang Hua demonstrated the cosmological principle of ganying "sympathetic resonance". During the Jin, there was a man who owned a large copper basin. Every morning and evening it would ring out just as if someone was striking it. When Zhang Hua was asked about this, he replied "This basin has a sympathetic affinity with the bell in the Luoyang bell-tower. The bell is struck every dawn and every dusk, and thus this basin resounds in sympathy. You could file away [a part of

2128-468: A special ferment and grain he obtained from the Five Barbarians . This wine "causes chattering of the teeth and apparent drunkenness without shouting or laughter, injuring the liver and intestines". When Zhang Hua had attained high office, one of his companions from his childhood came to pay a visit upon him. Hua and his childhood friend drank Nine-fold fermented wine, and caroused with a will. In

2261-586: A study commission, tacitly offering access to materials and contacts in China needed for his then early research. Needham agreed to be an inspector in North Korea and his report supported the allegations (it is debated to this very day whether the evidence had been planted as a part of a complicated disinformation campaign). Needham's biographer Simon Winchester claimed that "Needham was intellectually in love with communism; and yet communist spymasters and agents, it turned out, had pitilessly duped him." Needham

2394-420: A tender age, he might not have attempted his largest work. Sanderson had been charged by the school's governors with developing a science and technology programme, which included a metal shop that gave the young Needham a grounding in engineering. Sanderson also emphasised to the boys of the school that co-operation led to higher human achievement than competition and that knowledge of history was necessary to build

2527-527: A wine-house in Zhongshan, and the wineshop owner gave him thousand-day wine but forgot to tell him its alcoholic potency. Xuanshi went home and became drunk, but his housefolk did not realise this and thought that he was dead, and tearfully buried him. When the wine-shop owner had calculated that the thousand days were up, he recalled that Xuanshi had previously bought some of his wine, and that his stupour should have worn off by now. He went to visit Xuanshi, but

2660-456: Is a kind of creature called the Yenü (meaning "wild girl") that travels in group. No male ones are to be found. They are white and crystal-like, wearing no clothes." It also quotes Zhou Mi's Qidong yeyu (above), and Li comments: "According to what Ruan Qian and Luo Yuan said above, it seems that this Yenü is actually an orangutan. As to the seal chip found in the animal, it is similar to the case that

2793-522: Is a possibility that the original Bowuzhi copy that was the basis for the Song edition dated from the early 7th century. Greatrex suggests that some graphic alterations in the text reflect the strict naming taboo against writing the current emperor's given name. The personal name of Emperor Gaozu of Tang (r. 618-626) was Yuan 淵, and in one context the character yuan 淵 has been altered to quan 泉. The personal name of Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 627-650)

SECTION 20

#1732791161395

2926-477: Is also clear that the agrarian revolution experienced in Europe was a tangible asset towards industrialization. The issue of the abundance of land was also at the forefront in ensuring that industrial revolution was realized in Europe contrary to what was experienced in China whereby the large populations put a lot of strain to the available resources as a result making industrial revolution unattainable in China during

3059-632: Is mentioned in the Bencao gangmu along with the yángsuì 陽燧 "sun-mirror". Needham and Wang note that although ice can be used in this way (as demonstrated by Robert Hooke ), it seems more likely that Zhang Hua was describing a lens of rock-crystal or glass. The word crystal derives from Ancient Greek krýstallos κρύσταλλος "clear ice; (rock-)crystal", and "there was a persistent theory in China, probably of Buddhist origin, that ice turned into rock-crystal after thousands of years." Footnotes Zhang Hua Zhang Hua's father, Zhang Ping ( 張平 ),

3192-707: Is much that is superficial and exaggerated which should be deleted from this work. One should not rely upon verbosity when composing a work! When in the past, Confucius edited the Shijing and the Shujing, he never came to the affairs of the spirits and the unknown and thus never spoke of 'extraordinary things, feats of strength, disorder and spiritual beings'. Your Bowu zhi will startle people with that which they have never heard of previously, and will make them wonder over that which they have never previously seen. This book will frighten and confuse later generations, it will bewilder

3325-524: Is no regular English translation of Bówùzhì , and examples include: The Record of the Investigation of Things translation from Joseph Needham 's influential Science and Civilisation in China series has been copied by many authors, despite confusion with the famous Neo-Confucian concept of géwù 格物 "the Investigation of Things". Zhang Hua has been accused of plagiarizing the Bowuzhi from

3458-472: Is the earliest extant, was included in the (1782) Siku Quanshu and various other book collections. The total content matter of these two versions is almost identical; the Song edition repeats three items in chapter 10 which have appeared earlier in the text, while the Ming edition has omitted them. Both editions are divided into 10 chapters, while the Ming edition is further sub-divided under 38 or 39 (dividing

3591-631: Is this: why had China been overtaken by the West in science and technology, despite their earlier successes? In Needham's words, "Why did modern science, the mathematization of hypotheses about Nature, with all its implications for advanced technology, take its meteoric rise only in the West at the time of Galileo?", and why it "had not developed in Chinese civilization" which, in the previous many centuries "was much more efficient than occidental in applying" natural knowledge to practical needs. Francis Bacon considered four inventions as completely transforming

3724-487: Is well established that some Ming scholars responded to a misguided scholastic urge to rearrange old texts that they considered disorganized, and the "stylistic device" of adding sub-headings to works of random jottings first became widespread during the Ming. Three authors wrote supplements to the Bowuzhi . During the Southern Song dynasty, Li Shi 李石 compiled the (mid-12th century) Xu bowuzhi 續博物志 "Continuation to

3857-602: The Gujin Tushu Jicheng encyclopaedia, a comprehensive record of China's past. On his return to Europe, he was asked by Julian Huxley to become the first head of the Natural Sciences Section of UNESCO in Paris, France. In fact it was Needham who insisted that science should be included in the organisation's mandate at an earlier planning meeting. After two years in which the suspicions of

