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>>Dr. Kerry Magruder: Thanks for joining me in the History of Science Collections of the
University of Oklahoma Libraries. Let's look at a few books that throw light on the story
of science in Asia. China monumentis, printed in Europe in 1667 by Athanasius Kircher contains
two maps, which reflect a growing European awareness of the history and significance
of the people of Asia. On this map of Asia we can see the subcontinent of India. Kircher's
more detailed map of China may be the first map of China to be printed in Europe. Europeans
were beginning to recognize that Chinese history was as ancient as Egypt's, and that China's
cultural achievements were equal to their own.
Confucius lived in the early 5th century BCE, roughly contemporary with the Pythagoreans
and Pre-Socratic natural philosophers. Confucius taught: "Do not do to others what you do not
want done to yourself," an early version of the Golden Rule. Confucianism emphasized the
cultivation of justice and sincerity in relationships, beginning with one's family, including respect
for one's ancestors and for tradition. This edition of Confucius, printed in Paris
in 1687, contains another map of China, published only 20 years after Kircher's. Yin and yang,
a recurring motif in traditional Chinese thought, expresses the idea of the interconnectedness
of opposites. Phenomena which appear to us as dualities, such as darkness and light,
or high and low tides, will turn out to be interdependent and profoundly related.
This is The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Moxibustion, a classic treatise on acupuncture.
It describes acupuncture treatments for a variety of conditions, with 36 depictions
of acupuncture points for both adults and children. This copy was printed in 1659. This
is a set of Samurai manuscripts drawn on rice paper in the mid 1800's, copied from sources
dating to the mid 16th century. We have the book about the arrow, the book about leggings,
a book about the quiver, and a book about clothing. We can use this work to represent
Asian astronomy. Here is an armillary sphere with feet of dragons. It was written by Baba
Nobutake, a Kyoto physician, and published in Osaka, Japan in 1706. Baba countered superstitious
interpretations of solar eclipses, and used magnetic theory rather than yin and yang to
explain the tides. Baba adopted the Tychonic model of cosmology, so this work exemplifies
the interplay between Asian and European ideas.
In this book in 1620, Francis Bacon championed the new era of modern discovery by pointing
to three supreme novelties: printing, gunpowder, and the magnet. The richness of Asian science
is evident in the irony that each of these three "modern European discoveries" actually
came to Europe from Asia, unbeknownst to Bacon. The starting point for modern western understanding
of traditional Chinese science is the monumental work of Joseph Needham. The massive volumes
of Needham's Science and Civilization in China explore the scientific heritage of Asia, Similar
works are appearing for other regions of Asia, such as this 12-volume History of Science
in India. Asia boasts a rich history of science and technology, even before the Scientific
Revolution of early modern Europe. Science is a story. What stories do you want to hear
and tell about science in Asia?