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Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA (9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995), also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
 in 1941; and he was elected a fellow of the British Academy
British Academy

The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established by Royal Charter in 1902, and is a fellowship of more than 800 scholars....
 in 1971. When the Queen conferred the Companionship of Honour
Order of the Companions of Honour

The Order of the Companions of Honour is a United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations Order . It was founded by George V of the United Kingdom in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry, or religion....
 in 1992, the Royal Society published a notice stating that "one can count the number of living holders of these three titles on one finger of one hand."

ham was the only child of a London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 family: his father was a Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 doctor
Physician

A physician, medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, or medical doctor practices medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury....
 and his mother, Alicia Adelaïde Montgomery was a French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
-Irish
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
 (1863–1945), composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 and music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 teacher.






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Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA (9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995), also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
 in 1941; and he was elected a fellow of the British Academy
British Academy

The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established by Royal Charter in 1902, and is a fellowship of more than 800 scholars....
 in 1971. When the Queen conferred the Companionship of Honour
Order of the Companions of Honour

The Order of the Companions of Honour is a United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations Order . It was founded by George V of the United Kingdom in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry, or religion....
 in 1992, the Royal Society published a notice stating that "one can count the number of living holders of these three titles on one finger of one hand."

Biography


Early years

Needham was the only child of a London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 family: his father was a Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 doctor
Physician

A physician, medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, or medical doctor practices medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury....
 and his mother, Alicia Adelaïde Montgomery was a French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
-Irish
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
 (1863–1945), composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 and music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 teacher. Needham was educated at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
, receiving his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years....
 in 1921, master's degree
Master's degree

A master's degree provides a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of profession. Within the area studied, graduates possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theory and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, Critical thinking and/or professional application; and the ability to problem solving a...
 in January 1925 and doctorate
Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession ....
 in October 1925. After graduation, he worked in F.G. Hopkins
Frederick Hopkins

Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins Order of Merit Royal Society was an England biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929, with Christiaan Eijkman, for the discovery of vitamins....
's laboratory at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Located in Cambridge, England, in the United Kingdom, the college is often referred to simply as Caius after the College?s second founder John Caius who fashionably Latin the spelling of his name after studying in Italy....
, specialising in embryology
Embryology

Embryology is the study of the development of an embryo. An embryo is defined as any organism in a stage before birth or hatching, or in plants, before germination occurs....
 and morphogenesis
Morphogenesis

Morphogenesis , is the physical process that gives rise to the shape of an organism. It is one of three fundamental aspects of developmental biology along with the control of cell growth and cellular differentiation....
. Although his career as biochemist
Biochemist

Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms....
 and an academic was well established, his career developed in unanticipated directions during and after World War II.

Career

Three Chinese scientists came to work with Needham in 1936: Lu Gui-zhen, Wang Ying-lai, and Chen Shi-zhang. Lu (1904–91), daughter of a Nanjing
Nanjing

is the capital city of China's Jiangsu province of China, and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and Chinese culture. Nanjing served as the capital of China during several historical periods and is listed as one of the Historical capitals of China....
ese pharmacist, taught Needham Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese

Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any Chinese spoken language....
. This ignited Needham's interest in China's technological and scientific past.

Under the Royal Society
Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
's direction, Needham was the director of the Sino-British Science Co-operation Office in Chongqing
Chongqing

Chongqing is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four provinces of China-level municipality of China, and the only one in the less densely populated western region of China....
 from 1942 to 1946. Needham collaborated with the historian Wang Ling
Wang Ling (historian)

Wang Ling was a China historian and educator known for his collaboration with Joseph Needham on the history of science and technology in China....
, who solidified Needham's passion for Chinese scientific history.

Needham wrote his first book on the history of Chinese technology in 1945, titled Chinese Science. He also met numerous Chinese scholars, including the painter
Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . In art, the term describes both the act and the result, which is called a painting....
 Wu Zuo ren, and travelled to sites in western China, including Dunhuang
Dunhuang

Dunhuang is a city in Jiuquan, Gansu province of China, China. It is sited in an oasis....
 and Yunnan
Yunnan

is a political divisions of China of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers ....
. He also visited educational institutions, from which large amounts of references and materials were collected, which would aid his editing of Science and Civilisation in China Series.

