Science and Civilisation in China, Part 1, Paper and Printing: Chemistry and Chemical Technology/Vol 5, Part I : Paper and Printing - Hardcover

Needham, Joseph; Tsuen-Hsuin, Tsien

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521086906 ISBN 13: 9780521086905

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1985

Synopsis

Part one of the fifth volume of Joseph Needham's great enterprise is written by one of the project's collaborators. Professor Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin, working in regular consultation with Dr Needham, has written the most comprehensive account of every aspect of paper and printing in China to be published in the West. From a close study of the vast mass of source material, Professor Tsien brings order and illumination to an area of technology which has been of profound importance in the spread of civilisation. The main body of the book is a detailed study of the invention, technology and aesthetic development of printing in China. From the growth and ultimate refinements of early woodcut printing to the spread of printing from movable type and the development of book-binding, Professor Tsien carries the story forward to the beginning of the nineteenth century when 'more printed pages existed in Chinese than in all other languages put together'.

About this title

Review:

"[An] astonishing and enduring study...[Needham brings] depth of emotion and technical finesse to his task."
Jonathan Spence, New York Review of Books

"Perhaps the greatest single act of historical synthesis and intercultural communication ever attempted by one man."
Laurence Picken, Cambridge University

Book Description:

Part one of the fifth volume of Joseph Needham's great enterprise is written by one of the project's collaborators. Professor Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin, working in regular consultation with Dr Needham, has written the most comprehensive account of every aspect of paper and printing in China to be published in the West.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1985
• ISBN 10: 0521086906
• ISBN 13: 9780521086905
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 504