Joseph Needham.1born on 9 December 1900,was a Cambridge-trained biochemist in his early academic career but later became the greatest Western sinologist and one of the most original and creative historians of science ...Joseph Needham.1born on 9 December 1900,was a Cambridge-trained biochemist in his early academic career but later became the greatest Western sinologist and one of the most original and creative historians of science of the 20th century.He is best known for his monumental series Science and Civilisation in China(SCC),the successive parts of which have been published by Cambridge University Press since1954.By the time of his death on 24 March 1995,Needham had been responsible for 13 separate books published in the series,while three had been produced independently by collaborators.Needham was elected Fellow of the Royal Society(FRS)in1941 for his pioneering contributions to chemical embryology and Fellow of the British Academy(FBA)in 1971 for his pioneering achievements in researching the history of science,technology and medicine in China.展开更多
We all owe Joseph Needham an immense debt for discovering Chinese science and technology for Western scholars.But his famous question(Why did the Chinese,who had been so far in advance of Europe until the 17th century...We all owe Joseph Needham an immense debt for discovering Chinese science and technology for Western scholars.But his famous question(Why did the Chinese,who had been so far in advance of Europe until the 17th century,fail to produce modern science independently?)is simplistic.·Needham's discussion relied on categories(‘physics',‘engineering',even‘mathematics')that are largely anachronistic.·He was preoccupied by questions of priorities(who did what first).·We should recognise that the historical record brings to light many breakthroughs in the development of science,in Egypt,Mesopotamia,India,ancient Greece and ancient China,as well as in Europe in the 17th century and beyond;they all call for detailed analysis of the different social,political,economic,institutional and intellectual factors at work.·One topic of particular importance and current interest concerns the factors that enable innovation to flourish,where the differing experience of ancient societies can provide lessons that may still be relevant today.The new agenda for the history of science should have a global remit.展开更多
The author served as General Editor of the Science and Civilisation in China series from 1992 to 2014.He reviews the history of this scholarly project since its inception by Joseph Needham in 1943,and discusses some o...The author served as General Editor of the Science and Civilisation in China series from 1992 to 2014.He reviews the history of this scholarly project since its inception by Joseph Needham in 1943,and discusses some of the problems that had to be solved in the production of such a complex and far-ranging publication.He illustrates the discussion with reference to three of the books in the series that appeared under his editorship±those dealing with the topics of ceramics,ferrous metallurgy and ethnobotany.展开更多
The Necessity of Increased Government Support for Science,The Necessity for Increasing the Prestige of Chinese Science,The Necessity for Finding Political Leaders with an Understanding of the Function and Importance o...The Necessity of Increased Government Support for Science,The Necessity for Increasing the Prestige of Chinese Science,The Necessity for Finding Political Leaders with an Understanding of the Function and Importance of Science in the National Welfare,A Special Ministry for Science and Technology,The Ministry of Education and the Overseas Study Programme,Scientific Societies and Other Organisations,Industrial Organisations and Industrial Welfare,Wartime Science of China and Britain in Retrospect,International Scientific Relations.展开更多
The people of the Tibetan Plateau have received extensive attention from scholars because of their unique adaptability to the low temperature and anoxic environments. However, the Tibetan communities and their habitat...The people of the Tibetan Plateau have received extensive attention from scholars because of their unique adaptability to the low temperature and anoxic environments. However, the Tibetan communities and their habitats in the low-altitude regions of the plateau have rarely been studied in a scientific manner. Based on the extraction of geographic information of 197 towns in the Hehuang Valley and on variance analysis, this study examines the habitats and subsistence strategies of the Tibetans and other major ethnic groups in the low-latitude region of the Tibetan Plateau. Our statistical results show that the annual average temperature of Tibetan habitats in the Hehuang Valley is relatively high. The relatively warm environment of the valley allows the Tibetans in that area to cultivate wheat and barley and raise cattle and sheep—a subsistence strategy significantly different from that of other Tibetans in the high-altitude regions in the Tibetan Plateau. In addition, the Tibetan communities in the Hehuang Valley include similar agri-pastoral ethnic groups (including Hui and Salar), both of which adopt similar subsistence strategies. The agricultural ethnic groups (Han and Tu) live in a relatively cool and humid environment facilitating agricultural production, while the agri-pastoral ethnic groups (Tibetan, Hui, and Salar) inhabit relatively warm and arid environment in the valley. Due to the lack of agricultural activities, agri-pastoral groups must also engage in animal husbandry to supplement their diet. In the Ando Tibetan region, the subsistence strategies of the ethnic groups are closely related to their physical environment.Those ethnic groups communicate among themselves, integrate, and influence each other, resulting in a diversified culture. This study proves that the habitat variation at a regional scale corresponds significantly to the variation of subsistence strategies. Our findings may further refine knowledge about the human-environmental relationships of Tibetans and lead future research towards using quantitative methods to analyse the intersection of physical environment and ethnic groups' distribution.展开更多
文摘Joseph Needham.1born on 9 December 1900,was a Cambridge-trained biochemist in his early academic career but later became the greatest Western sinologist and one of the most original and creative historians of science of the 20th century.He is best known for his monumental series Science and Civilisation in China(SCC),the successive parts of which have been published by Cambridge University Press since1954.By the time of his death on 24 March 1995,Needham had been responsible for 13 separate books published in the series,while three had been produced independently by collaborators.Needham was elected Fellow of the Royal Society(FRS)in1941 for his pioneering contributions to chemical embryology and Fellow of the British Academy(FBA)in 1971 for his pioneering achievements in researching the history of science,technology and medicine in China.
