Science and Civilization in China
by Joseph Needham · first published 2007
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…three most important inventions facilitating the West's transformation from the Dark Ages to the modern world, were invented in China" Joseph Needham points this out magnificently in his magnum opus, "Science and Civilization in China". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Needham#Science_and_Civ...
on “Why China won’t own next-generation manufacturing” ↗Needham's Science and Civilization in China volumes are a fascinating resource. Particularly interesting, and somewhat inexplicable, is that China was poised on the verge of an industrial revolution during the Song dynasty, in the 12th century.…
on “In Search of Chinese Science (2009)” ↗I gave it a question I've been trying to answer for a long time: "What star designation system does Joseph Needham use in Science & Civilization in China? What star is referred to by the designation '4339 Camelopardi' in that book"? Fable blew me away with its detailed answer[0] showing a chain of references going from J. E. Bode's 1801 catalogue Allgemeine Beschreibung und Nachweisung der Gestir
on “Claude Fable 5” ↗I recently went through Joseph Needham's Science and Civilization in China, and in the second volume he skimmed a bit too quickly through Xunzi. As a western analogy, my overall impression was of a Chinese Plato, broad and nuanced in many aspects. I think all his teachings…
on “The xunzi as the basis of a metarational ruling ideology” ↗…recall from a history podcast, Needham started his studies when he learned that grafting plants in China was done differently than he learned it in England. Oh, and "the scholar Tsien Tsuen-Hsien wrote in Science and Civilization in China in 1985" is the author of the book from the Needham series I linked to.
on “So, Gutenberg Didn't Invent Printing as We Know It” ↗