Science And Civilisation In China, Volume 5: Ch... -

The story begins not with a general, but with a monk. While mixing saltpeter (potassium nitrate), sulfur, and charcoal in an attempt to create a medicine for longevity, he noticed a terrifying "hissing and soaring." He had inadvertently created huoyao —the "fire-drug."

The world’s first true cannon. Needham argues persuasively that the "bombard" didn't spontaneously appear in Europe; it was the result of this grueling, centuries-long chemical evolution in China. The Legacy of the "Grand Titration" Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 5: Ch...

The overarching "story" Needham tells in Volume 5 is one of . He tracks how these "technological sparks" traveled along the Silk Road, through the Mongol Empire, and into the hands of Arabic and European engineers. The story begins not with a general, but with a monk

He famously asks the "Needham Question": Why, if China was so far ahead in chemical technology by the 14th century, did the Scientific Revolution happen in Europe and not there? He concludes it wasn't a lack of genius, but a difference in social and economic structures that eventually stifled this explosive era of discovery. To help you dive deeper into this massive volume: The Legacy of the "Grand Titration" The overarching

In the smoky, chaotic laboratories of 10th-century Kaifeng, a group of Taoist alchemists—seekers of the "Elixir of Life"—stumbled upon a formula that would instead change the nature of death. This is the world Joseph Needham explores in Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 5 , specifically the "Chemistry and Chemical Technology" sub-series. The Spark of the "Fire-Drug"