After two years' tenure as the first head of the Natural Science division at UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
 in Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 — indeed, it was Needham who insisted that Science should be included in the organisation's mandate — he returned to Gonville and Caius College in 1948, when Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is a printer and publisher granted a Royal Letters Patent by Henry VIII of England in 1534. It is the world's oldest continually operating book publisher....
 partially funded his Science and Civilisation in China series. He devoted much energy to the history of Chinese science until his retirement in 1990, even though he continued to teach biochemistry until 1966. He also supported the controversial Chinese communist claims of American biological warfare
Biological warfare

Biological warfare , also known as germ warfare, is the use of pathogens as biological weapons . Using nonliving toxic products, even if produced by living organisms , is considered chemical warfare under the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention....
 as an inspector from 1952 to 1953 in North Korea during the Korean War
Korean War

The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korea and South Korea regimes, with major hostilities lasting from June 25, 1950 until the armistice signed on July 27, 1953....
. Needham's biographer Simon Winchester
Simon Winchester

Simon Winchester, Order of the British Empire , is a United Kingdom author and journalist who lives in the United States and Scotland.Winchester studied geology at St Catherine's College, Oxford before working in Africa and on offshore oil rigs....
 comments on this incident and Needham's general infatuation with communism: "Needham was intellectually in love with communism; and yet communist spymasters and agents, it turned out, had pitilessly duped him." (The Man Who Loved China, p. 212).

In 1965, with Derek Bryan, a retired diplomat, Needham established the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, which for some years provided the only way for the British to visit the People's Republic of China.

Science and Civilisation in China
In 1954, Needham with an international team of collaborators, started a project to study the science and civilisation of ancient China. This project produced a series of volumes titled Science and Civilisation in China
Science and Civilisation in China

Science and Civilisation in China is a series of monumental books initiated and edited by British biochemist and China scholar Joseph Needham ....
 (SCC
Science and Civilisation in China

Science and Civilisation in China is a series of monumental books initiated and edited by British biochemist and China scholar Joseph Needham ....
) published by the Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is a printer and publisher granted a Royal Letters Patent by Henry VIII of England in 1534. It is the world's oldest continually operating book publisher....
. The project is now proceeding under the guidance of the Publications Board of the Needham Research Institute
Needham Research Institute

The Needham Research Institute or NRI is one of the world's leading centres for the study of the history of East Asian science, technology and medicine....
, chaired by Christopher Cullen.

The massive project produced a series of volumes under Needham's direct supervision; and the regular production of further volumes continued after his death in 1995. Successive volumes have been published as they became ready, which means that they have not appeared in the order originally contemplated in the project's prospectus -- see Needham's SCC organizating scheme:
  • Vol. I.
  • Vol. II.
  • Vol. III.
  • Vol. IV.
  • Vol. V.
  • Vol. VI.
  • Vol. VII. The Social Background


Evaluations and critiques
"Needham's Grand Question", also known as "The Needham Question", is why China had been overtaken by the West
Western world

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context . Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances....
 in science
Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
 and technology
Technology

Technology is a broad concept that deals with an animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects an animal species' ability to control and adapt to its Natural environment....
, despite its earlier successes. His works attribute significant weight to the impact of Confucianism
Confucianism

Confucianism is a China Ethics and Philosophy developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . It focuses on human morality and right action....
 and Taoism
Taoism

Taoism refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and concepts. These traditions have influenced East Asia for over two thousand years and some have spread to the West....
 on the pace of Chinese scientific discovery, and emphasizes what it describes as the 'diffusionist' approach of Chinese science as opposed to a perceived independent inventiveness in the western world.

Needham's work has been criticized by some scholars for its strong inclination to exaggerate Chinese technological achievements
List of Chinese inventions

China has been the source of some of the world's most significant inventions, including the Four Great Inventions of ancient China: paper, the compass, gunpowder, and History of typography in East Asia ....
 and its propensity to prove a Chinese origin for the wide range of objects his work covered. Nathan Sivin
Nathan Sivin

Nathan Sivin ?? is an United States author, scholar, sinologist, historian, essayist, and currently a professor at the University of Pennsylvania....
, one of Needham's collaborators, while agreeing that Needham's achievement was monumental, suggested that the "Needham question," as a counterfactual hypothesis, was not susceptible of a useful answer: "It is striking that this question – Why didn't the Chinese beat Europeans to the Scientific Revolution? – happens to be one of the few questions that people often ask in public places about why something didn't happen history. It is analogous to the question of why your name did not appear on page 3 of today's newspaper."

Needham's political views were unorthodox and his lifestyle controversial. His work in science was based in an idiosyncratic form of Christian socialism
Christian socialism

Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated....
 and after 1949 his sympathy with Chinese culture was extended to the new government. Needham agreed to be an inspector in North Korea
North Korea

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula....
 (1952-53) during the Korean War
Korean War

The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korea and South Korea regimes, with major hostilities lasting from June 25, 1950 until the armistice signed on July 27, 1953....
 and in his report he supported the controversial Chinese communist claims that the Americans had used biological warfare
Biological warfare

Biological warfare , also known as germ warfare, is the use of pathogens as biological weapons . Using nonliving toxic products, even if produced by living organisms , is considered chemical warfare under the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention....
 there. Needham's biographer Simon Winchester
Simon Winchester

Simon Winchester, Order of the British Empire , is a United Kingdom author and journalist who lives in the United States and Scotland.Winchester studied geology at St Catherine's College, Oxford before working in Africa and on offshore oil rigs....
 comments that "Needham was intellectually in love with communism; and yet communist spymasters and agents, it turned out, had pitilessly duped him" Winchester also notes that because of his assertions Needham was blacklisted by the U.S. government until well into the 1970s.