3990-512: The Bowu zhi in his book-box and looked in it on his days of leisure." Cèlǐzhǐ 側理紙 "intricate filament paper" had complex and crooked lines. The editors of the (1782) Siku Quanshu listed examples of passages attributed to the Bowuzhi found in other works, but not contained in the current edition, and believed that the current textual edition did not date from the Tang or Song, but was most likely

4123-589: The Bowuzhi and two Shanhaijing chapters. In the west, "The Country of White Folk lies to the north of the land of Dragonfish. The people of White Folk Country have a white body and they wear their hair loose." In the east, "There is the Country of White Folk. The great god Foremost [俊] gave birth to the great god Vast [鴻]. The great god Vast gave birth to the White Folk.", giving a divine genealogical origin myth . The (978) Taiping Guangji collection misquotes

Bowuzhi - Misplaced Pages Continue

4256-608: The Bowuzhi for the above Shanhaijing myth, "In that place there are the ride-yellow creatures which look like a fox and have horns on their backs. People who ride them will live to be 2,000 years old." The Bowuzhi mentions various poisons and antidotes, including an arrowhead poison used by the Lizi 俚子 people in Jiaozhou (present day northern Vietnam), later confused with the Li people of Hainan. In Jiaozhou, there are barbarians called

4389-479: The Bowuzhi have been published in recent years. Fan Ning 范寧 wrote an acclaimed text-critical edition of the Bowuzhi , which discusses textual history and includes 212 additional passages quoted in later texts. Roger Greatrex, professor of Chinese studies at Lund University , wrote the first English translation of the Bowuzhi . Scholars have debated over the history of the Bowuzhi for centuries. Although Zhang Hua's authorship has never been questioned, some doubt

4522-474: The Bowuzhi " in 10 chapters, which quotes early sources without any textual criticism. During the Ming dynasty, Dong Sizhang 董斯張 compiled the extensive (1607) Guang Bowuzhi 廣博物志 "Enlargement of the Bowuzhi " in 50 chapters. And during the Qing dynasty, You Qian 游潛 compiled the Bowuzhi bu 博物志補 "Supplement to the Bowuzhi " in 2 chapters, which added miscellaneous information. Several modern annotated editions of

4655-466: The Bowuzhi . The Po wuh che was originally drawn up by Chang Hwa, in the latter part of the third century. His production, however, appears to have been lost during the Sung, and the present work in ten books with that title, was probably compiled at a later period from the extracts contained in other publications; but there are still many quotations from it in the ancient literature which do not appear in

4788-526: The Cao Wei dynasty (220-265) by name. Based upon analysis of the 50 Bowuji quotes in the (5th century) Book of the Later Han commentary, Greatrex concludes it was a different text with a parallel name. There are two different editions of the Bowuzhi , respectively dating from Song dynasty (960-1279) and Ming dynasty (1368-1644) copies. Both divide the text into 10 chapters (卷) and comprise nearly

4921-557: The "Wild Women" under the xingxing 狌狌 " orangutan " entry (51), and cites the Eryayi 爾雅翼 "Wings to the Erya " by Luo Yuan 羅願 (1136–1184) that, "'It seems such a creature is actually a Yenü (meaning "wild girl") or Yepo (meaning "wild woman")'", and Li asks, "Are they the same?" The subentry for the yenü 野女 or yěpó 野婆 quotes, "The book Bowu Zhi by Tang Meng [sic]: In the Rinan area there

5054-466: The "periphery" nations that lie outside of the bright zone. In addition to supporting periphery nations, Needham incorporated his desire for a non-Eurocentric record of science in UNESCO's mission. To this end, Huxley and Needham devised an ambitious scholarly project they called The History of Scientific and Cultural Development of Mankind (shortened to History of Mankind ) . The goal of this project

5187-594: The (13th century) Tangyin bishi 堂陰比事 about responsibility for a (c. 1015) fire that started from a pile of oiled curtains in the imperial palace of Emperor Renzong of Song . It says, "[Z]hang Hua thought that the fire which occurred formerly during the (Western) [J]in dynasty in the arsenal originated from the oil which was stored there, but in fact it must have been from the same cause as mentioned here (the spontaneous ignition of oiled cloth)." Another Bowuzhi chapter describes hemp oil 's relatively low smoke point and boiling point phases (2) "If one heats hemp oil, and

5320-679: The (c. 4th century BCE) Zuozhuan and later came to mean "studies of plants and animals; natural science" in the (80 CE) Lunheng . In general, bowu "refers to realms transgressing the boundaries of the defined canon of knowledge, covering a variety of matters from the strange and supernatural to quaint things of interest". Books on Chinese folk customs and their geographical distribution were termed Fengtu ji (beginning with Zhou Chu's 3rd-century Fengtuji 風土記 "Records of Local Customs"), and descriptions of unfamiliar regions Yiwu zhi . In Modern Standard Chinese usage, bówùxué 博物學 "natural history" and bówùguǎn 博物館 "museum" are common terms. There

5453-584: The 12th century, and was the basis for both the "Song" and "Ming editions." Greatrex says that both imperial and private libraries from the Six Dynasties to the present recorded copies of the Bowuzhi , and at no point in time does the text totally disappear from view. The first historically reliable mention of the Bowuzhi occurs in the (554) Book of Wei biography of the classical scholar Chang Jing 常景 (c. 478-550), "Jing composed several hundred chapters which are currently available. He revised and edited

Bowuzhi - Misplaced Pages Continue

5586-471: The Americans over scientific co-operation with communists intensified, Needham resigned in 1948 and returned to Gonville and Caius College, where he resumed his fellowship and his rooms, which were soon filled with his books. He devoted his energy to the history of Chinese science until his retirement in 1990, even though he continued to teach some biochemistry until 1993. Needham's reputation recovered from

