People’s Republic of China, 96, 198. See also China
accusations of U.S. biological warfare in Korean War by officials of, 200–208
Cultural Revolution in, 231, 234, 235
Great Leap Forward economic campaign, 234
Joseph Needham begins to question Mao’s policies in, 234–37
Joseph Needham’s observations of changes in China after formation of, 206–7, 234
Taiwan as part of, 225n.48
U.S. response to founding of, 225–26
Philby, Kim, 32
Philosophical Dictionary, The (Voltaire), 253
Picken, Laurence
complaint letter about Joseph Needham and Lu Gwei-djen written by, 159–62
positive review of Science and Civilisation in China by, 234
Pirie, Bill, 210
plants, Chinese pharmaceutical, 155–56
plow and moldboard, Chinese, 184
poetry, Chinese, 89–90
Polo, Marco, 132, 186
pollution in China, 255, 256–57
Popper, Karl, 238
population in China, 255
Postan, Michael, 250
Potteries Trade Research Association, 74–75
Powell, John, 215, 216
Powell, Sylvia, 215
Power, Eileen, 250
“Prague Spring” in Czechoslovakia, 231
Pratt, King’s Messenger, 3, 61, 71
Pre-Natal History of the Steam Engine, The, 192n.40
Priestley, J. B., 32
Progressive League, 227
puddling technique, Chinese iron, 195
pump, Chinese square-pallet chain, 185
punnet, 221n.46
Punnett, Reginald, 221
Putterill, Jack, 233
Pu Yi, Chinese emperor, 250
Qianlong, emperor of China, 182, 258
Qin dynasty, 106, 108
Qing dynasty, 91, 176, 262
rain gauge, Chinese, 181
Republic of China, 197
Richthofen, Ferdinand, 126
Riddle of the Sands, The (Childers), 19
Robinson, David, 243–44
Robinson College, Cambridge University, 243–44, 249
Robinson, Kenneth, 217
Roosevelt, Franklin, 33, 47
Rosenberg, Julius and Ethel, Joseph Needham’s campaign on behalf of, 227
Roxby, Percy, 161
Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, 17
Royal Society
criticism of Joseph Needham by members of, because of biological warfare report, 209–10
Joseph Needham elected fellow of (1941), 28–29, 238
rudder, Chinese sternpost, 186
Russian Revolution of 1917, 17
Sanctae Trinitatis Confraternitas, 19
Sanderson, F. W., 16
Sansom, George, 54
SCC. See Science and Civilisation in China (SCC)
Schlegel, Friedrich, 15
Schumacher, E. F., 113–14
Schuman, Julian, 215
Schwarz, Berthold, 92
Science and Civilisation in China (SCC), 168–98, 244, 248–49
on aerodynamics and flight, 1
on biological agents in bombs, 199
F. Bray’s contribution to, 241–42, 244
on bridges, 11, 121–22
on Chinese “traits,” 133
construction of, 188–97
final words of, 217
honors for, 197–98
inventions documented in, 182–88
Joseph Needham begins research and writing of, 168–88
Joseph Needham’s book and manuscript collection in support of, 174–77, 194–95, 242–44, 248–49
Joseph Needham’s observations as first incidence of research for, 65–68, 77
Joseph Needham’s reputation resting on, 222–23
on magnetic compass, 97
monographs emerging from, 192n.40
on oranges, botany, and horticulture, 61, 65–66
origins of idea for, 37–38, 56–57
proposal for, to Cambridge University Press, 170, 171, 172, 173
publication of first volume of (1954), 217–20
publication of second volume of (1956), 228
publication of third volume of (1959), 229–30
publication of fourth volume of (1975), 239
reviews of, 224, 228, 239–40
on scientific fundamentals (five elements) in China, 168
title page of first volume, 219
Vol. I, Introduction, 189, 191, 192, 219
Vol. II, 189, 191–92, 228
Vol. III, 189, 192, 228, 229–30, 263
Vol. IV, 189–90
Vol. IV, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics, 193–94, 196, 239
Vol. V, 190, 192–93
Vol. VI, 190
Vol. VI, Part I, Botany, 66n.13
Vol. VII, 190–91
Wang Ling contribution to, 174, 178, 180–81, 182, 183, 189, 191, 193, 195, 244
Science Outpost (J. Needham), 211n.45
Scott-Moncrieff, Rose, 20
Seymour, Horace, 72–73, 159n.32, 162
Shaffer, Elinor, 252
Shandan oasis, Gansu Province, China, 127, 264
Shaw, George Bernard, 17
Sheng Rongzhi (Joseph Needham’s Chinese name), 123n.26
Shen Gua (Chinese geographer), 183
Shen Shizhang, 36
Shi, professor, plant scientist, 85, 88, 89
Shih, H. Y., Joseph Needham’s infatuation with, 239
Shi Xin Dao Ren (one of Joseph Needham’s Chinese names), 123n.26
Shuangshipu, China, 111, 115, 117
