The last decades of the Ming dynasty, though plagued by chaos and destruction, saw a significant increase in publications that examined advances in knowledge and technology. Among the numerous guides and reference books that appeared during this period was a series of texts by Song Yingxing (1587-1666?), a minor local official living in southern China. His Tiangong kaiwu, the longest and most prominent of these works, documents the extraction and processing of raw materials and the manufacture of goods essential to everyday life, from yeast and wine to paper and ink to boats, carts, and firearms. In The Crafting of the 10,000 Things, Dagmar Schafer probes this fascinating text and the legacy of its author to shed new light on the development of scientific thinking in China, the purpose of technical writing, and its role in and effects on Chinese history.

About the Author
Dagmar Schafer is head of the independent research group Concepts and Modalities: Practical Knowledge Transmission in China at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin.

Reviews
"The Crafting of the 10,000 Things is a great achievement, which will repay careful reading on the part of historians of Western Europe and other parts of the world, as well as of China." (Metascience)



Book Information
ISBN 9780226272801
Author Dagmar Schafer
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 532g
Dimensions(mm) 227mm * 165mm * 22mm