Robert Temple: The Genius of China

Much of the information on these pages are from Robert Temple's book published in 1986:

The Genius of China
3,000 Years of Science, Discovery and Invention
written by Robert K.G. Temple and published by Simon and Schuster, 1986
Prion, UK, 1986. ISBN 1-85375-078-6
Currently out-of-print, but you may be able to find a copy

Temple's work was a distillation of Joseph Needham's Science and Civilisation in China. Needham's original work culminated decades of research in China, and began publishing Volume 1 in 1954. Seventeen of the twenty-five volumes planned were published up to 1995, the year of his death.

The organization of Temple's work included the following:

Introduction
Dr Joseph Needham
 
PART 1: AGRICULTURE
Row cultivation and intensive hoeing
The iron plow
Efficient horse harnesses
The rotary winnowing fan
The multi-tube (`modern') seed drill
 
PART 2: ASTRONOMY AND CARTOGRAPHY
Recognition of sunspots as solar phenomena
Quantitative cartography
Discovery of the solar wind
The Mercator map-projection
Equatorial astronomical instruments
 
PART 3: ENGINEERING
Spouting bowls and standing waves
Cast iron
The double-acting piston bellows
The crank handle
The `Cardan suspension', or gimbals
Manufacture of steel from cast iron
Deep drilling for natural gas
The belt-drive (or driving-belt)
Water power
The chain pump
The suspension bridge
The first cybernetic machine
Essentials of the steam engine
`Magic mirrors'
The `Siemens' steel process
The segmental arch bridge
The chain-drive
Underwater salvage operations
 
PART 4: DOMESTIC AND INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY
Lacquer: the first plastic
Strong beer (sake)
Petroleum and natural gas as fuel
Paper
The wheelbarrow
Sliding calipers
The magic lantern
The fishing reel
The stirrup
Porcelain
Biological pest control
The umbrella
Matches
Chess
Brandy and whisky
The mechanical clock
Printing
Playing cards
Paper money
`Permanent' lamps
The spinning-wheel
 
PART 5: MEDICINE AND HEALTH
Circulation of the blood
Circadian rhythms in the human body
The science of endocrinology
Deficiency diseases
Diabetes
Use of thyroid hormone
Immunology
 
PART 6: MATHEMATICS
The decimal system
A place for zero
Negative numbers
Extraction of higher roots and solutions of higher numerical equations
Decimal fractions
Using algebra in geometry
A refined value of pi
`Pascal's' triangle
 
PART 7: MAGNETISM
The first compasses
Dial and pointer devices
Magnetic declination of the Earth's magnetic field
Magnetic remanence and induction
 
PART 8: THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Geobotanical prospecting
The First Law of Motion The hexagonal structure of snowflakes
The seismograph
Spontaneous combustion
`Modern' geology
Phosphorescent paint
 
PART 9: TRANSPORTATION AND EXPLORATION
The kite
Manned flight with kites
The first relief maps
The first contour transport canal
The parachute
Miniature hot-air balloons
The rudder
Masts and sailing
Watertight compartments in ships
The helicopter rotor and the propeller
The paddle-wheel boat
Land sailing
The canal pound-lock
 
PART 10: SOUND AND MUSIC
The large tuned bell
Tuned drums
Hermetically sealed research laboratories
The first understanding of musical timbre
Equal temperament in music
 
PART 11: WARFARE
Chemical warfare, poison gas, smoke bombs and tear gas
The crossbow
Gunpowder
The flame-thrower
Flares, fireworks, bombs, grenades, land mines and sea mines
The rocket, and multi-staged rockets
Guns, cannons, mortars and repeating guns