Personal life

Needham was first married to Dorothy Moyle
Dorothy M. Needham

Dorothy Mary Moyle Needham Fellow of the Royal Society was an English biochemist known for her work on the biochemistry of muscle. She was married to biochemist Joseph Needham....
 (1896–1987). In 1989, two years after Dorothy's death, Needham married Lu Gwei-djen
Lu Gwei-djen

Lu Gwei-Djen was an expert on the History of science and technology in China, doctor of nutriology. She is an important researcher and co-author of the project Science and Civilisation in China series led by Joseph Needham....
 (1904-1991). He suffered from Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills and speech, as well as other functions....
 from 1982, and died at the age of 94 at his Cambridge home. In 2008 the Chair of Chinese in the University of Cambridge was endowed in honour of Joseph Needham as the Joseph Needham Professorship of Chinese History, Science, and Civilization.

Honours and awards

In 1961, Needham was awarded the George Sarton Medal
George Sarton Medal

The George Sarton Medal, an award of the History of Science Society, has been awarded annually since 1955. It is awarded to a historian of science selected from the international scholarly community for a lifetime of scholarly achievement....
 by the History of Science Society
History of Science Society

The History of Science Society is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science and technology. It was founded in 1924 by George Sarton and Lawrence Joseph Henderson, primarily to support the publication of Isis , a journal of the history of science Sarton had started in 1912....
 and in 1966 he became Master of Gonville and Caius College. In 1984, Needham became the fourth recipient of the J.D. Bernal Award, awarded by the Society for Social Studies of Science. In 1990, he was awarded the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize
Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize

The Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes were established by Fukuoka, Fukuoka and Yokatopia Foundation to honor the outstanding work of individuals or organizations in preserving or creating culture of Asia....
 by Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka

is the capital cities of Japan of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan, across the Korea Strait from South Korea Busan....
 City.

The Needham Research Institute
Needham Research Institute

The Needham Research Institute or NRI is one of the world's leading centres for the study of the history of East Asian science, technology and medicine....
, devoted to the study of China's scientific history, was opened in 1985 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom since 20 November 1947, and her prince consort since 6 February 1952....
.

  • Order of the Companions of Honour
    Order of the Companions of Honour

    The Order of the Companions of Honour is a United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations Order . It was founded by George V of the United Kingdom in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry, or religion....
    , 1992.
  • British Academy
    British Academy

    The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established by Royal Charter in 1902, and is a fellowship of more than 800 scholars....
    , 1971.
  • Royal Society
    Royal Society

    The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
    , 1941.


Bibliography

  • Science, Religion and Reality (1925)
  • Chemical Embryology (1931)
  • The Great Amphibium; four lectures on the position of religion in a world dominated by science (1931)
  • Perspectives in Biochemistry; thirty-one essays presented to Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins by past and present members of his laboratory (1937)
  • Time: The Refreshing River (Essays and Addresses, 1932-1942) (1943)
  • History Is On Our Side (1947)
  • Science Outpost; papers of the Sino-British science co-operation office (British council scientific office in China) 1942-1946 (1948)
  • Science and Civilisation in China
    Science and Civilisation in China

    Science and Civilisation in China is a series of monumental books initiated and edited by British biochemist and China scholar Joseph Needham ....
     (1954, etc), 25 volumes to date
  • Science and Civilization in China, by Joseph Needham, with the research assistance [and collaboration] of Wang Ling (1954-59) 2 Volumes
  • A History of Embryology (1959)
  • The Grand Titration: science and society in East and West (1969)
  • Within the Four Seas: the dialogue of east and west (1969)
  • Clerks and Craftsmen in China and the West: lectures and addresses on the history of science and technology (1970)
  • Chinese Science; explorations of an ancient tradition (1973)
  • Moulds of Understanding: a pattern of natural philosophy (1976)
  • The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China, volume 1: an abridgement of Joseph Needham's original text (1978)
  • The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China, volume 2: an abridgement of Joseph Needham's original text (1978)
  • The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China, volume 3: an abridgement of Joseph Needham's original text (1978)
  • Science in Traditional China (1982)
  • Science in Traditional China : a comparative perspective (1982)
  • The Genius of China (1986)
  • Heavenly Clockwork : the great astronomical clocks of medieval China (1986)
  • The Hall of Heavenly Records : Korean astronomical instruments and clocks, 1380-1780 (1986)


Science and Civilisation in China volumes

Date Title Vol./
Part		 Editor/
Contributors		 Notes
1954 1 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Wang Ling
Wang Ling (historian)

