Science and Civilisation in China
Encyclopedia
Science and Civilisation in China (1954–2008) is a series of books initiated and edited by British biochemist and China scholar Joseph Needham
(1900–1995). They deal with the history of science and technology in China. To date there have been 27 volumes (and parts). The series was on the Modern Library Board's 100 Best Nonfiction books of the 20th century.
In 1954, Needham — along with an international team of collaborators — started a project to study the science 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.
Needham's transliteration of Chinese characters uses the Wade-Giles
system, except that the aspirate apostrophe (e.g., ch'i) is rendered 'h' (viz. chhi; traditional Chinese: 氣; Mandarin Pinyin: qì
). This was abandoned however in favor of the Pinyin
system by a decision of the NRI board in April 2004. The
2008 volume 5, part 11, by Donald B. Wagner was the first to use the new system.
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 he commented to the Beijing Review that it had "some mistakes ... and various statements that I would like to have seen expressed rather differently". It has been translated into 43 languages and the Chinese edition is approved within the secondary curriculum of the Chinese school system.
A second attempt 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. These volumes cover:
An introduction to Chinese science is given by another Needham Research Institute affiliate, Professor Ho Peng Yoke in the book: Li, Qi and Shu, An Introduction to Science and Civilization in China, published 1985, Dover Edition 1999. This has sections on mathematics, astronomy and alchemy.
Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA , also known as Li Yuese , was a British scientist, historian and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941, and as a fellow of the British...
(1900–1995). They deal with the history of science and technology in China. To date there have been 27 volumes (and parts). The series was on the Modern Library Board's 100 Best Nonfiction books of the 20th century.
In 1954, Needham — along with an international team of collaborators — started a project to study the science and civilisation of ancient China. This project produced a series of volumes published by Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
. The project is still continuing under the guidance of the Publications Board of the Needham Research Institute
Needham Research Institute
The Needham Research Institute or NRI, located on the grounds of the Robinson College, in Cambridge, England, is a center for research into the history of science, technology and medicine in East Asia. It is part of the University of Cambridge...
(NRI
Needham Research Institute
The Needham Research Institute or NRI, located on the grounds of the Robinson College, in Cambridge, England, is a center for research into the history of science, technology and medicine in East Asia. It is part of the University of Cambridge...
), chaired by Christopher Cullen.
Needham's transliteration of Chinese characters uses the Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
system, except that the aspirate apostrophe (e.g., ch'i) is rendered 'h' (viz. chhi; traditional Chinese: 氣; Mandarin Pinyin: qì
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
). This was abandoned however in favor of the Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
system by a decision of the NRI board in April 2004. The
2008 volume 5, part 11, by Donald B. Wagner was the first to use the new system.
The volumes
| Vol./ Part |
Title | Writer/Contributors | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introductory Orientations | Joseph Needham, Wang Ling Wang Ling (historian) Wang Ling was a Chinese and Australian historian and educator known for his collaboration with Joseph Needham on the history of science and technology in China.-Biography:... (ra) |
1954 | |
| 2 | History of Scientific Thought | Joseph Needham, Wang Ling (ra) | 1956 | OCLC |
| 3 | Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and Earth | Joseph Needham, Wang Ling (ra) | 1959 | OCLC |
| 4/01 | Physics | Joseph Needham, Wang Ling (ra), Kenneth Robinson Kenneth Robinson Sir Kenneth Robinson PC was a British Labour politician who served as Minister of Health in Harold Wilson's first government, from 1964 to 1968, when the position was merged into the new title of Secretary of State for Social Services.-Early life:The son of Dr Clarence Robinson and a nurse, Ethel... (coop) |
1962 | OCLC |
| 4/02 | Mechanical Engineering | Joseph Needham, Wang Ling (co) | 1965 | |
