After the Renaissance, modern science emerged in Europe and developed rapidly. Marked by Newton's publication of his "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" in 1687, the modern scientific revolution reached its climax. However, there is such a question: "In the long years from the 1st century BC to the 15th century AD, the Chinese once surpassed the Europeans in applying natural knowledge to meet human needs. So, why did the modern scientific revolution not take place in China? happened?” This question stumped historians of science and many other scholars in the 20th century. Because this problem was first raised by the famous British historian of science Joseph Needham, it is called the "Needham problem".
Why did modern science not sprout in China? Why did Western science and technology even encounter strong resistance when it was introduced into China? This is a very complex issue. Joseph Needham discussed this issue at length in his masterpiece "History of Chinese Science and Technology" and gave various reasons: Although early Chinese philosophy such as Yin-Yang and Five Elements and other theories had promoted the development of early Chinese science, these theories The essential empirical and speculative nature later became the reason that hindered the emergence of experimental science in China; China's failure to fully develop capitalism was the basic social reason why experimental science did not occur in China; China's traditional values ??do not encourage or even inhibit The emergence of modern science in China.
From a historical point of view, science, technology and culture have never been separated (culture in a broad sense refers to the sum of all material products and spiritual products created by human beings, and science and technology are included in it, We do not take culture in a broad sense here). Technology and culture in a specific period are always so closely related that when we try to find the answer to the "Needham problem", we find that this is the best solution. answer.
China’s traditional culture has a long history and is still very influential in today’s era of globalization. Its vitality is evident, and its influence cannot be underestimated. The traditional culture that we have always been proud of has created and continues to support Chinese civilization. However, when exploring the answer to the "Needham Problem", we can find that traditional culture has automatic mechanisms that inhibit the development of science and technology (of course, the traditional culture here also includes the "imperial examination system" that we usually criticize, etc.). ), especially the culture of a special era dominated by politics, ideology, and systems. Its cultural forms and characteristics that are different from those of the modern West have mainly led to the stagnation of the development of modern science and technology in our country. We can take a peek at how this cultural mechanism inhibits the development of modern science and technology in China from the following aspects of Chinese traditional culture.
1. Focus on the exploration of humanistic issues. From the perspective of traditional Chinese culture, ancient Chinese philosophers wanted to solve all the problems in the world at once. "They first want to solve humanistic problems, and secondly they want to solve humanistic problems in general." Therefore, they are unwilling to do specific things. However, things like technology often need to solve specific problems to develop. Among the ancient Greek philosophers, some tried to solve all problems in general, "but they also had some who worked on very specific problems." For example, starting from solving specific, phenomenal problems, Archimedes discovered the law of buoyancy and Newton discovered universal gravitation. However, in ancient and modern China, a large number of our intellectuals were not studying these specific issues, but exploring humanities and society. The disparity in academic atmosphere and its leading direction is the main reason for the gap in scientific and technological levels between China and the West.
2. Ideological and institutional issues. Since the Qin Dynasty, China has established and continuously strengthened centralized feudal rule, and thus established a series of auxiliary systems, such as "respecting Confucianism" in ideology, "imperial examinations" in education, etc. It is these ideas and systems that directly affect the development of science and technology. Let’s just take the imperial examination as an example. The ancient imperial examination took a long time from its establishment to its final cancellation, which is unmatched by any other examination system. This is related to its political support. The main content of the imperial examination was the Four Books and Five Classics. Of course, there were some additions and enrichments later, but most of them did not go beyond the humanities (when I was in high school, I joked with my classmates: "The ancients studied literature just like us." ). Political support, or even coercion, is the key reason why the entire culture is biased.
3. Scientific and technological civilization is limited to craftsman civilization and experience civilization.
This should be said to be a result and the state of technological development caused by many factors. Although we have four world-famous inventions, although we have brilliant technological and cultural achievements in special dynasties such as the Tang and Song dynasties, although our porcelain-making technology is the envy of Westerners, and although our ships can sail into the Red Sea, everything These are just artisan civilization and experience civilization. At that time, science and technology that were advanced in the West in recent centuries had not been well developed in our country. As Mr. Lu Xun pointed out, "Foreign countries use gunpowder to make bullets to defend their enemies, but China uses it to make firecrackers to worship gods; foreign countries use gunpowder to make bullets to defend their enemies. The compass needle is used for navigation, but China uses it to read Feng Shui. “The development of science and technology requires continuous practice and application, which is not available in China. In addition, we lack the research of scientific theories and the training of logical thinking. Theory is the soul and driving force of the development of science and technology. Without the support of theory, it is difficult for science and technology to make great progress. In the ancient and modern history of China, we can hardly find a specialized and systematic scientific theory. At the same time, in the West, basic theoretical research on mechanics, optics, etc. has achieved remarkable results. It can be seen that the gap between the scientific and technological levels between China and the West is almost inevitable.
4. Lack of learning and openness. There have been two ideological states in China for a long time: first, arrogance (often blindly arrogant); second, closed-mindedness. Self-reliance on the "Celestial Empire" and self-reliance on the vastness and richness of Chinese culture may have been somewhat reasonable in the Tang Dynasty, but by the Qing Dynasty it was completely unreasonable and ridiculously ignorant and blind. The "Celestial Kingdom" who did not know how to learn was eventually ravaged and trampled by the "British Barbarians" in the "barbaric land". Based on the idea of ??closed autonomy and freedom from external interference, the Ming Dynasty began to implement a policy of isolation from the country. This policy continued until the Qing Dynasty until the Opium War opened the door to China. The negative and closed thinking can be traced back to the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy, but it is more directly reflected in the cultural level of the entire nation, so it can also be used as an examination of the culture of this period.
The country itself does not have the soil to produce new technologies, so it can only open the door to learn from foreign countries. However, the historical fact is that the door of the country is tightly closed, and foreign advanced technologies are scornfully called " "Fantastic skills and obscene skills", "nothing at all". Progress can neither be achieved directly nor indirectly by learning introduced methods. The result is obviously that there will be a gap between China and the West.
From the above simple analysis, we can understand the close relationship between science, technology and culture. Recognizing this relationship and summarizing previous experiences and lessons will help us better develop science and technology and culture today. culture. Avoid the recurring "Needham problem" that makes people sigh. In the wave of globalization, we should seize opportunities and meet challenges with a positive and open attitude. In the process of continuously strengthening domestic system construction and cultural construction, we should strive to learn from the advanced achievements of other countries and regions and further improve the country's scientific and technological level and economy. strength.