Wang Ling was a China historian and educator known for his collaboration with Joseph Needham on the history of science and technology in China....
 (research assistant)		 >
1956 2 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Wang Ling (research assistant)
1959 3 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Wang Ling (research assistant)
1962 Physics 4/01 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Wang Ling (research assistant),
Kenneth Robinson
Kenneth Robinson

Kenneth Robinson was a United Kingdom Labour Party politician who served as Secretary of State for Health in Harold Wilson first government, from 1964 to 1968, when the position was merged into the new title of Secretary of State for Work and Pensions....
1965 Mechanical Engineering 4/02 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Wang Ling		 >
1971 Civil Engineering and Nautics 4/03 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Wang Ling,
Lu Gwei-djen
Lu Gwei-djen

Lu Gwei-Djen was an expert on the History of science and technology in China, doctor of nutriology. She is an important researcher and co-author of the project Science and Civilisation in China series led by Joseph Needham....
 >
1974 Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Magisteries of Gold and Immortality 5/02 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Lu Gwei-djen		 >
1976 Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Historical Survey, from Cinnabar Elixirs to Synthetic Insulin 5/03 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Ho Ping-Yu [Ho Peng-Yoke],
Lu Gwei-djen		 >
1980 Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus and Theory 5/04 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Lu Gwei-djen,
Nathan Sivin
Nathan Sivin

Nathan Sivin ?? is an United States author, scholar, sinologist, historian, essayist, and currently a professor at the University of Pennsylvania....
 >
1983 Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Physiological Alchemy 5/05 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Lu Gwei-djen		 >
1985 Paper and Printing 5/01 Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin >
1986 Textile Technology: Spinning and Reeling 5/09 Dieter Kuhn >
1986 Botany 6/01 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Lu Gwei-djen,
Huang Hsing-Tsung		 >
1987 Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic 5/07 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Ho Ping-Yu [Ho Peng-Yoke],
Lu Gwei-djen,
Wang Ling		 >
1988 Agriculture 6/02 Francesca Bray >
1994 Military Technology: Missiles and Sieges 5/06 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Robin D.S. Yates,
Krzysztof Gawlikowski,
Edward McEwen,
Wang Ling		 
1996 Agroindustries and Forestry 6/03 Christian A. Daniels,
Nicholas K. Menzies		 >
1998 Language and Logic 7/01 Christoph Harbsmeier >
1999 Mining 5/13 Peter Golas >
2000 Fermentations and Food Science 6/05 Huang Hsing-Tsung >
2000 Medicine 6/06 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
Lu Gwei-djen,
(edited by Nathan Sivin
Nathan Sivin

Nathan Sivin ?? is an United States author, scholar, sinologist, historian, essayist, and currently a professor at the University of Pennsylvania....
)		 >
2004 Ceramic Technology 5/12 Rose Kerr,
Nigel Wood,
Ts'ai Mei-fen,
Zhang Fukang		 >
2004 7/02 Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, Companion of Honour, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the British Academy , also known as Li Yuese , was a British academic and sinologist known for his research and writing on the history of Science and technology in China....
,
(edited by Kenneth Girdwood Robinson),
contributions by Ray Huang,
introduction by Mark Elvin
2008 Ferrous Metallurgy 5/11 Donald B. Wagner >
2__? Work in progress 5/08 Volume editor/contributors unknown >
2__? Work in progress 5/10 Volume editor/contributors unknown >
2__? Work in progress 6/04 Volume editor/contributors unknown >

See also

  • Anglo-Chinese relations
    Anglo-Chinese relations

    British-Chinese relations , also known as Sino-British relations and Anglo-Chinese relations, refers to the international relations between China and the United Kingdom....
  • List of Sinologists
    List of Sinologists

    A list of Sinologists around the world, past and present....
  • List of historians
    List of historians

    This is a list of historians.The names are grouped by order of the historical period in which they were writing, which is not necessarily the same as the period in which they specialized....
  • Rise of the West
    Rise of the West

    By rise of the West some people understand the unique process in world history in which Europe developed in such a completely different way than the other civilizations in the past 500 years, and also the dramatic effect of western civilization on others in this period....
  • G.E.R. Lloyd
  • Four Great Inventions of ancient China
    Four Great Inventions of ancient China

    The Four Great Inventions of ancient China are four inventions that are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical significance and as signs of ancient China's advanced science and technology....


External links


English

  • (NRI)
  • Divergence or Convergence?
  • Needham's (just ignore the photo at the top of the page)
  • : N, O.
  • audio stream on the Needham Question.
  • at Internet Archive
    Internet Archive

    The Internet Archive is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and maintaining a free and openly accessible online digital library, including an archive site of the World Wide Web....
  • - The Economist, Jun 5th 2008, review of Needham biography by Simon Winchester


Chinese