Shu Jing, 61
Siddeley, John, 31
Siku Quanshu (The Complete Books of the Four Imperial Repositories), 176n.36
Silk Road, 101, 104, 109, 126, 130, 131, 263–64
Sino-British Scientific Cooperation Office (SBSCO), 54, 74, 79, 83, 102, 121
Smith, Sydney, 160
Snow, Edgar, 112, 113
Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU), 142–43, 234
Song dynasty, 89, 92, 120, 183
Soviet Union, role of, in accusations against U.S. of biological warfare in Korean War, 204, 212–14
space program, Chinese, 264–65
Spalding, H. N., 51
Spanish civil war (1936), 33
Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, 18
spinning wheel, Chinese, 187
Stalin, Joseph, 212
star charts, Tang dynasty, 138, 263
Stein, Marc Aurel, 72, 130–31, 134–39
death of, 134
discovery of artifacts at Mogao
Caves by, 136–37
photo in Taklamakan Desert, 135
removal of artifacts from China by, 138–40
Steiner, George, on Joseph Needham, 239–40
Stephens, Leslie, 230
Stephenson, Marjory, 20
stirrup, Chinese, 187–88
Stratton, Frederick “Chubby,” 221
Sung dynasty, 195. See also Song dynasty
Sun Yat-sen, 254
surveyors’ marks, Chinese, 188–89
Swaffer, Hannen, 32
Swann, Michael, 229
Taiwan, 198
status as part of People’s Republic of China, 225n.48
Taklamakan Desert, 126, 129,
135
Tang dynasty, 138
Tawney, R. H., 32
Tawney Society, 227
Teichman, Eric, 73–74, 105, 106, 120, 125
terra cotta soldiers, Shaanxi Province, 100n.19
Tianjin, China, 51 Times Literary Supplement, 228
toilet paper, Chinese perfumed, 187
Tots and Quots club, Cambridge, England, 32
Toynbee, Arnold, 224
Tribe, Keith, 150, 151
Truman, Harry, U.S. president, 166
Tsien, T. H., 242
type,
early books printed with movable, 177
umbrella, Chinese, 187
Unabomber, 238–39
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), Joseph Needham’s work for, 162–66, 211
Unit 731 Water Purification Camp, experiments conducted by Japanese at, 202, 215
United Nations, 162
membership of Chinese government in, 225–26
United States
accusations of biological warfare conducted by, during Korean War, 199–214
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 166, 212
initial neutrality and later entrance into World War II, 47, 53
Joseph Needham banned from entering, 211–12
opposition to Joseph Needham’s involvement in UNESCO, 166
research into biological warfare in, 202, 203
response of, to founding of People’s Republic of China, 225–26
Vietnam War and, 231
U.S. War Department, 56
University of Wuhan, 85
University Socialist Society, 32
Vandenberg, Hoyt, 166
Van Gulik, Robert, 74n.16
Vietnam War, 231
vitamin C, plant sources of, 155
voles, accusations of biological warfare using sick, 200–202
Voltaire, 253
Waley, Arthur, 58
Wang Ling, 92, 178, 221
contribution of, to Science and Civilisation in China, 174, 180–81, 182, 183, 189, 191, 193, 195
Wang Yinglai, 36
Wang Yuanlu, 136, 138
Warner, Langdon, 139n.28
Warring States period, 108
water and hydraulics, role in Chinese history, 105–9, 184, 193
Watson, James, 240
Wells, H. G., 17, 32, 64
Weltfish, Gene, 210–11
West, Rebecca, 32
wheelbarrow, Chinese, 186
Wheldale, Muriel, 20
Williams, Sanuel Wells, 66n.12
Williams-Ellis, Amabel, 32
Williams-Ellis, Clough, 32n., 196
Winant, John, 58
women
Chinese foot binding practice, 119–20
Joseph Needham’s relationships with, 23, 25–26, 81–82, 86, 145, 239
Joseph Needham’s traditional attitudes toward, 232
Woolf, Virginia, 230n.51
Worcester, G. R. G., 196
World Peace Council, 203–4
World War I, 16, 25–26
World War II, 45, 46
Chongqing as Chinese capital during, 1–6, 9–10, 47
Worm Ouroboros, The (Eddison), 107n.21
Wuguanhe, China, 110
Xi’an, China, 100, 128, 132. See also Chang’an, China
Xiang River bridge incident, Joseph Needham and, 152–54
Xinjiang (Chinese Turkistan), Needham expedition to, 100–43
Xuan Zang, 132
Yang Lingwei, Chinese astronaut, 264
Yangzi River, 75, 89, 90–91, 253
Ye, P., letters from, to Joseph Needham, 192n.39
Yellow River, 118, 141
Yibin, China, 86, 88, 90
Yongle dadien (The Great Canon of the Yongle Emperor’s Era), 176n.36
Yongqiang, China, 106–7
Younghusband, Francis, 73
Yuan dynasty, 181
Yunnan Province, China, 156
Zhejiang University, 175, 176
Zheng He, Chinese explorer, 194
