This book is a collection of papers on the set-bells of Marquis Yi to commemorate the 10th anniversary of their discovery. The unearthing of these 5th century bells in 1978 marked one of the most remarkable archeological discoveries in the history of science and technology in Chinese civilization. These bells are two-tone set-bells with textural inscriptions and were cast in chromatical scale over a range of 51/2 octaves. This collection of papers represents the interdisciplinary research initiated by the discovery of the bells over the past ten years.

This book re-examines the nature of early Chinese work in natural science, on the basis of original records analysis and artifacts discovered in recent decades by archaeological explorations of China's past. It presents a concise account of early scientific ideas and thoughts of nature, and their effect on the development of natural science. It is suggested that the traditional characterization of early Chinese work in natural science requires substantial modification. The absence of early Chinese participation in the development of 'modern' science is not, as commonly assumed, a consequence of lacking early scientific tradition in ancient China. It is argued that the concept of 'inhibitive' factors is dubious without taking their dynamical relationships into account, and that socio-economical and political influence has to be considered when seeking answers to the major setbacks in science and technology in China. The book also shows that there is no basis for the claims saying that acoustics and astronomy in China have their roots in Babylon.

This book presents the first translation into English of the full text of the Kaogong ji. This classic work, described by the great scholar of the history of Chinese science and technology Joseph Needham as "the most important document for the study of ancient Chinese technology", dates from the fifth century BC and forms part of the Zhouli (The Rites of the Zhou Dynasty), one of the great Confucian classics. The text itself describes the techniques of working and the technologies used by over twenty different kinds of craftsmen and artificers, such as metal workers, chariot makers, weapon makers, music instrument makers, potters and master builders. This edition, besides providing the full text in English, also provides a substantial introduction and other supporting explanatory material, over one hundred illustrations of ancient Chinese artefacts, and the original Chinese text itself.

"What singles this book out is the sheer diversity of instruments covered this is a very welcome book. It is fair to say that the science of percussion instruments would not have advanced anywhere near so far without the tireless enthusiasm and passion of Rossing and his students."Nature, 2001"It forms a very nice survey work on an entire class of musical instruments I recommend it to anyone interested in acoustics and the physics of musical instruments."American Journal of Physics, Sept 2001

The Encyclopaedia fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural stud ies. Reference works on other cultures tend either to omit science completely or pay little attention to it, and those on the history of science almost always start with the Greeks, with perhaps a mention of the Islamic world as a trans lator of Greek scientific works. The purpose of the Encyclopaedia is to bring together knowledge of many disparate fields in one place and to legitimize the study of other cultures' science. Our aim is not to claim the superiority of other cultures, but to engage in a mutual exchange of ideas. The Western aca demic divisions of science, technology, and medicine have been united in the Encyclopaedia because in ancient cultures these disciplines were connected. This work contributes to redressing the balance in the number of reference works devoted to the study of Western science, and encourages awareness of cultural diversity. The Encyclopaedia is the first compilation of this sort, and it is testimony both to the earlier Eurocentric view of academia as well as to the widened vision of today. There is nothing that crosses disciplinary and geographic boundaries, dealing with both scientific and philosophical issues, to the extent that this work does. xi PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Many years ago I taught African history at a secondary school in Central Africa.

Here, at last, is the massively updated and augmented second edition of this landmark encyclopedia. It contains approximately 1000 entries dealing in depth with the history of the scientific, technological and medical accomplishments of cultures outside of the United States and Europe. The entries consist of fully updated articles together with hundreds of entirely new topics. This unique reference work includes intercultural articles on broad topics such as mathematics and astronomy as well as thoughtful philosophical articles on concepts and ideas related to the study of non-Western Science, such as rationality, objectivity, and method. You’ll also find material on religion and science, East and West, and magic and science.

The topical issues debated in this volume include the patenting of AIDS drugs, the future pensions crisis, Britain's universities, and Pan-Islam.There are studies of Shakespeare, Pope, Montaigne, Robert Graves, and William Faulkner. And there are lectures on the Inquisition, empires in history, and the journey towards spiritual fulfilment.