I would make the case that Needham’s “Science and Civilization in...
R.Сам 🦋🐏@Logo_Daedalus
51 views
Mar 22, 2025
~1 min read
Advertisement
1
I would make the case that Needham’s “Science and Civilization in China” is the most important book written in english in the 20th century. It’s not just about China, it’s about how Taoist technology distributed into the West, & is therefore cross-referencing the development of alchemy across egyptian greek latin arabic &c texts & noting the morphological similarities in things like the classification of metals. He provides a dialectical materialist history for Alchemy & the experimental sciences. He’s more popular in China than in the Anglosphere now— but I can’t emphasize enough how radically this book alters your understanding of everything after you’ve read it.
Joseph Needham is one of the most impressive figures of his day— it’s a shame how few people in the Anglosphere even know of his existence.
Joseph Needham is one of the most impressive figures of his day— it’s a shame how few people in the Anglosphere even know of his existence.
2
This is just one page.