5719-525: The Bowu zhi by Zhang Hua and also composed the Biographies of Confucian Scholars (Rulin zhuan) and the Biographies of Various Ladies (Lienu zhuan), each of which was in several dozen chapters." In the opinion of Greatrex, while later interpolations into the present Bowuzhi text are rare, a number of short passages, muddled into the main text, stem from Chang Jing's (mid-6th century) commentary. A possibly earlier reference, Wang Jia 's Shiyiji — which

5852-655: The Chair of Chinese in the University of Cambridge, a post never awarded to Needham, was endowed in his honour as the Joseph Needham Professorship of Chinese History, Science and Civilisation . Since 2016, an annual Needham Memorial Lecture is held at Clare College. Needham was a high church Anglo-Catholic who worshipped regularly at Ely Cathedral and in the college chapel, but he also described himself as an "honorary Taoist ". In 1961, Needham

5985-556: The Chinese beat Europeans to the Scientific Revolution? – happens to be one of the few questions that people often ask in public places about why something didn't happen in history. It is analogous to the question of why your name did not appear on page 3 of today's newspaper. There are several hypotheses attempting to explain the Needham Question. Yingqiu Liu and Chunjiang Liu argued that the issue rested on

6118-446: The Chinese state. As illustrated, "The Ming code of core laws also sought to block social mobility" (Landes, 2006, p. 7). How can you expect the industrial revolution to a country that prohibited its people from performing social mobility? From the above, you will come to find that it is clear that the Chinese would not be able to achieve industrial revolution since they were heavily tamed by their state government who were naïve about

6251-468: The History of Science Committee. The Committee included conservatives but also Marxists like J.D. Bernal , whose views on the social and economic frameworks of science influence Needham. Needham's Terry Lecture of 1936 was published by Cambridge University Press in association with Yale University Press under the title of Order and Life . In 1939 he produced a massive work on morphogenesis that

6384-583: The Korean affair (see below) such that by 1959 he was elected as president of the fellows of Caius College and in 1965 he became Master (head) of the college, a post which he held until he was 76. In 1948, Needham proposed a project to the Cambridge University Press for a book on Science and Civilisation in China . Within weeks of being accepted, the project had grown to seven volumes, and it has expanded ever since. His initial collaborator

6517-414: The Lizi. Their bows are several chi long, and their arrows are more than a chi long. They use scorched bronze [ jiāotóng 焦銅] as arrowheads, and smear them with poisonous medicaments on the tip. If such an arrow hits a man, he will die within a short while. Once the tip has lodged in his body, the affected area swells, and the wound suppurates. After a short while the flesh blisters and 'boils away', revealing

6650-623: The Military storehouse during the Taishi period (265-274) was the result of oil storage.>" Taishi 泰始 was the first era name during the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin (265-290). However, the Book of Jin says this military storehouse fire occurred in 295 and the Yiyuan 異苑 "Garden of Marvels" says 293, during the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin . Needham doubts the Bowuzhi account, citing a legal case in

6783-717: The Palace Writers ( 中書監 ). In 296, Zhang Hua was promoted to Minister of Works ( 司空 ). Over the subsequent years, with Empress Jia Nanfeng in power (Emperor Hui was merely a puppet emperor), Zhang Hua used his political skills to keep the various competing factions in check, in conjunction with Empress Jia's cousin Pei Wei . In early 300, the political firestorm became too big for Zhang Hua to handle after Empress Jia Nanfeng framed Sima Yu for treason in February and had him deposed. In April, fearing that Sima Yu would make

SECTION 50

#1732791161395

6916-582: The University Department of Biochemistry, specialising in embryology and morphogenesis . His three-volume work Chemical Embryology , published in 1931, includes a history of embryology from Egyptian times up to the early 19th century, including quotations in most European languages. Including this history reflected Needham's fear that overspecialization would hold back scientific progress and that social and historical forces shaped science. In 1936, he and several other Cambridge scientists founded

7049-486: The accumulated sufficient knowledge. A strong need to save labor was finally felt in Europe. The agrarian revolution experienced before also provided agricultural surplus that ultimately served as the core assets towards financing the industrial revolution. (p. 272). The accumulation of adequate labor and knowledge to their threshold was a significant step that the European embraced to ignite an industrial revolution. It

7182-533: The aspect of innovation. According to Justin Lin, China did not make the shift from an experience-based technological invention process to an experiment-based innovation process. The experience-based process depended on the size of a population, and while new technologies have come about through the trials and errors of the peasants and artisans, experiment-based processes surpasses experience-based processes in yielding new technology. Progress from experimentation following

7315-418: The authenticity of the text, based upon the numerous quotations from the Bowuzhi that are not found in received editions. In the traditional assessment, Zhang's original Bowuzhi had been lost, and the current text is a rewriting or restoration based on extracts of the original and is of unknown date. Modern research, both Chinese and Western, has found that copies of the original Bowuzhi existed until around

7448-770: The basin] and thus make it lighter; the sound would reverberate inaccurately and the basin would cease ringing out of its own accord." The man did as Hua had advised, and the basin never rang out again. The Ganying leicongzhi 感應類從志 "Record of the Mutual Resonances of Things According to Their Categories" is attributed to Zhang Hua. The Bowuzhi title combines bó 博 or 愽 "broad; abundant; plentiful; learned", wù 物 "thing; matter", and zhì 志 or 誌 "(historical) records; annals; mark; sign; record; register". This title follows Yang Fu 's (early 3rd century) Yiwuzhi 異物志 "Records of Foreign Matters". The word bowu 博物 originally meant "broadly knowledgeable; erudite" in

7581-439: The belief that science was the universal experience that bound humanity, Huxley and Needham hoped that their project would help ease some of the animosity between the two spheres. The project involved hundreds of scholars from around the globe and took over a decade to reach fruition in 1966. The work is still continued today with new volumes published periodically. "Needham's Grand Question", also known as "The Needham Question",

7714-458: The bone. In accord with the barbarian custom, they have sworn not to divulge the method for preparing this medicament to other people. To cure it, drink menstrual blood mixed with excremental fluid. Sometimes there are those who recover. The Lizi only use this poison when shooting pigs and dogs, but not other creatures, since pigs and dogs eat excrement. In the making of scorched bronze, one burns bronze vessels. Those who are adepts at it differentiate