Zhongguo, 225n.47. See also China Zhou Enlai (Chinese Communist leader), 40, 58, 78, 176n.35
on China’s hygiene campaign and accusations against U.S. of biological warfare use during Korean War, 201–3, 208
friendship with Joseph Needham, 94, 96, 99, 163, 201n.42, 234, 235
photos of, 209, 235 Zhuangzi, 164
Zhu Jingying, 81–82
Zhu Kezhen (scholar), book and manuscript collection donated to Joseph Needham by, 175–77
Zuckerman, Solly, 32
Zunyi, China, 175
About the Author
SIMON WINCHESTER’s many books include The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, Krakatoa, and A Crack in the Edge of the World. Each of these has been a New York Times bestseller and has appeared on numerous best and notable lists. Mr. Winchester was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by HM The Queen in 2006. He lives in western Massachusetts.
www.SimonWinchester.com
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Also by Simon Winchester
A Crack in the Edge of the World
The Meaning of Everything
Krakatoa
The Map That Changed the World
The Fracture Zone
The Professor and the Madman
The River at the Center of the World
Small World
Hong Kong: Here Be Dragons
Pacific Nightmare
Pacific Rising
Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles
Outposts
Prison Diary: Argentina
Stones of Empire
Their Noble Lordships
American Heartbeat
In Holy Terror
Credits
Jacket photographs: © Imagemore Co., Ltd./Corbis (Main Photo) and © Keren Su/Corbis (Inset Photo)
Jacket design Jarrod Taylor
Copyright
THE MAN WHO LOVED CHINA. Copyright © 2008 by Simon Winchester. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition APRIL 2008 ISBN: 9780061795886
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1There were many distinguished male researchers, too—among them the celebrated geneticist J. B. S. Haldane, whose line from the famous essay “On Being the Right Size” still haunts many. He was describing what happens when a variety of mammals of different sizes are dropped down a mineshaft: “A rat is killed, a man is broken, a horse splashes.”
2Needham’s renowned ownership of Campbell’s mighty car led to a reported encounter with Chairman Mao in the 1960s which, if it did indeed take place, was to have an enormous impact on Chinese society and, incidentally, on global warming. The details of the conversation will appear later in this book.
3The topic intrigued Dorothy Needham for the rest of her life. Her only book, devoted entirely to muscle movement, was published when she was seventy-six. It was called Mach
ina Carnis, roughly translated as The Meat Machine.
4Dorothy Needham was made a fellow seven years later—giving the Needhams the great distinction of being the only husband-and-wife team to be accorded the honor, aside from the honorific appointments of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
5The wife of Clough Williams-Ellis, the architect best known for creating the fantasy town of Portmeirion in north Wales (where the cult television series The Prisoner was filmed in the 1960s).
6For twenty years, beginning in 1937, this remarkable organization tallied the ordinary details of British life, using volunteers to perform such mundane tasks as asking people what they kept in their trouser pockets, surreptitiously noting down the rituals of working-class courtship, and reading messages written on banknotes.
7There was a period during the Cultural Revolution when it was officially deemed more truly proletarian and patriotic to have just a single given name. A Chinese with an abbreviated name like Chen Hong or Li Guan suggests the bearer was quite probably born during the late 1960s, with parents who obeyed the instructions of their local Red Guards.
8To add a further layer of complexity: Needham wrote his dictionary using the venerable Wade-Giles system of transliterating Chinese pronounciation into English. The modern pinyin system is very different—so the sound for electricity is not tien, as Needham had it, but dian, though in the same fourth tone; and tien, heaven, becomes tian, as in the usual contemporary spelling of the Beijing landmark Tiananmen Square.