| 4/03 | Civil Engineering and Nautics | Joseph Needham, Wang Ling (co), Lu Gwei-djen Lu Gwei-djen Lu Gwei-Djen was an expert on the History of science and technology in China, doctor of nutriology. She was an important researcher and co-author of the project Science and Civilization in China series led by Joseph Needham... (co) |
1971 | |
| 5/01 | Paper and Printing | Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin | 1985 | |
| 5/02 | Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Magisteries of Gold and Immortality | Joseph Needham, Lu Gwei-djen (co) | 1974 | |
| 5/03 | Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Historical Survey, from Cinnabar Elixirs to Synthetic Insulin | Joseph Needham, Ho Ping-Yu [Ho Peng-Yoke] (co), Lu Gwei-djen (co) | 1976 | |
| 5/04 | Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus and Theory | Joseph Needham, Lu Gwei-djen (co), Nathan Sivin Nathan Sivin Nathan Sivin , also known as Xiwen is an American author, scholar, sinologist, historian, essayist, and currently professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania... (con) |
1980 | |
| 5/05 | Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Physiological Alchemy | Joseph Needham, Lu Gwei-djen (co) | 1983 | |
| 5/06 | Military Technology: Missiles and Sieges | Joseph Needham, Robin D.S. Yates (co), Krzysztof Gawlikowski (co), Edward McEwen (co), Wang Ling (co) | 1994 | |
| 5/07 | Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic | Joseph Needham, Ho Ping-Yu [Ho Peng-Yoke] (co), Lu Gwei-djen (co), Wang Ling (co) | 1987 | |
| 5/08 | Work in progress | Volume editor/contributors unknown | 20__? | |
| 5/09 | Textile Technology: Spinning and Reeling | Dieter Kuhn Dieter Kühn Dieter Kühn is a former football player from East Germany, who won the silver medal with the East German national team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. He obtained a total number of thirteen caps for his native country, scoring five goals.-External links:*... |
1986 | |
| 5/10 | Work in progress | Volume editor/contributors unknown | 20__? | |
| 5/11 | Ferrous Metallurgy | Donald B. Wagner | 2008 | |
| 5/12 | Ceramic Technology | Rose Kerr, Nigel Wood, Ts'ai Mei-fen (con), Zhang Fukang (con) | 2004 | |
| 5/13 | Mining | Peter Golas | 1999 | |
| 6/01 | Botany | Joseph Needham, Lu Gwei-djen (co), Huang Hsing-Tsung (con) | 1986 | |
| 6/02 | Agriculture | Francesca Bray | 1984 | |
| 6/03 | Agroindustries and Forestry | Christian A. Daniels, Nicholas K. Menzies | 1996 | |
| 6/04 | Work in progress | Volume editor/contributors unknown | 20__? | |
| 6/05 | Fermentations and Food Science | Huang Hsing-Tsung | 2000 | |
| 6/06 | Medicine | Joseph Needham, Lu Gwei-djen, Nathan Sivin Nathan Sivin Nathan Sivin , also known as Xiwen is an American author, scholar, sinologist, historian, essayist, and currently professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania... (ed) |
2000 | |
| 7/01 | Language and Logic | Christoph Harbsmeier | 1998 | |
| 7/02 | General Conclusions and Reflections | Joseph Needham, Kenneth Girdwood Robinson (ed), Ray Huang (co), Mark Elvin (intro) |
2004 | OCLC |
- (co) with the collaboration of
- (con) with contributions by
- (coop) with the cooperation of
- (ed) edited by
- (intro) with an introduction by
- (ra) with the research assistance of
Summaries
There have been two attempts to condense the vast amount of material found in Science and Civilisation. The first, a one-volume popularisation by Robert TempleRobert K. G. Temple
Robert K. G. Temple is an American author best known for his controversial book, The Sirius Mystery which presents the idea that the Dogon people preserve the tradition of contact with intelligent extraterrestrial beings from the Sirius star-system...
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 he commented to the Beijing Review that it had "some mistakes ... and various statements that I would like to have seen expressed rather differently". It has been translated into 43 languages and the Chinese edition is approved within the secondary curriculum of the Chinese school system.
A second attempt was made by Colin Ronan
Colin Ronan
Colin A. Ronan was an author and specialist in the history and philosophy of science.He was educated at Abingdon School in Oxfordshire and served in the British Army from 1940–1946, achieving the rank of major...
, 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. 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
An introduction to Chinese science is given by another Needham Research Institute affiliate, Professor Ho Peng Yoke in the book: Li, Qi and Shu, An Introduction to Science and Civilization in China, published 1985, Dover Edition 1999. This has sections on mathematics, astronomy and alchemy.