Advancement and Stagnation of Ancient Chinese Science and Technology中国古代科技的发展与衰败

Around 2300 years ago, when no one in Europe or the Middle East could melt even one ounce of iron, the Chinese were casting multi-ton iron objects. It was not until the mid-1700s in Europe that such feats of metallurgy(冶金术) were achieved in Britain, the technically most advanced country of Europe. 

Ancient China was not just technically advanced in iron-making; it also saw numerous technological innovations. Among the accomplishments were the invention of papermaking, printing, spinning, ceramics, and metallurgy, the invention of the magnetic compass, matches, the iron plow, the horse collar, the wheelbarrow, the suspension bridge, natural gas as fuel, the propeller(螺旋桨), the sluice gate(闸门), and the pound lock(磅锁), and weapons such as the crossbow, gunpowder, and cannon and so on.

Generally speaking, the prototype of science and technology of ancient China was formed in the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. It was the time When China entered the Bronze Age, and Chinese people mastered the superb iron-casting technique. By the Qin and Han dynasties, science and technology of ancient China were well on its way to maturity, with the invention and advancement of paper-making, Hou Feng Di Dong Yi(候风地动仪) and the building of the Great Wall as the best manifestations. Thanks to the developed economy and culture in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the science and technology of ancient China had been greatly developed. When it came to the Song Dynasty, the development of science and technology reached its peak. After the Song Dynasty, the development of science and technology gradually lagged behind European countries. 

As to the reasons why China stagnated(停滞) technologically, Many hypotheses（假设) have been proposed ranging from the political to the cultural and economic.

John K. Fairbank believed that the Chinese political system was hostile to scientific progress. Just like science is a sword with double blazes, powerful monarch totalitarian①, which used to be the fertile land for the development of science and technology in the Qin Dynasty, gradually turned out to be the stumbling block. Powerful monarch totalitarian and autocratic bureaucracy made it difficult for capitalism and social development. This stagnation in the development of feudal society greatly limited the development of science and technology in China. 

Meanwhile, Chinese feudal culture and policy restricted the development of science and technology. Confucianism had long been held as the official philosophy of China. Mandarins(官吏) were followers of the Confucian doctrines（教条）and were chosen through a competitive examination based upon history, literature, and philosophy with no reference on natural science. Thus, natural science had long been neglected. What’s worse, when it came to the 18th and19th century, a time for the development of Western science and technology, decadent (衰败的) Qing Government took the policy of seclusion, exclusion, and denial of foreign scientific culture, which seriously affected the development of science and technology in China.

In addition, defects of Chinese traditional science and technology did affect the development of science and technology. Many ancient inventions were originated from science workers’ personal experience and intuitive knowledge. There was no application of scientific research methods or theory. Therefore, it would be difficult for them to deepen or breakthrough to a certain point. 

In a word, science and technology in ancient China have undergone advancement and stagnation from the combined impact of the political system, cultural atmosphere, and economic forms.  

Abridged and revised from

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/ancientchina.htm

Notes:

① totalitarian：极权主义，具有集中权力的意涵。其指的是“权力主义”，通常意旨：某一人或政党、特定群体以独裁的方式垄断政权。一切决策、政治权力、经济政策皆由独裁者所掌控，没有第二人或是政党可以分享其权力。