Science in China 1600-1900

Eight essays, revised from their previous publication, trace the history of science in China. They discuss the emergence of phonology as a precise discipline in late imperial China, native traditions of natural studies during the Ming-Qing transition 1600-1800, Ming-Qing border defense and Jesuit learning in late imperial China, the Jesuit role as technical experts in High Qing, Western learning and evidential research in the 18th century, the China Prize essay contest and the Late Qing promotion of modern science, the rise of Japan and the fall of China after 1895, and rethinking the 20th-century denigration of traditional Chinese science and medicine in the 21st century. Appendices transcribe three interviews of Elman in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Annotation c2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)