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Discovering Chinese Science and Technology: A Critical Review

Discovering Chinese Science and Technology: A Critical Review AbstractFor most of the twentieth century, the investigation into the development of science and technology in China has been based on the assumption that China lacked the conditions to achieve that on its own before it was exposed to Western knowledge. The same assumption has led many inquiries into the search for shortcomings in Chinese civilization or the failure to embrace Western knowledge. It was only near the very end of the twentieth century that a breakthrough finally arrived to allow scholars to free themselves from the assumption. This article traces the history of the field as it evolved through nearly a century from denying China’s own identity to finally recognizing it. I aim to show, one of the main reasons many researchers had held this rather Western-centric view for nearly a century was to the influence of the “rise of the West” historical narrative, which dominated the discourse on world history. Only after the narrative was seriously questioned did we begin to witness significant changes in the field toward realizing China’s own achievements and historical trajectory in the development of science and technology. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian review of World Histories Brill

Discovering Chinese Science and Technology: A Critical Review

Zhang, Xin
Asian review of World Histories , Volume 11 (1): 25 – Jan 26, 2023
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25 pages

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
2287-965X
eISSN
2287-9811
DOI
10.1163/22879811-bja10011
Publisher site
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Abstract

AbstractFor most of the twentieth century, the investigation into the development of science and technology in China has been based on the assumption that China lacked the conditions to achieve that on its own before it was exposed to Western knowledge. The same assumption has led many inquiries into the search for shortcomings in Chinese civilization or the failure to embrace Western knowledge. It was only near the very end of the twentieth century that a breakthrough finally arrived to allow scholars to free themselves from the assumption. This article traces the history of the field as it evolved through nearly a century from denying China’s own identity to finally recognizing it. I aim to show, one of the main reasons many researchers had held this rather Western-centric view for nearly a century was to the influence of the “rise of the West” historical narrative, which dominated the discourse on world history. Only after the narrative was seriously questioned did we begin to witness significant changes in the field toward realizing China’s own achievements and historical trajectory in the development of science and technology.

Journal

Asian review of World Histories – Brill

Published: Jan 26, 2023

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