A Brief Account of Chinese Studies of the History of Science and Technology in China

Abstract

The study of history of science began fairly early in China. It first appeared in an embryonic state during the Qin and Han dynasties and developed further in later historical periods. Until the end of the nineteenth century, this work was largely confined to the collection and recording of historical materials related to history and science. For example, the annals of astronomy, acoustics and the calendar in the 24 histories contain records of astronomical observations, observational instruments, calendar reform, and the development of music and acoustics in previous dynasties. The annals of economics and commerce include records of the national economic system, agricultural and handicraft production, and the development of technology. Military annals give information about the military system, military equipment, and weapons manufacture. These all involve collecting and commenting on historical materials related to science and technology from past dynasties and are undoubtedly relevant to the study of history of science. Other documents, including historical annals, chronicles, and various separate and miscellaneous histories, are similar in nature. After the Han and Jin dynasties, many scholars from various dynasties noted, commented on, and annotated the ancient classics (e.g., the famous Notes and Commentary on the Thirteen Annals (Shi San Jing Zhu Shu). Many of these also contain arrangements and analyses of historical materials on ancient science. Moreover, scholars who wrote books on science and technology generally cited the achievements of their predecessors as the starting point for their own work. For example, Important Arts for the People’s Welfare (Qi Ming Yau Shu) by Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei dynasty is a book on the agricultural and handicraft production of that time but also contains some information on the history of science. Systematic Pharmacopoeia (Ben Cao Gang Mu) by Li Shijen of the Ming dynasty contains even more on the arrangement and study of materia medica in previous dynasties. Chinese scholars who studied astronomy, the calendar, and mathematics all attached importance to studying the achievements of their predecessors. Whenever the calendar was reformed, they quoted the classics, using the successes and failures of ancient people as justification for the new theories they proposed. Particularly in the Qing dynasty, quite a few people studied ancient Chinese astronomy, the calendar, mathematics, machinery techniques, weights and measurements, agriculture and medicine. Of these, Dai Zhen (who wrote Illustrated Commentary on the Artificers’ Record (Kao Gong Ji Tu)), Cheng Yaotian (who wrote Brief Notes on the Specifications in the Artificers’ Record (Kao Gong Chuang Wu Xiao Ji)), Li Rui, and Jiao Xun (in the areas of astronomy, the calendar and mathematics) are well known.