The Sinology of Joseph Needham
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6008095 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Timothy Brooks (0000-0003-1777-7521), Timothy Brook (University of Toronto, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1996 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 340-348 |
| Publication date | 1996-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Modern China (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0097-7004 • E-ISSN: 1552-6836 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/009770049602200304 |
| OpenAlex | W2004776008 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 1 |
Rarely does even a great scholar go beyond altering his field to changing the way in which people think about the world. Joseph Needham, who died last spring at the age of ninety-four, was one of those rare few. Because of his work, the great achievements of the Chinese scientific tradition are now common knowledge. The path to that knowledge was strewn with controversy, but Joseph (as he insisted his junior associates address him) was blithe about standing in the eye of a storm when a point of principle was at stake. His sinology was shunned by the American establishment through the 1950s and 1960s, his socialism and internationalism placing him out of step with that illiberal age. It also went against the condescension toward China he felt was the habit of the European academy. It argued for such original hypotheses, and did so with such brimming enthusiasm, that one either embraced them or stood clear. The power of Joseph's sinology was a matter of the master intelligence at work, as well as of the hand of the stylist who could write with a flourish and confidence that have since departed from academic discourse. What sustained his sinology was not simply his writing style or personal longevity, however much the latter redounds to a Daoist's credit. Rather, it sprouted from a politics committed to Christian socialism, universalism, and the progress of human understanding. This politics is the philosophical ground on which stands his grand Science and Civilisation in China (SCC
China · Civilization · Political science · Politics · Sinology · Sociology · Chinese history and philosophy · Classics · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · History of Science and Natural History · Law · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,2 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2017 (7) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |