On Ancient Chinese Knowledge Of Technology From The "Tiangongkaiwu"

Modern scholars who study "Tiangongkaiwu" and other literal classics of ancient Chinese techniques always assume it to be "scientific", which means they are trying to find a base of scientific knowledge "applied" by the technical knowledge. Unfortunately, under the use of one simple word “technology”, people automatically equate the technical knowledge to the scientific knowledge, and so the technical knowledge did not obtain a relatively independent epistemological position. This article strive to avoid this stereotype, interpreting "Tiangongkaiwu" as an embedded traditional Chinese culture and life under the new horizon of "empirical turn" from contemporary philosophy of technology.According to above ideas, this paper attempts to carry out following points: First, in the horizon of "empirical turn" from contemporary philosophy of technology, this paper defines the technical knowledge by discussing the definition of techniques. Then based on the definition defined above, the paper Roughly classifies ancient Chinese technical classics in order to identify the historical position of "Tiangongkaiwu" and in the meanwhile discusses the creating and inheriting methods of ancient Chinese technical knowledge. Second, according to the prevailing life of Sung, it investigates the background and reasons of the creation of "Tiangongkaiwu"; in accordance with the idea of embedding techniques with life world, it also deliberates the content, structure, principles of classification, forms and characteristics of knowledge of "Tiangongkaiwu", establishing its independent status of epistemology. Third, through discussion of the internal relation between "Tiangongkaiwu" and other knowledge from normal life as well as literal classics, it further excavates the embedded view of nature, technology, design, practical creation, as well as other ideas of the philosophy of technology inside "Tiangongkaiwu". Fourth, this paper discusses the impact of "Tiangongkaiwu" throughout the world, addresses the inspiration of "Tiangongkaiwu" onto the creation of contemporary technical knowledge from its idea of the philosophy of technology, and finally, its significance of propagating the outstanding traditional Chinese culture.