Science and Civilisation in China Volume 6: Biology and Biological Technology, Part 3, Agro-Industries and Forestry [Hardcover]

Joseph Needham (Author), Christian Daniels (Author), Nicholas K. Menzies (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0521419999 | ISBN-13: 978-0521419994

Volume VI Part 3 of Science and Civilisation in China contains two separate works. The first, by Christian Daniels, is a comprehensive history of Chinese sugarcane technology from ancient times to the early twentieth century. Dr. Daniels includes an account of the contribution of Chinese techniques and machinery to the development of world sugar technology in the premodern period, devoting special attention to the transfer of this technology to the countries of Southeast and East Asia in the period after the sixteenth century. The second, by Nicholas K. Menzies, is a history of forestry in China. Dr. Menzies identifies a tradition of forest management that can be traced to the earliest Chinese written records, and describes methods of silviculture, and the major timber species used in Chinese forestry. A final section compares China's history of deforestation with the cases of Europe and Japan. Each of these works will interest scholars of Chinese science, culture, and ancient agriculture as well as historians of science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...valuable not only as a historical treatment; it contains a good description of the principal forest zones past and present,it identifies and discusses at length the principal forest species, and it provides information on a variety of related matters." Charles A. Peterson, Isis

"[An] astonishing and enduring study...[Needham brings] depth of emotion and technical finesse to his task."
Jonathan Spence, New York Review of Books

"Perhaps the greatest single act of historical synthesis and intercultural communication ever attempted by one man."
Laurence Picken, Cambridge University

Book Description

Contains two separate works. The first, by Christian Daniels, is a comprehensive history of Chinese sugar cane technology from ancient times to the early twentieth century. Dr Daniels includes an account of the contribution of Chinese techniques and machinery to the development of world sugar technology in the pre-modern period, devoting special attention to the transfer of this technology to the countries of South-East and East Asia in the period after the sixteenth century. The second, by Nicholas K. Menzies, is a history of forestry in China. A final section compares China's history of deforestation with the cases of Europe and Japan.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 770 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (June 28, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521419999
• ISBN-13: 978-0521419994
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,463,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)