Needham Research Institute

The majority of studies on the agricultural history of Japan have focused on the public administration of land and production, and rice, the principal source of revenue, has received the most attentio

Under the rule of the descendants of Chinggis Khan (1167-1227), China saw the development of a new culture in which medical practice came to be considered a highly respected occupation for elite men.

This book shows how Yuan China, one of the four empires created by the descendents of Cinggis Qan (Taizu ??, 1167-1227, r. 1206-1227), saw the development of a new culture in which medical practice ca

The majority of studies on the agricultural history of Japan have focused on the public administration of land and production, and rice, the principal source of revenue, has received the most attentio

This is a study of the life of one of modern China’s most admired scientific figures, the mathematician Wu Wen-Tsun, who found a path that not only ensured his political and personal survival, but whi

A Chinese Physician is the portrait of a 16th century medical writer and clinical practitioner. Drawing on socio-economic/biographic, textual, and gender analysis along side a variety of sources, from

Though there are a number of well-written works on Chinese divination, there are none that deal with the three sophisticated devices that were employed by the Chinese Astronomical Bureau in the eleven

This book traces the history of the Chinese concept of "Warm diseases" (wenbing) from antiquity to the SARS epidemic. Following wenbing from its birth to maturity and even life in modern times Marta H

This translation of an ancient Chinese book on astronomy (which is believed to date back to the first century AD) provides the non-specialist with a lucid account of how Chinese astronomers did their work in ancient times. The book also shows how the Chinese imperial government made use of and supported the work of astronomers, and explores the links between astronomy and politics. It will be of equal interest to historians of science and those studying the history of Chinese culture.

In this book, Robert Wardy, a philosopher and classicist, turns his attention to the relation between language and thought. He explores this huge topic in an analysis of linguistic relativism, with specific reference to a reading of the ming li t'an ('The Investigation of the Theory of Names'), a seventeenth-century Chinese translation of Aristotle's Categories. Throughout his investigation, Wardy addresses important questions. Do the basis structures of language shape the major thought-patterns of its native speakers? Could philosophy be guided and constrained by the language in which it is done? What factors, from grammar and logic to cultural and religious expectations, influence translation? And does Aristotle survive rendition into Chinese intact? His answers will fascinate philosphers, Sinologists, classicists, linguists and anthropologists, and will make a major contribution to the existing literature.

In an exploration of the relation between language and thought, the author analyses linguistic relativism with reference to a Chinese translation of Aristotle's Categories. In so doing he addresses so