The Mediae With Double Razors

Book is one of the most important valuables in ancient China, though our ancestor only had "Written on Bamboo and Silk"before paper and printing were invented. Paper and Printing are the greatest contributions in all Chinese ancient cultural achievements made to mankind civilization. Also, they were the most competent media to diffuse Chinese scientific knowledge.During the lasting autocratic monarchy for more than 2000 years, how they promoted the development of scientific knowledge, how many stages the development of the mediae themselves experienced, what characteristics they shew in every stage, and what historic factors brought changes to them, these questions will be discussed in my article.The mediae in ancient China experienced 3 important changes in raw materials or the methods to make book:--from "Written on Bamboo and Silk" to hand—written book copy,then to book through wood block for printing. To my surprise, these three changes witnessed the great changes happened in Chinese science: in the first stage we call the Han—Tang Time, when Chinese scientific with long—standing cultural accumulation was gradually shaped and came to prosperity, three main patterns I name them "the Shi—guan pattern", "the Li—zhi pattern" and "the explanatory pattern" were formed by re-production and re-diffusion of scientific knowledge as an organic whole which the coutry organized. In the second stage, our Chinese call it Song—Yuan Time, when the greatest progress was made in the Chinese science with the invention of printing, history see a separation of the organic whole into twe equal parts—coutry and society and their positive coaction, especially after dissemination of printing. When the history came into the third stage, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the production and diffusion of scientific knowledge were isolated from each other. There...