An Examination of the Needham Question: Why Didn't China Have a Scientific Revolution Considering Its Early Scientific Accomplishments?

Author

Rebecca L. Olerich, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

9-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

Liberal Studies

Advisor

Joseph W. Dauben

Keywords

imperial service examinations, printing press, history

Abstract

Joseph Needham (1900–1995) formulated several important queries about science and technology in China. Known as Needham’s “Grand Question” or “Puzzle,” he asked why modern science developed in Europe rather than in China, despite China’s advanced technology, and examined the inhibiting factors in Chinese civilization that prevented the rise of modern science by the seventeenth century. The question itself has prompted a variety of answers, all of which are partial. In this thesis, some of the complex social, cultural, political and economic factors that contributed to the Scientific Revolution in Europe will be discussed, as well as some of the key historical factors that prevented the development of modern science in China. In particular, I will focus on the imperial examinations in China and will argue that these examinations aided in hindering the development of modern science in China.

Recommended Citation

Olerich, Rebecca L., "An Examination of the Needham Question: Why Didn't China Have a Scientific Revolution Considering Its Early Scientific Accomplishments?" (2017). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2307