▲ 不知道大家是否有过和李约瑟博士一样的疑问，尽管中国古代对人类科技发展做出了很多重要贡献，但为什么科学和工业革命没有在近代的中国发生？
想要解决这一疑问，有一本书是无法避开的，即李约瑟博士的《中国科学技术史》。由于这部书内容丰富，我们会分为上下两篇来发布。此次上篇的内容主要是对李约瑟博士的大概介绍，其创作这部书的来由，以及部分书中信息的解读。
▲ < 近代以来，中华民族经历了一场又一场劫难。19世纪学术界欧洲中心论占了统治地位。不仅是不懂中文的西方科学家，乃至我们的国民也认为，中国乃至东方，只有发达的人文科学，至于科技方面的发明，则是微不足道的; 即使有一些，也不会对西方产生任何影响。而50年代初，大科学家爱因斯坦给美国加利福尼亚圣马托的斯威策的一封信对这个传统观点更起了推波助澜的作用。他说 :西方科学的发展是以两个伟大的成就为基础，那就是: 希腊哲学家发明形式逻辑体系(在欧几里得几何学中) 以及(在文艺复兴时期)发现通过系统的实验大概找出因果干系。在我看来，中国的贤哲没有走上这两步，那是用不着惊奇的。要是这些发现果然都做出了，那倒是令人惊奇的事。
在这种形势下， 英国一位老博士力排众议， 出版了一套:《中国科学技术史》巨著(原书名 Science and Civilizationin China,简写为 SCC )。SCC 通过对中国和西方科学技术的大量比较和研究，令人信服地证明了近代科学技术兴起之前，中国的科学技术不仅自成体系，而且对其他国家产生巨大的影响，同时还重点论述了中国近代科学落后于西方的真正原因。
SCC 的出版，不仅在西方引起了轰动，对于中国的科技史工作者也是一个巨大的鼓舞，同时极大地促进了中西文化交流。为此，科技界给了他极高的荣誉。他就是 Joseph Needham，汉名为李约瑟。>
-《李约瑟传》
▲中国科学技术史-第一卷 导论 by 李约瑟
在本书中，作者想要通过分析中国的地理，历史，社会背景，探索中国传统科学技术的输入和输出，讨论中国哲学中科学思想的发生和发展的问题，从而摆脱大家的固有偏见，即第一种是将过多的东西看作是东亚发明的，第二种则认为任何一种发明都不大概产生于欧洲以外的任何地方。
作者从现有资料指出，西欧人认为现代科学和技术来源于古代地中海地区各民族, 科学思想来源于古埃及。由于欧洲一贯和印度文化有着密切干系，所以能对印度人的成就作出比较公正的评价。至于亚洲文明，例如中国文明，在欧洲的话语体系下，一贯没有被很清晰的辨别和认知。作者认为，没有一个民族或一个多民族集体曾经垄断过对科学发展所作出的贡献。各个民族的成就，应该由全世界人民一路歌颂。
在第四章节，作者主要讨论分析了地理背景对于中国和欧洲的文化差异的影响。作者总结道，中国和中亚的构造与其他大都地区不同之处在于，它有一种复杂的高山山脉网把许多比较平坦的地区分开。这些复杂性对中国文明的发展有很大的影响。对比欧洲，较少受到山脉的阻隔，并且由于接近内陆海，因此交通方便得多。因此，只有认识到中国文明所必须克服的地理上的障碍，才能了解中国文化和中国语言，然而这一过程，对于不熟知中国文化的外国人来说，是异常艰难的。除此之外，地理构造的不同对于中国各地区人文特征的发展影响也是极大的。例如在青藏高原，大部分地形是荒凉和封冻的高寒沙漠，因此大部分居民以游牧为主。而在长江中下流地区，有无数的运河和河流，因此是种植水稻的中心地带。
----------- English Version -----------
▲ Do you have the same confusion with Needham that although ancient China made many important contributions to the development of human science and technology, why didnt the scientific and industrial revolution happen in modern China?
To respond to the question above and to fully understand Chinas science and civilization, there is one book that we suggest that you can have a look, which is, "Science and Civilization in China" by Dr. Joseph Needham. Due to the rich content of this book, we will publish it in three parts. The content of the first part is mainly about an introduction to Dr. Joseph Needham, the reason to write this book, and the interpretation of part of the information in the book.
▲
In this situation, an old British Doctor rejected all the opinions and published a set: "History of Science and Technology in China" (original title Science and Civilization in China, abbreviated as SCC). Through a large number of comparisons and studies of Chinese and Western science and technology, SCC convincingly proved that before the rise of modern science and technology, Chinas science and technology not only formed a system of its own, but also had a huge impact on other countries, and at the same time, he also focused on the real reason why in China the modern science lags behind that of in the West.
The publication of SCC not only caused a sensation in the West, it was also a great encouragement to Chinese science and technology historians, and it also greatly promoted the cultural exchanges between China and the West. For this, the science and technology community gave him a high honor. He is Joseph Needham>
- 《Needham Biography》
▲Science And Civilization In China, Volume 1 by Joseph Needham
In this book, by analyzing China’s geographical, historical, and social background, exploring the input and output of Chinese science and civilization, and discussing the appearance and development of scientific thought in Chinese philosophy, the author wants to get rid of people’s prejudice, one is to regard too many things as being invented in East Asia, and the second is to think that any kind of invention cannot be produced anywhere outside of Europe.
From the available information Needham points out that Western Europeans believe modern science and technology originated from the various ethnic groups in the ancient Mediterranean, and that scientific ideas originated from ancient Egypt. Since Europe has always had a close relationship with Indian culture, they can also make a fair evaluation of the achievements of the Indians. As for Asian civilization, such as Chinese civilization, under the European discourse system, it has not been clearly distinguished and recognized. Needham believes that no single nation or multi-ethnic collective has ever monopolized the contribution to scientific development. The achievements of all nations should be celebrated by people all over the world.
In the fourth chapter, Needham mainly discusses and analyzes the influence of geographical background on the cultural differences between China and Europe. The author concluded that the structure of China and Central Asia differs from most other regions in that it has a complex network of mountains that separate many relatively flat areas. These complexities have a great influence on the development of Chinese civilization. But in Europe, the area is less blocked by mountains, and because it is close to the inland sea, transportation is much more convenient. Therefore, only by recognizing the geographical obstacles that Chinese civilization must overcome can we understand Chinese culture and Chinese language. It is indeed extremely difficult to reach for foreigners. In addition, the difference in geographical structure has a great impact on the development of the humanities of various regions in China. For example, in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, most of the terrain is desolate and frozen alpine desert, so most of the residents are nomadic. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, there are countless canals and rivers, so it is the center of rice cultivation.
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