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For the English cricketer, see Joseph Needham (cricketer)
This article contains Chinese text. Joseph Needham ( January 9, 1862 &mdash August 30, 1889) was an English Cricketer He was a right-handed batsman who played
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. Mojibake is the happenstance of incorrect unreadable characters (garbage characters shown when Computer software fails to render a text correctly according to its associated A Chinese character, also known as a Han character ( is a Logogram used in writing Chinese (hanzi Japanese (

Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA (December 9, 1900–March 24, 1995) was a British biochemist best known for his works on the history of Chinese science. The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 The British Academy is the United Kingdom 's National academy for the Humanities and the Social sciences It was established by Royal Charter Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms The history of Science and Technology in China is both long and rich with many contributions to science and technology He was elected a fellow of both the Royal Society and the British Academy. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 The British Academy is the United Kingdom 's National academy for the Humanities and the Social sciences It was established by Royal Charter In China, he is known mainly by his Chinese name Li Yuese (李約瑟; Pinyin: Lǐ Yuēsè: Wade-Giles: Li Yüeh-Sê). China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Wade-Giles (ˌweɪdˈʤaɪlz) sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization system (phonetic notation and Transcription) for the Mandarin

Contents

Early career

Needham was the only child of a Scottish family in London: his father was a doctor and his mother, Alicia Adelaïde Needham née Montgomery (1863–1945), was a composer and music teacher. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A physician, medical practitioner or medical doctor who practices Medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human Health A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Needham was educated at Cambridge University, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1921, master's degree in January 1925 and doctorate in October 1925. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the A bachelor's degree is usually an Undergraduate Academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three four or in some cases and Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar A doctorate is an Academic degree that indicates the highest level of academic achievement After graduation, he worked in F.G. Hopkins's laboratory at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, specialising in embryology and morphogenesis. Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins OM FRS ( June 20, 1861 Eastbourne, Sussex - May 16, 1947 Cambridge Gonville and Caius College Cambridge is a constituent College of Cambridge University, one of the world's most academically respected institutions Embryology (from Greek grc ἔμβρυον embryon, "unborn embryo" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the development MOrphogenesis is an EP by Industrial Black metal band.And Oceans.

Life in China

Three Chinese scientists came to work with Needham in 1936: Lu Gwei-djen, Wang Ying-lai (王應睞), and Chen Shi-chang (沈詩章). Lu Gwei-Djen ( (1904－1991 was an expert on the History of science and technology in China, doctor of Nutriology. Lu (1904–91), daughter of a Nanjingese pharmacist, taught Needham Classical Chinese. ( Chinese: 南京 Romanizations Nánjīng ( Pinyin) Nan-ching ( Wade-Giles Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of Written Chinese based on the Grammar and Vocabulary of ancient Chinese This ignited Needham's interest in China's technological and scientific past.

Under the Royal Society's direction, Needham was the director of the Sino-British Science Co-operation Office in Chongqing from 1942 to 1946. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Chongqing ( Postal map spelling: Chungking; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-ch'ing) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China Needham collaborated with the historian Wang Ling (王玲), who solidified Needham's passion for Chinese scientific history.

Needham wrote his first book on the history of Chinese technology in 1945, titled Chinese Science. He also met numerous Chinese scholars, including the painter Wu Zuoren (吳作人), and travelled to sites in western China, including Dunhuang and Yunnan. Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e Dunhuang ( also written as 燉煌 till early Qing Dynasty; is a City (pop He also visited educational institutions, from which large amounts of references and materials were collected, which would aid his editing of Science and Civilisation in China Series.

After two years' tenure as the first head of the Natural Science division at UNESCO in Paris, France — indeed, it was Needham who insisted that Science should be included in the organisation's mandate — he returned to Gonville and Caius College in 1948, when Cambridge University Press partially funded his Science and Civilisation in China series. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP is a Publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534 He devoted much energy to the history of Chinese science until his retirement in 1990, even though he continued to teach biochemistry until 1966. He also supported the controversial Chinese communist claims of American biological warfare as an inspector from 1952 to 1953 in North Korea during the Korean War. Biological warfare (BW — known as a germ warfare, biological weapons and bioweaponry — is the use of any Pathogen ( Bacterium The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the

In 1961, Needham was awarded the Sarton Medal by the History of Science Society and in 1966 he became Master of Gonville and Caius College. The George Sarton Medal, an award of the History of Science Society, has been awarded annually since 1955 The History of Science Society (HSS is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science. Gonville and Caius College Cambridge is a constituent College of Cambridge University, one of the world's most academically respected institutions In 1984, Needham became the fourth recipient of the J. D. Bernal Award, awarded by the Society for Social Studies of Science. In 1990, he was awarded the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize by Fukuoka City. The Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes (福岡アジア文化賞후쿠오카아시아문화상 were established by Fukuoka City and Yokatopia Foundation to honor the outstanding is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyūshū in Japan, across

With Derek Bryan, a retired diplomat, he established the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, which for some years provided the only way for the British to visit the People's Republic. Herman Derek Bryan OBE ( 16 December 1910 – 17 September 2003) was a Diplomat, Sinologist, Lecturer

The Needham Research Institute, devoted to the study of China's scientific history, was opened in 1985 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Needham Research Institute or NRI is one of the world's leading centres for the study of the history of East Asian Science, Technology and

Needham was first married to Dorothy (née Moyle, 1896–1987). Dorothy Mary Moyle Needham FRS ( September 22, 1896, London &ndash December 22, 1987) was an English biochemist known for In 1989, two years after Dorothy's death, Needham married Lu Gwei-djen. He suffered from Parkinson's disease from 1982, and died at the age of 94 at his Cambridge home. Parkinson's disease (also known as Parkinson disease or PD) is a degenerative disorder of the Central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's

Needham's Grand Question

"Needham's Grand Question" is why China had been overshot by the West in science and technology, despite its earlier successes. The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Technology is a broad concept that deals with a Species ' usage and knowledge of Tools and Crafts and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt His works attribute significant weight to the impact of Confucianism and Taoism on the pace of Chinese scientific discovery, and emphasizes what it describes as the 'diffusionist' approach of Chinese science as opposed to a perceived independent inventiveness in the western world. Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B Taoism (pronounced /ˈdaʊɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊɪzəm/ also spelled '''Daoism''') refers to a variety of related Philosophical and Religious traditions

Quotes

"An explosion may be defined as a loud noise accompanied by the sudden going away of things from the places where they were before. "
Science and Civilisation in China, 110.


Bibliography

Works by Joseph Needham

Works about Joseph Needham

See also

External links

English

Chinese

Preceded by:
Sir Nevill Mott		 Master of Gonville and Caius College
1966–1976		 Succeeded by:
Sir William Wade
The Internet Archive ( IA) is a Nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining an on-line Library and archive of Web and Sir Nevill Francis Mott ( 30 September, 1905 &ndash 8 August, 1996) FRS, CH, was a British physicist Gonville and Caius College Cambridge is a constituent College of Cambridge University, one of the world's most academically respected institutions Sir William Wade QC, FBA ( 16 January 1918 &ndash 12 March 2004) was a British academic lawyer best known for
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