7847-561: The carriage taken to pieces, for he did not wish to show it to his people. Ten years later there came an easterly wind [of sufficient strength], and then the carriage was reassembled and the visitors were sent back to their own country. Their country lies forty thousand li beyond the Jade Gate pass. (8) An earlier version of this story occurs in the Diwang shiji 帝王世紀 "Stories of Ancient Monarchs" by Huangfu Mi (215-282), who took Jigong to be

7980-781: The caves in Dunhuang at the end of the Great Wall where the earliest dated printed book - a copy of the Diamond Sutra - was found. The other long trip reached Fuzhou on the east coast, returning across the Xiang River just two days before the Japanese blew up the bridge at Hengyang and cut off that part of China. In 1944 he visited Yunnan in an attempt to reach the Burmese border. Everywhere he went he purchased and

8113-468: The commandery administrator recommended him to the regent, Sima Zhao . Sima Zhao made him one of his secretaries, and he distinguished himself in that role. However, as an Academician in the Ministry of Ceremonies ( 太常博士 ), he suffered disgrace when he was dismissed for negligence after one of the beams in the imperial ancestral temple broke. In 265, after Sima Zhao's son, Sima Yan (Emperor Wu) usurped

SECTION 60

#1732791161395

8246-473: The culture of the Chinese has valued the males in the society; as a result, early marriages were experienced which boosted the fertility rates leading to the rapid increase in the China population. (p. 271). An increase in population with no equivalent increase in economic and technological development will ultimately suppress the available resources causing laxity to the general economic development. The high population experienced in China significantly raised

8379-446: The direction of the sun, and produces the sun's image on artemisia behind it, the artemisia will catch fire. <Apparent note: As to methods of obtaining fire by the use of pearls, there is much spoken about them, but I have not tried them out.>" Another translation, "A piece of ice is cut into the shape of a round ball", takes yuán 圓 "round; circle" to mean yuánqiú 圓球 "ball; sphere; globe". The huǒzhū 火珠 "fire-pearl" burning lens

8512-427: The earliest versions of several myths, such as the white yenü 野女 "wild women" living south of China in a society without men. Scholars have described the Bowuzhi as "a miscellany of scientific interest" and "an important minor classic". The Bowuzhi author Zhang Hua (232-300) was a Western Jin dynasty (266-316) scholar, poet, and protoscientist . His biography in the (644) Book of Jin depicts Zhang Hua as

8645-399: The early fourteenth century. Needham's work has been criticised by most scholars who assert that it has a strong inclination to exaggerate Chinese technological achievements and has an excessive propensity to assume a Chinese origin for the wide range of objects his work covered. Pierre-Yves Manguin writes, for instance: J Needham's (1971) monumental work on Chinese nautics offers by far

8778-589: The edition was based on a copy owned in his family, and considered it to date from the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). The Song edition was included in collections such as the (1936) Sibu beiyao 四部備要. The "Ming edition" was published in 1503 by He Zhitong 賀志同, and is presently housed in the National Library of China in Beijing. Wang Shihan 汪士漢 published a reprint in 1668. The Ming edition, which

8911-445: The effects of these institutions on technological advancement were indirect. Needham's political views were unorthodox and his lifestyle controversial. His left-wing stance was based in a form of Christian socialism . However he was influenced by Louis Rapkine and Liliana Lubińska , both Marxists brought up with a Jewish anti-clerical outlook. He never joined any Communist Party . After 1949 his sympathy with Chinese culture

9044-419: The evening they both became quite drunk and fell asleep. Hua was accustomed to drinking this wine, and after becoming inebriated, he had his attendants roll him from side to side while he slept until he woke up. In this way one could consume this wine without coming to harm. However on this occasion, he forgot [to make arrangements for his friend]. Hua's attendants, as usual, rolled him from side to side, but there

9177-505: The expansion of a countries market. As Landes (2006) further puts it, in 1368 when the new emperor Hongwu was inaugurated, his main objective was war. (p. 6). A lot of revenue that can otherwise be used for innovative procedures are as a result lost in wars. Heavy participation in war significantly hindered the Chinese to have the capability of focusing on the industrial revolution. Landes (2006) further explains that Chinese were advised to stay put and never to move without permission from

9310-423: The eye and disturb the ear. You should delete and alter that which is superficial and doubtful and divide the text into 10 chapters." The context continues with Emperor Wu presenting Zhang Hua with three rare tribute gifts , an iron inkstone from Khotan , a qilin -handle ink brush from Liaoxi , and a 1000 sheets of seaweed-filament paper from Nanyue ; and "The emperor always kept the ten-chapter version of

9443-401: The feudal system that the European had embraced, (p. 272). The availability of unexploited ventures made European have significant potential in the execution of a fully-fledged industrial revolution. Lin (1995) further adds that although Europe was lagging behind China during the pre-modern era in terms of economic and technological advancements, the right time finally came for Europe to use

9576-975: The field of Chinese technological history, he still struggled to break free from his preconceived notions of European exceptionalism. Re-Orient criticizes Needham for his Eurocentric assumptions borrowed from Marx and the presupposition of Needham's famous Grand Question that science was a uniquely Western phenomenon. Frank observes: Alas, it was also originally Needham's Marxist and Weberian point of departure. As Needham found more and more evidence about science and technology in China, he struggled to liberate himself from his Eurocentric original sin, which he had inherited directly from Marx, as Cohen also observes. But Needham never quite succeeded, perhaps because his concentration on China prevented him from sufficiently revising his still ethnocentric view of Europe itself. T. H. Barrett asserts in The Woman Who Discovered Printing that Needham

