Joseph Needham was born in London in 1900, a distinguished biochemist. In 1937, Chinese students in his lab first sparked his fascination with China's scientific civilization.
In 1942 Needham came to China as a Royal Society representative, heading the Sino-British Science Cooperation Office and helping Chinese scientists during the war. Travelling across the country, he was astonished that the West knew almost nothing of China's millennia of achievements.
Back in England he began a monumental task: Science and Civilisation in China. From the first volume in 1954 until his death, over 50 years, the work grew to more than 20 volumes covering paper, printing, gunpowder, the compass, astronomy, medicine and architecture. He also posed the famous "Needham Question": why did the Scientific Revolution not happen in China? Scholars worldwide still debate it.
Needham called himself "an old friend of the Chinese people". When he died in 1995, Chinese leaders sent condolences. In the study of Chinese science history, his name is unavoidable.
Joseph Needham (1900-1995), British biochemist and historian of science, is famous for compiling the monumental Science and Civilisation in China and for posing the "Needham Question".
From biochemistry to Chinese science: originally a distinguished Cambridge biochemist, in 1937 he met Chinese students including Lu Guizhen and became fascinated with Chinese science, redirecting his career. From 1942 to 1946 he headed the British scientific mission to China, examining countless ancient books and sites.
Science and Civilisation in China: publication began in 1954; planned as 7 volumes, it grew to over 20 books covering mathematics, astronomy, geography, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, agriculture, military and navigation, systematically proving ancient Chinese science and technology enormous contributions to the world.
The Needham Question: why did Chinese science and technology lead the world for so long, yet modern science did not emerge in China? The question sparked decades of global debate and became a core problem in the history of science.
His findings changed world perception: before him, the West generally credited China with only the Four Great Inventions; Needham showed China also led in steel, hydraulics, textiles, sugar and medicine, with many technologies reaching the West via the Silk Road.
Memorials: Cambridge houses the Needham Research Institute and the East Asian History of Science Library; China has related exhibitions. His saying - "the history of world science and technology is the history of exchanges among civilisations" - remains the programme of the field.
Reader advice: if interested in Needham, watch the documentary Needham and China first, then a concise edition of Science and Civilisation in China. The Needham Question still lacks a standard answer, but by raising it he made the world re-examine Chinese science history - itself a huge contribution.
