Knowledge Gap And Technologies Transferring

This paper includes two parts. In the first part some significant theories of history of external alchemy and science are discussed. And the phenomena of external alchemy serving for common society are discussed in the other part.What are discussed in Chapter One are some theoretic thoughts of study on external alchemy. The studies in the history of external alchemy in ancient China include three periods. The first is from 1920s to 1949s, the second from 1949s to 1980s, and the last from 1980s to now. Although different period has different characters, on the whole the studies of all the three periods are fiercely influenced by positivism practiced in early history of sciences. Historians of ancient Chinese sciences seek to look for contents according with modern science to the best of their abilities through studying external alchemy classic or doing experiments with the method of modern sciences and technologies, due to which the relationships between external alchemy and economics, cultures, social problems, or ancient "sciences and technologies" etc. are quite ignored. The research strategy depending on positivism to excess resulted more and more serious matters. We now need rectify the strategy from the two points of view in the fields of history of science and history science.First, early history of science in west mainly used positivism method, which was called inter history. Positivism method easily resulted chronicle of science discoveries and ignored science's social role. After 1930s, outer history and concept history, one of inter history strategies, became two important strategies in the study of history of science, through which the effects of science to its society were well treated. Whereas these new research methods haven't been used in the studies in the history of external alchemy, instead positivism method is also the most important strategy, which embarrasses further studies.Second, early history of science was separated from history science. And that disadvantage restricted studies in external alchemy. On the one hand, it intensified positivism method. On the other hand, it also dissevered the organic relationship between external alchemy and ancient history of China. Different from modern sciences and technologies, external alchemy had been never objective knowledge. It had two parts, technologies and divinity, which had never been separated from each other. If one researcher only deals with the complex object in the method of history of science, he will take something for mistake early.A new strategy for history of science research is put forward in Chapter Two. What discussed above indicate that studies in external alchemy need more methods of history of science, including methods of inter history and outer history. At the same time characters of external alchemy in specifically historical conditions ought to also be well considered, which means that a researcher should deal with anachronical history and diachronical history properly. Whereas "Herbert Butterfield's paradox" indicates that is a very difficult question. How should a researcher of external alchemy treat modern science and history culture, present and past equally? In research of history of science, researchers often regard parts of non-western knowledge or ancient western knowledge as science through changing the definition of science. On the contrary, in this paper the writer confines science in the position of modern and west, and claims that a researcher ought to treat science and non-science knowledge equally. If one kind of knowledge is changed into another, which is called "Knowledge Gap" will occur. Exactly recognizing "Knowledge Gap" is indispensable for a researcher in studies of history of science. Positivism thinks that science time is the highest period in the history of mankind's brightness, which makes progress in the way of accumulating knowledge. Science is the future form of all other knowledge. However, in ancient western or Chinese history modern science had never existed. Oppositely, some kind of non-science knowledge played a very important role in ancient China. So we first replace science to centuries after middle ages, and then equal science and other non-science knowledge. Here the "knowledge" means one thinking style how most people of a region, a country, a nation, or a large culture organization in a certain historical period looked on the nature. This knowledge is similar to modern science in its functions and values, whereas their criterions may be different from each other. According to the definition above, in this paper knowledge is an "objective" nature view to be related with a certain period and a certain group of persons. Before 17 century, many different kinds of knowledge exited in all over the world. Like scientific revolutions, the knowledge was also changing all the time: When one kind was replaced into another, "Knowledge Gap" will occur. After a break a small group of persons' nature view perhaps hold the line, but for most people their nature view will change. If the knowledge type has changed, people in different knowledge type will have different worldview, which further deciding their different social actions. There are three types of "Knowledge Gap" in history, in the direction of time, space, and the synthesis type.The definition of knowledge and "Knowledge Gap" will provide a new strategy for studies in history of science in non-western cultures. And it will make a researcher sufficiently consider his research objects' characters in its own culture not modern science. Taking external alchemy for example, according to the new knowledge theory, we may regard the appeared, developed, and disappeared history of external alchemy as the growth course of one knowledge type that one can become to be immortal through eating golden elixir, which is also a knowledge type. Though some historians of science regard external alchemy as ancient chemistry, in fact it is a different knowledge type from modern science. External alchemy isn't only a religion faith. It's also "logos" knowledge. Through discussed above, we may recognize external alchemy and its technologies served for common society in a further step.In Chapter Three the writer discusses the knowledge base of immortal theory. The immortal phenomena from the Warring States period to Qin and Han Dynasty are not only a religion faith. There is knowledge and technologies background. It's indicated that early Chinese medicine profited from immortal actions very much. And Daoists kept this tradition until Song Dynasty, through which external alchemy and Chinese medicine profited from each other.In Chapter Four and five the writer discusses how the knowledge type that one can became immortal by eating golden elixir appeared in Han Dynasty, and developed in Chinese medicine and smelting technologies. Golden elixir was the result of developed of immortal ideas, while the appearance of Huaidan brought the fission of immortal technologies. In Wei and Jin Dynasty, golden elixir became the most important technology to be immortal. And in the Six Dynasties and Tang Dynasty, more and more common people idolized making golden elixir. In this progress, external alchemy developed many medicine and smelting technologies.In the last two chapters the writer discusses the phenomena of external alchemy technologies served for common society and its influence for science and technologies, economics, culture etc. in history. From late Tang Dynasty to Song Dynasty, due to golden elixir's toxicity and the changing of culture style, external alchemy was doubted strongly. Although many persons were also making golden elixir, the idea to be immortal by eating golden elixir was criticizing by more and more people. In this case, many technologies kept in Daoists were public. At the same time, the government of Song Dynasty encouraged Daoists taking their technologies to serve for society, which was called in this paper the technology transferring of external alchemy. In Five Dynasties and Song Dynasty, the technology transferring of external alchemy accelerated the development of Chinese medicine and metallurgy industry. It's evident that external alchemy indeed played a very important role in ancient history, especially in Song Dynasty.