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SUMMARY:Metallurgy and Chinese civilisation: an historical overview - Jian
 jun Mei (Needham Research Institute\, Cambridge)
DTSTART:20150521T153000Z
DTEND:20150521T170000Z
UID:TALK58791@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:David Thompson
DESCRIPTION:The significant contributions of the Chinese people to the dev
 elopment of world civilisation have been well documented in Joseph Needham
 's monumental _Science and Civilisation in China_ series. Over the past tw
 o decades\, new archaeological discoveries and research have revealed an i
 ncreasing body of evidence showing that Chinese civilisation did not devel
 op in isolation\, but was the result of complex historical processes invol
 ving longstanding and extensive cultural and technological interactions wi
 th other civilisations. Taking bronze casting\, cast iron and _paktong_ (w
 hite copper) as typical examples\, this lecture offers a historical overvi
 ew of the role of metallurgical technologies in shaping the growth of anci
 ent Chinese civilisation. It argues from a technological perspective that 
 the interaction between China and the outside world has always been a cruc
 ial factor in stimulating the vigorous development of Chinese civilization
  since its very beginnings. The importance of technological 'institutional
 ization' in a given social context will also be emphasised.
LOCATION:McCrum Lecture Theatre\, Bene't Street
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