On "Needham Puzzle"

Science and technology were as splendid as miracle in ancient China, and the lost oftheir elegance were as enigmatic as mystery in modern China. This phenomenon poses adifficult mystery, causing many scholars diligently to explore it. Joseph Needham, a greathistorian in Chinese science and technology summarized the facts in the history of Chinesescience and society in a term---"Needham Puzzle": why is the science in ancient China sosplendid that China did not produce the modern science. Needham explained: it is theChinese bureaucracy that delays the development of commerce and industry. Scholars think itis China’s social system: bureaucracy system, the economic system and the imperialexamination system that led to extremely serious utilitarianism, which hindered thedevelopment of science. Some scholars argue that it is Chinese feudal thinking formed forthousands of years, with the focus on practice rather than the formation of concept and theoryof deductive systems that led to the phenomenon described in "Needham Puzzle". Somescholars assume that it is the inherent feature of Chinese writing, geography, and science andtechnology that led to the phenomenon described in "Needham Puzzle". Some scholarsbelieve that this phenomenon has reasons which are multidimensional stereoscopic. It isimpossible to use a reason to explain it. This idea can be called comprehensive reasons.To properly answer "Needham Puzzle", first of all, we should understand the meaning ofit, and then we should examine the scholars’ answers from a variety of perspectives, integratethem properly and draw useful conclusions. History cannot repeat itself. The answer of"Needham Puzzle" is unlikely to come to the decisive conclusions. It can only generate a lotof good ways of thinking. This issue should be paid to attention to answer "Needham Puzzle".The study on the "Needham Puzzle" has great theoretical significance for research on thehistory of scientific development, the history of Chinese ancient science and technology andgeneral history. It has a very clear practical significance for China’s current education system.In addition,"Needham Puzzle" proposed by Joseph Needham through the study of the historyof Chinese science and its answers have far-reaching theoretical and practical significance for cultural exchange between China and the West.