The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery and Invention
- Book Review,
by Joseph Needham, Robert K. G. Temple
From Publishers Weekly
Needham, the foremost Western historian of Chinese science, has written 15 volumes of his projected 25-volume Science and Civilisation in China series initiated in 1954. This immense, authoritative work has long needed distillation for the general reader, and British writer Temple impressively accomplishes the task here. Beautifully illustrated, the book describes some 5000 years of Chinese science, discovery and invention from agriculture, astronomy and engineering through industrial technology, medicine, math and music, up to, in an ironic closing chapter, the Chinese genius in warfare, including ancient Chinese usage of mustard gas, gunpowder and rockets. The book is an exhilarating celebration of historic achievements, the breadth of which will astonish the general reader. BOMC alternate; Macmillan Book Club selection. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
A brilliant distillation of 3,000 years of Chinese scholarship and invention, from agriculture and medicine to warfare, featuring 190 photos and illustrations.
From the Publisher
It is one of the ironies of history that the Chinese, who had all the ingredients for modern science long before the Renaissance, failed to build on their immense knowledge. Today, very few people are aware of the vast body of Chinese invention. The suspension bridge, the fishing reel, the stirrup, the parachute, paper money, playing cards, the decimal system, the seismograph, negative numbers, brandy, rudders, cranks, movable type, matches, steroids as drugs, propellers, biological pest control—all these and many more were Chinese inventions. Based on the peerless scholarship of Dr. Joseph Needham, the world’s foremost authority on Chinese science, this volume traces the stunning achievements of ancient and medieval China.
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