Summaries
There have been two summaries or condensations of the vast amount of material found in Science and Civilisation. The first, a one-volume popular history book by Robert Temple entitled The Genius of China, was completed in a little over 12 months to be available in 1986 for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to China. This addressed only the contributions made by China and had a "warm welcome" from Joseph Needham in the introduction, though in the Beijing Review he criticized that it had "some mistakes ... and various statements that I would like to have seen expressed rather differently".
A second was made by Colin Ronan, a writer on the history of science, who produced a five volume condensation The Shorter Science and Civilisation: An abridgement of Joseph Needham's original text, between 1980 and his death in 1995. These volumes cover:
- China and Chinese science
- Mathematics, astronomy, meteorology and the earth sciences
- Magnetism, nautical technology, navigation, voyages
- Mechanical engineering, machines, clockwork, windmills, aeronautics
- Civil engineering, roads, bridges, hydraulic engineering
Read more about this topic: Science And Civilisation In China