9709-438: The final Zashuo 雜說 "Miscellaneous sayings" into two) headings that designate the content in each respective subsection. Campany says the absence of topic headings and non-rational sequencing of items have led some to speculate that the "Ming edition" represents a tidying-up of an earlier "Song edition" descended from Zhang Hua's original, but Huang Pilie's text was neither necessarily of Song date nor any closer to Zhang's text. It

9842-535: The first king of the Shang dynasty , meeting the Jigong 奇肱 (lit. "odd/uneven upper-arms") people from far west of the Jade Gate . The Jigong people were good at making mechanical devices [機巧] for killing the hundred sorts of birds. They could make a flying carriage [飛車] which travelling with the wind, travelled great distances. In the reign of emperor Tang, a westerly wind blew such a carriage as far as Yuzhou. Tang had

9975-420: The growth of modern science, while the clusters of independent European nations were more favourable to competition and scientific development. In addition, the Chinese did not have the incentives to acquire human capital necessary for modern scientific experimentation. Civil service was deemed the most rewarding and honourable work in pre-modern China. The gifted had more incentives to pursue this route to move up

10108-539: The hearsay rumoured abroad and snatches of conversation overheard in the palace ante-rooms, he composed the Bowu zhi in four hundred chapters, and presented to emperor Wu. The emperor summoned him and said: "Your talent embraces the ten thousand generations and the width of your knowledge is without equal. In the past you surpass the Emperor Fuxi and more recently, you are second only to Confucius. However, in your recording of affairs and in your selection of words, there

10241-402: The help of Allied governments, UNESCO is an international organization that aims to bring education to regions that had been affected by Nazi occupation. Needham and Huxley advocated the growth of scientific education as a means to overcome political conflict and hence founded UNESCO in an effort to expand its influence. Composed of representatives from various Allied countries, UNESCO operated on

10374-430: The help of international education the most. He also argued that the lack of familiarity between other nations and those in the bright zone made ideological exchange difficult. Finally, he expressed the notion that other countries had issues disseminating knowledge because they lacked the capital necessary for distribution. Due to these constraints, Needham suggested that most of the organization's support should be given to

10507-451: The high population can be a great setback when it comes to development. The land which a factor of production can be negatively affected by high population. The ratio of person-to-land-area will eventually decrease as the population of a community grows. During the thirteenth century, China was significantly affected by this population factor when it came to the point of ignition of an industrial revolution. As Lin (1995) puts forward, initially,

10640-516: The ice (for instance, applejack or ice beer , but not ice wine made from frozen grapes). The earliest Chinese record is traditionally believed to be the (late 7th century) Liang Sigong ji 梁四公記 "Tales of the Four Lords of Liang", which says emissaries from Gaochang presented dòngjiǔ 凍酒 "frozen-out wine" to Emperor Wu of Liang around 520. The first item refers to qiānrìjiǔ 千日酒 "thousand day wine". Long ago Xuanshi [玄石] bought wine in

10773-519: The lack of property rights and that those rights were only obtainable through favour of the emperor. Protection was incomplete as the emperor could rescind those rights at any time. Science and technology were subjugated to the needs of the feudal royal family, and any new discoveries were sequestered by the government for its use. The government took steps to control and interfere with private enterprises by manipulating prices and engaging in bribery. Each revolution in China redistributed property rights under

10906-493: The logic of a scientific method can occur at a much faster rate because the inventor can perform many trials during the same production period under a controlled environment. Results from experimentation is dependent on the stock of scientific knowledge while results from experience-based processes is tied directly to the size of a population; hence, experiment-based innovation processes have a higher likelihood of producing better technology as human capital grows. China had about twice

11039-553: The man to land ratio. The China population was massive. Just as Lin (1995) elaborates, the raising man-land-ratio in the Chinese meant that there was a diminishing surplus per capita. Due to this, China were not able to have surplus resources which can be tapped and used to ignite the industrial revolution. Just as Lin (1995) puts forward, Europeans were enjoying an optimum man to land ratio with no land strain. The Europeans also had vast unexploited technologies as well as economics possibilities. All these advantages were possible because of

11172-478: The modern world, marking it off from the antiquity of the Middle Ages: paper and printing, gunpowder, and the magnetic compass. He regarded the origins of these inventions as 'obscure and inglorious', dying without ever knowing that all of them were Chinese. Part of Needham's work attempts to "put this record straight". Needham's works attribute significant weight to the impact of Confucianism and Taoism on

11305-405: The most scholarly synthesis on the subjects of Chinese shipbuilding and navigation. His propensity to view the Chinese as the initiators of all things and his constant references to the superiority of Chinese over the rest of the world's techniques does at times detract from his argument. In another vein of criticism, Andre Gunder Frank 's Re-Orient argues that despite Needham's contributions in

11438-489: The mountain as fast as golden monkeys. Under their waists are pieces of leather covering their bodies. When they encounter a man, they will carry him away and force him to mate. It is reported once that such a creature was killed by a strong man. It protected its waist even when it was being killed. After dissecting the animal, a piece of seal chip was found that was similar to a piece of gray jade with inscriptions on it. Li Shizhen 's (1578) Bencao gangmu pharmacopeia quotes

11571-545: The narrative. The Qidong yeyu 齊東野語 "Words of a Retired Scholar from the East of Qi", written by Zhou Mi 周密 (1232-1298), has a yěpó 野婆 "Wild Woman" entry, with pó "woman; old woman; grandmother". Yepo (meaning "wild woman") is found in Nandanzhou. It has yellow hair shaped into coils. It is naked and wears no shoes. It looks like a very old woman. All of them are female and there are no male ones. They climb up and down

11704-764: The northern frontier in You Province to serve as Colonel Who Protects the Wuhuan ( 護烏桓校尉 ) and General Who Stabilises the North ( 安北將軍 ). Zhang Hua performed well in office as he pacified the various non- Han Chinese peoples, such as the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes, in the region. Although Emperor Wu considered summoning Zhang Hua back to the imperial capital Luoyang to serve in ministerial positions, he changed his mind every time after listening to officials who disliked Zhang Hua. Following Emperor Wu's death in 290, Zhang Hua

