www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
Business / Motoring Opinion

How China can make it to the next age

By Paul Kirkham (China Daily) Updated: 2014-06-09 07:12

The discoveries that emerged during the Age of Exploration finally put to rest the idea that all wisdom came from the "ancients". The realization that knowledge could be found elsewhere or even created - and therefore that progress could be continuous - marked the beginning of modern times.

Francis Bacon, the Western philosopher credited with establishing the inductive method of scientific inquiry, was among the first to recognize this shift. In Bacon's opinion the three greatest inventions were the magnetic compass, printing and gunpowder.

Interestingly, each of these came from the East. Why it was the West that seemingly took them, developed and refined them and used them to dominate the rest of the world remains a matter of debate. The Western alphabet may have been more suitable for printing, but why did Western navigators armed with guns and guided by the compass needle succeed so much more dramatically than their Eastern counterparts?

What the West was unaware of at the time and still scarcely appreciates today is that the Chinese mariner Zheng He led seven massive expeditions to Arabia and East Africa a century before the endeavors of his more renowned European counterparts helped define the era. The

So why did these voyages stop? One reason seems to be that a change of administration led to a change in policy. China's legacy of exploration died with Zheng. In Europe, by contrast, entrepreneurial seafarers could tout their projects from one royal house to another.

Another explanation is that Zheng's expeditions may not have been cost-effective. Tremendously expensive to undertake, they resulted in scant reward. Whereas Europeans sought silks and spices that were worth several times their weight in gold, there was little of value for Chinese traders. Basically, the West had nothing to offer that was worth the effort of such an epic journey.

As a result, for a long time knowledge exchange between East and West was a one-way street. The East was the innovator, the West the imitator - and the West did very well out of this arrangement.

Take, for example, the astonishing trade secrets of the silk industry. In England the climate meant manufacturing had to rely on imported skeins of silk fiber, but the market for fabrics drove improvements in weaving technology that came to better fruition with wool and then cotton. Similarly, attempts to replicate fine porcelain drove pottery manufacture - this, after all, is why we call ceramics "china" - which, like textiles, proved central to the early Industrial Revolution.

Perhaps the first Western innovation that really piqued China's interest was the telescope, which was introduced by Jesuit missionaries in the early 17th century. The military and astronomical applications were obvious, so why had the great Chinese civilization - which had a keen interest in both - not come up with such an invention?

How China can make it to the next age How China can make it to the next age
China sees trade deficit in Feb

Robust trade eases slowdown worries

Previous Page 1 2 Next Page

Hot Topics

Editor's Picks
...
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产午夜亚洲精品第一区 | 免费的三级毛片 | 日韩精品久久久毛片一区二区 | 亚洲国产精品乱码在线观看97 | 国产麻豆交换夫妇 | 天堂色视频| 国产亚洲精品一品区99热 | 免费看日韩欧美一级毛片 | 手机在线日韩高清理论片 | 一级特黄国产高清毛片97看片 | 五月桃花网婷婷亚洲综合 | 99久久这里只精品国产免费 | 国产色啪午夜免费视频 | 国产精品欧美一区二区在线看 | 久草视频中文在线 | 综合在线视频精品专区 | 激情欧美一区二区三区 | 欧美 日韩 国产 在线 | 国产色司机在线视频免费观看 | 爱久久精品国产 | 全免费a级毛片免费看 | 国产综合视频在线观看一区 | 高清国产一级精品毛片基地 | 波多野结衣中文一区二区免费 | 久久视精品 | 亚洲免费在线观看视频 | 亚洲美女在线观看播放 | 国产精品黄在线观看免费软件 | 久久精品国产欧美日韩99热 | 久久久久久久久久久久久久久久久 | 久久这里只有精品视频99 | 一级做a爰片久久毛片鸭王 一级做a爰全过程免费视频毛片 | 日韩精品视频免费在线观看 | 欧美一级高清视频在线播放 | 色内内免费视频播放 | 一级毛片免费观看视频 | 久久九九免费视频 | 久久在线精品 | 亚洲 中文 欧美 日韩 在线人 | 动漫一级毛片 | 国产免费一区二区三区在线 |