文摘We all owe Joseph Needham an immense debt for discovering Chinese science and technology for Western scholars.But his famous question(Why did the Chinese,who had been so far in advance of Europe until the 17th century,fail to produce modern science independently?)is simplistic.·Needham's discussion relied on categories(‘physics',‘engineering',even‘mathematics')that are largely anachronistic.·He was preoccupied by questions of priorities(who did what first).·We should recognise that the historical record brings to light many breakthroughs in the development of science,in Egypt,Mesopotamia,India,ancient Greece and ancient China,as well as in Europe in the 17th century and beyond;they all call for detailed analysis of the different social,political,economic,institutional and intellectual factors at work.·One topic of particular importance and current interest concerns the factors that enable innovation to flourish,where the differing experience of ancient societies can provide lessons that may still be relevant today.The new agenda for the history of science should have a global remit.
文摘The author served as General Editor of the Science and Civilisation in China series from 1992 to 2014.He reviews the history of this scholarly project since its inception by Joseph Needham in 1943,and discusses some of the problems that had to be solved in the production of such a complex and far-ranging publication.He illustrates the discussion with reference to three of the books in the series that appeared under his editorship±those dealing with the topics of ceramics,ferrous metallurgy and ethnobotany.
文摘The Necessity of Increased Government Support for Science,The Necessity for Increasing the Prestige of Chinese Science,The Necessity for Finding Political Leaders with an Understanding of the Function and Importance of Science in the National Welfare,A Special Ministry for Science and Technology,The Ministry of Education and the Overseas Study Programme,Scientific Societies and Other Organisations,Industrial Organisations and Industrial Welfare,Wartime Science of China and Britain in Retrospect,International Scientific Relations.
基金国家重点研发计划项目“可移动文物价值认知及关键技术研究(无机质类)”(课题编号:2019YFC1520203、2019YFC1520205)湖南省哲学社会科学基金项目湖南出土“玻璃器考古学与科技研究”(课题编号:17YBA268)纽约李氏基金(THE LI FOUNDATION OF NEW YORK FELLOWSHIP PROCRAMME)(2023-2024)资助。
基金supported by the State Key R & D Project of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0600503)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41771223)+3 种基金the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2016M601769)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 020914380027)Sino-British Fellowship Trust, Hui Oi-Chow Trust Fund (Grant No. 201602172006)Research Grants Council of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (Grant No. HKU745113H)
文摘The people of the Tibetan Plateau have received extensive attention from scholars because of their unique adaptability to the low temperature and anoxic environments. However, the Tibetan communities and their habitats in the low-altitude regions of the plateau have rarely been studied in a scientific manner. Based on the extraction of geographic information of 197 towns in the Hehuang Valley and on variance analysis, this study examines the habitats and subsistence strategies of the Tibetans and other major ethnic groups in the low-latitude region of the Tibetan Plateau. Our statistical results show that the annual average temperature of Tibetan habitats in the Hehuang Valley is relatively high. The relatively warm environment of the valley allows the Tibetans in that area to cultivate wheat and barley and raise cattle and sheep—a subsistence strategy significantly different from that of other Tibetans in the high-altitude regions in the Tibetan Plateau. In addition, the Tibetan communities in the Hehuang Valley include similar agri-pastoral ethnic groups (including Hui and Salar), both of which adopt similar subsistence strategies. The agricultural ethnic groups (Han and Tu) live in a relatively cool and humid environment facilitating agricultural production, while the agri-pastoral ethnic groups (Tibetan, Hui, and Salar) inhabit relatively warm and arid environment in the valley. Due to the lack of agricultural activities, agri-pastoral groups must also engage in animal husbandry to supplement their diet. In the Ando Tibetan region, the subsistence strategies of the ethnic groups are closely related to their physical environment.Those ethnic groups communicate among themselves, integrate, and influence each other, resulting in a diversified culture. This study proves that the habitat variation at a regional scale corresponds significantly to the variation of subsistence strategies. Our findings may further refine knowledge about the human-environmental relationships of Tibetans and lead future research towards using quantitative methods to analyse the intersection of physical environment and ethnic groups' distribution.