11837-411: The oil not yet reached. If sufficiently wetted the finger would not come into contact with the oil, protection being given by a layer of steam. Then when the oil is near its boiling-point, added water will cause violent disturbance and lead to the ignition of drops thrown out." One Bowuzhi item describes making a burning lens from ice (2), "If one pares a piece of ice into a circle, and holds it up in

11970-943: The only one under Needham's tutelage). Lu, daughter of a Nanjing pharmacist, taught Needham Chinese, igniting his interest in China's ancient technological and scientific past. He then pursued, and mastered, the study of Classical Chinese privately with Gustav Haloun . Under the Royal Society 's direction, Needham was the director of the Sino-British Science Co-operation Office in Chongqing from 1942 to 1946. During this time he made several long journeys through war-torn China and many smaller ones, visiting scientific and educational establishments and obtaining for them much needed supplies. His longest trip in late 1943 ended in far west in Gansu at

12103-725: The order originally contemplated in the project's prospectus. Needham's final organizing schema was: See Science and Civilisation in China for a full list. The project is still proceeding under the guidance of the Publications Board of the Needham Research Institute , directed by Professor Mei Jianjun. Needham, along with colleague Julian Huxley , was one of the founders of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ). Developed in 1945 with

12236-581: The pace of Chinese scientific discovery, and emphasises the "diffusionist" approach of Chinese science as opposed to a perceived independent inventiveness in the western world. Needham thought the notion that the Chinese script had inhibited scientific thought was "grossly overrated". His own research revealed a steady accumulation of scientific results throughout Chinese history . In the final volume he suggests "A continuing general and scientific progress manifested itself in traditional Chinese society but this

12369-405: The population of Europe until the 13th century and so had a higher probability of creating new technologies. After the 14th century, China's population grew exponentially, but progress in innovation saw diminishing returns. Europe had a smaller population but began to integrate science and technology that arose from the scientific revolution in the 17th century. This scientific revolution gave Europe

12502-554: The potentiality of the scorched bronze by its sound. They use something to tap the vessel, and listen carefully to the sound. Once they have obtained the scorched bronze, then they chisel it out and use it to make arrowheads. Cooper and Sivin quote this Bowuzhi item and note that "excremental fluid" is the liquid that gradually forms in an open privy. The Bowuzhi records a legendary wind-propelled flying machine, as opposed to numerous early myths of flying vehicles drawn by dragons or birds. The story mentions Tang (r. c. 1675–1646 BC),

12635-402: The present edition. It is in great part occupied with records of the marvellous. Fan Ning traced the "Ming edition" version back to Chang Jing's (6th century) 10-chapter abridgment (mentioned above), which seems to have survived alongside Zhang Hua's longer 10-chapter autograph text until at least until the late twelfth century. The fate of the unabridged original text remains a mystery. There

12768-552: The principle that ideas and information should spread freely among nations. However, Needham disagreed with this initial mode of exchange because of its failure to include nations outside of Europe and America. To communicate his discordance with the model, Needham wrote and distributed a formal message to others in the organization explaining its flaws. He stated that nations outside of the European-American "bright zone", or primary location of scientific advancement, needed

12901-487: The rest of their families in 300. Only one of Zhang Hua's grandsons, Zhang Yu ( 張輿 ), survived the purge. He inherited his grandfather's peerage in 301 after his grandfather was posthumously rehabilitated. Zhang Shangrou (张尚柔), mother of Emperor Wu of Liang , was a descendant (5x-great-granddaughter) of Zhang Hua. Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham CH FRS FBA ( / ˈ n iː d ə m / ; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995)

13034-553: The same feudal system. Land and property were reallocated first and foremost to the royal family of the new dynasty up until the late Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) when fiefdom land was taken over by warlords and merchants. These limited property rights constrained potential scientific innovations. The Chinese Empire enacted totalitarian control and was able to do so because of its great size. There were smaller independent states that had no choice but to comply with this control. They could not afford to isolate themselves. The Chinese believed in

13167-458: The same material, but they differ in organizing the sequence of the 329 items and the presence of 38 topic headings in the Ming copy. Both editions include the two early Bowuzhi commentaries; 20 comments by Zhou Riyong 周日用 (fl. 12th century) and 7 by an unknown author surnamed Lu, Lushi 盧氏. The "Song edition" was compiled and published in 1804 by Huang Pilie 黃丕烈 (1763-1825), a renowned Qing dynasty (1644-1912) book collector and editor. Huang said

13300-403: The similarly-titled (c. 190) Bowuji 博物記 "Notes on Diverse Matters" with jì 記 "remember; write down; records; notes" (instead of zhi 志 "records"), attributed to Tang Meng 唐蒙. Tang Meng was a general and explorer who Emperor Wu of Han sent to Nanyue in 135 BCE. However, neither the Book of Han nor later histories record any works written by Tang Meng, and one Bowuji citation mentions

13433-693: The social status ladder as opposed to pursuing scientific endeavours. Further the laxity and lack of innovation exhibited by China made her to be surpassed by the growing European levels of technological advancement and innovation. As Landes (2006) puts forward, the Chinese lived as they wanted. They were ruled by an emperor "Son of Heaven" who they termed to be unique, and he was godlike. As he further adds, this emperor had arrogant representatives who were chosen in terms of "competitive examinations in Confucian letters and morals." As explained, these representatives were submissive to their subordinates as they possessed

13566-402: The steam has ceased and there is no smoke, then it does not boil anymore and becomes cold again. One can put one's hand into it and stir it. However, if it comes into contact with water, flames arise and it explodes, and cannot be extinguished at all." In Joseph Needham's opinion, "These observations are not bad. In the first phase all the water has been driven off as steam and the boiling-point of

