Science and Civilisation in China Vol. 1 Introductory Orientations

 The Science and Civilisation in China series is the work of Joseph Needham and an international team of collaborators, and is published by Cambridge University Press in seven volumes.
The introductory part consists of brief accounts of (a) the geographical background, (b) the history of China, (c) the special characteristics of the Chinese language, and (d) the opportunities which the centuries afforded of culture contact whereby the passage of scientific ideas or technological processes to and from East Asia may have been made possible or even facilitated. These preambles were judged necessary, since neither scientists nor historians of science could be expected to have a sufficient previous knowledge of the scene on which ancient and medieval Chinese scientists and technologists played their parts. It is hoped that such sections will save them the trouble of constant recourse to other books or encyclopaedias.