13699-536: The strategies and logistic arrangements behind the campaign against Eastern Wu . After the Jin dynasty conquered Eastern Wu in 280, Emperor Wu enfeoffed Zhang Hua as the Marquis of Guangwu ( 廣武侯 ) to honour him for his contributions. Zhang Hua soon fell out of favour with Emperor Wu. When Emperor Wu once asked him who could be a regent for his son Sima Zhong (later Emperor Hui) , Zhang Hua recommended Emperor Wu's brother, Sima You (the Prince of Qi) . Although Sima You

13832-534: The testes of a male mouse are said to have seal characters [ fuzhuan 符篆 "symbolic seal script "] on them, and the case that under the wing of a bird a seal of mirror has been found. Such things are still unclear to us." Two Song dynasty imperial reference works quote the Zhang Hua's "Wild Women" in their Báimín guó 白民國 "Country of White Folk" entries that refer to two Shanhaijing myths about white-skinned people. The (983) Taiping Yulan encyclopedia quotes

13965-497: The threshold of modern industry, had it not been for this stifling state control. It is the State that kills technological progress in China". Meanwhile, the lack of a free market in China escalated to a new affair whereby the Chinese were restricted from carrying trade with foreigners. Foreign trade is a great source of foreign knowledge as well as the capability of acquisition of new products. Foreign trade promotes innovation as well as

14098-433: The throne and briefly ruled as emperor before he was overthrown. In 301, Sima You's son and successor, Sima Jiong (the Prince of Qi), then the regent, had Zhang Hua posthumously rehabilitated and restored to his former titles and positions. Zhang Hua's poetry was admired by such people as Ruan Ji and Chen Liu ( 陳留 ). He was profoundly learned, and when he changed houses it took thirty carts to carry his library. Zhang Hua

14231-621: The throne from the last Cao Wei emperor Cao Huan and established the Jin dynasty (266–420) , he appointed Zhang Hua as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate ( 黃門侍郎 ) and awarded him the title of a Secondary Marquis ( 關內侯 ). He was promoted to the position of a Master of Writing ( 尚書 ) later. Around 279 or 280, when the general Yang Hu encouraged Emperor Wu to conquer the Jin dynasty's rival state Eastern Wu , most officials strongly objected but Zhang Hua agreed with Yang Hu and became heavily involved in

14364-475: The time to be western inventions. The first volume eventually appeared in 1954. The publication received widespread acclaim, which intensified to lyricism as the further volumes appeared. He wrote fifteen volumes himself, and the regular production of further volumes continued after his death in 1995. Later, Volume III was divided, so that 27 volumes have now been published. Successive volumes are published as they are completed, which means that they do not appear in

14497-595: The unity of the text, the context of the quotation, and taxonomy in which those fragments are embedded, then reorganize and reinterpret them in a new, Western taxonomy and narrative. Needham used this process of selection and re-assembly to argue for a Chinese tradition of science that did not exist as such. Justin Lin argues against Needham's premise that China's early adoption of modern socioeconomic institutions contributed heavily to its technological advancement. Lin contends that technological advancements at this time were largely separate from economic circumstance, and that

14630-446: The well-being of the state as their primary motive for economic activity, and individual initiatives were shunned. There were regulations on the press, clothing, construction, music, birth rates, and trade. The Chinese state controlled all aspects of life, severely limiting any incentives to innovate and to better one's self. "The ingenuity and inventiveness of the Chinese would no doubt have enriched China further and probably brought it to

14763-503: Was Shimin 世民, and in two contexts ye 葉 has been altered to the character qi 萋, and in another the character xie 泄 has been altered to xie 洩. In order to illustrate the diverse content of the Bowuzhi , some notable mythic and scientific passages are given below. Some items blur the lines between fact and fiction. For instance, the legend about "Wild Women" in Vietnam has been interpreted as an early observation of orangutans that

14896-416: Was a British biochemist , historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology , initiating publication of the multivolume Science and Civilisation in China . A focus of his was what has come to be called the Needham Question of why and how China had ceded its leadership in science and technology to Western countries. He

15029-578: Was a commandery administrator in the Cao Wei state during the Three Kingdoms period. He died when Zhang Hua was still young. Zhang Hua's family became impoverished, and he was a shepherd when he was young. The official Liu Fang ( 劉放 ) was so impressed with Zhang Hua that he arranged for Zhang Hua to marry his daughter. Zhang Hua became known for his literary talent, and he wrote a collection of poems, ostensibly about birds – but in fact about people's tendencies. His poems received great renown, and

15162-480: Was always attracted by pretty women. When he and Lu Gwei-djen met in 1937, they fell deeply in love, which Dorothy accepted. The three of them eventually lived contentedly on the same road in Cambridge for many years. In 1989, two years after Dorothy's death, Needham married Lu, who died two years later. He suffered from Parkinson's disease from 1982, and died at the age of 94 at his Cambridge home. In 2008,

15295-430: Was as Taoist as any in Chinese history, though perhaps its 'state Taoism' would have seemed a corrupt and inauthentic business to Needham. Daiwie Fu , in the essay "On Mengxi bitan' s World of Marginalities and 'South-pointing Needles': Fragment Translation vs. Contextual Tradition", criticises Needham, among other Western scholars, for translations that select fragments deemed “scientific,” usually without appreciating

15428-737: Was awarded the George Sarton Medal by the History of Science Society and in 1966 he became Master of Gonville and Caius College . In 1979, Joseph Needham received the Dexter Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry from the American Chemical Society . In 1984, Needham became the fourth recipient of the J.D. Bernal Award, awarded by the Society for Social Studies of Science. In 1990, he

15561-558: Was blacklisted by the US government until well into the 1970s. In 1965, with Derek Bryan , a retired diplomat whom he first met in China, Needham established the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding , which for some years provided the only way for British subjects to visit the People's Republic of China. On a visit to China in 1964 he was met by Zhou Enlai, and in 1965 stated that "China has

15694-440: Was clearly capable of fulfilling that role, Emperor Wu was angry with Zhang Hua because he feared that Sima You might usurp the throne from Sima Zhong in the future since he had much support from the masses. The officials who previously opposed the campaign against Eastern Wu seized this opportunity to speak ill of Zhang Hua in front of Emperor Wu and cause him to fall out of the emperor's favour. Emperor Wu then sent Zhang Hua away to

15827-712: 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 Order of the Companions of Honour , and the Royal Society noted he was the only living person to hold these three titles. Needham's father, Joseph, was a doctor, and his mother, Alicia Adelaïde, née Montgomery (1863–1945) , was a music composer from Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland. His father, born in East London, then

15960-508: Was exaggerated into a tall tale . The Bowuzhi contains the earliest reference to the mythical yěnǚ 野女 "Wild Women" of Rinan (present-day central Vietnam ), naked, white-skinned women in an exclusively female society. The item says (9), "In Annam there are 'wild women', which travel about in groups in search of men for husbands. Their appearance is dazzlingly white, and they go naked, without any clothing at all." Later texts quoted and misquoted Zhang Hua's "Wild Women" item, and elaborated

16093-485: Was extended to the new government. During his stay in China, Needham was asked to analyse some cattle cakes that had been scattered by American aircraft in the south of China at the end of World War II, and found they were impregnated with anthrax . During the Korean War he made further accusations that the Americans had used biological warfare . Zhou Enlai coordinated an international campaign to enlist Needham for

16226-472: Was founded on rational argument, and attributed his openness to the religions of other cultures to Barnes as well. In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I , Needham was sent to Oundle School , founded in 1556 in Northamptonshire . He did not enjoy leaving home, but he later described the headmaster Frederick William Sanderson as a "man of genius" and said that without that influence on him at

16359-429: Was given old historical and scientific books which he shipped back to Britain through diplomatic channels. They were to form the foundation of his later research. He got to know Zhou Enlai , first Premier of the People's Republic of China , and met numerous Chinese scholars, including the painter Wu Zuoren , and the meteorologist Zhu Kezhen , who later sent crates of books to him in Cambridge, including 2,000 volumes of

16492-435: Was no-one who did this to his friend. The following morning, when his friend did not arise, Hua groaned and said, "He must be dead!" and sent someone to see. The wine had indeed oozed out from the man's intestines and had trickled down onto the floor beneath the bed. Zhang Hua describes spontaneous combustion of oil (3), "If one stores a full ten thousand shi of oil, it will ignite by itself. <Apparent note: The disaster in

16625-408: Was served by the author Lu Ji (261-303), who "once invited Zhang Hua to dinner and served minced fish. At the time the dining chamber was full of guests. When Hua lifted off the lid of the dish, he said, 'This is dragon's flesh!' None of the assembled guests believed him, so Hua said, 'Test it by steeping it in vinegar; something strange will happen.' When this was done a rainbow appeared above it." In

16758-466: Was summoned back to Luoyang to serve as an Official of Ceremonies ( 太常卿 ), a position without actual power. His role was mainly to teach Sima Yu , the heir apparent of the newly enthroned Sima Zhong (Emperor Hui) . After Empress Jia Nanfeng overthrew Empress Dowager Yang and her father Yang Jun in a coup d'état , she entrusted Zhang Hua with greater responsibilities as Right Household Counsellor ( 右光祿大夫 ), Palace Attendant ( 侍中 ) and Supervisor of

16891-565: Was the author of the Bowuzhi , a collection of articles on various topics of interest. It appears to have perished during the Song dynasty , and the modern work which passes under that name was probably compiled from extracts found in other books. Zhang Hua had two sons: Zhang Yi ( 張禕 ), who served as a Regular Mounted Attendant ( 散騎常侍 ); Zhang Wei ( 張韙 ), who served as a Mounted Gentleman ( 散騎侍郎 ). Both of them died together with their father and

17024-464: Was the historian Wang Ling , whom he had met in Lizhuang and obtained a position for at Trinity . The first years were devoted to compiling a list of every mechanical invention and abstract idea that had been made and conceived in China. These included cast iron , the ploughshare , the stirrup , gunpowder , printing , the magnetic compass and clockwork escapements, most of which were thought at

17157-492: Was to write a non-ethnocentric account of scientific and cultural history; it aimed to synthesize the contributions, perspectives, and development of oriental nations in the East in a way that was complementary to the Western scientific tradition. This vision was partly influenced by the political climate of the time of its planning in the late 1940s - the "East" and "West" were seen as cultural and political opposites. Working from

17290-470: Was told that he had died three years previously and was already buried. Thereafter they opened the coffin and [indeed] he had just sobered up. A common saying arose, "Xuanshi had a drink, and stayed drunk a thousand days". (6) The second refers to a non-Chinese pútáojiǔ 葡萄酒 (6), "In the western regions there is a grape wine which can be stored for many years without going bad. There is a common saying which goes, "One can drink it after ten years, and stay drunk

17423-467: Was unduly critical of Buddhism , describing it as having 'tragically played a part in strangling the growth of Chinese science,' to which Needham readily conceded in a conversation a few years later. Barrett also criticizes Needham's favoritism and uncritical evaluation of Taoism in Chinese technological history: He had a tendency — not entirely justified in the light of more recent research — to think well of Taoism, because he saw it as playing

17556-473: Was violently overtaken by the exponential growth of modern science after the Renaissance in Europe. China was homeostatic , but never stagnant." Nathan Sivin , one of Needham's collaborators, while agreeing that Needham's achievement was monumental, suggested that the "Needham question", as a counterfactual hypothesis, was not conducive to a useful answer: It is striking that this question – Why didn't

17689-479: Was written in the 4th century, lost, and recompiled by Xiao Qi in the 6th century — says Emperor Wu of Jin (r. 266-290) ordered Zhang Hua to condense the Bowuzhi from 400 to 10 chapters. Zhang Hua liked to peruse mysterious and strange charts and Apocryphal works, and from them he selected odd long-lost tales from the four corners of the world, from the very beginning of the written character. When he had examined these mysterious and strange (works) and added to them

#394605