CHINA today is doubly fascinating, as an emerging economic superpower and for its ancient civilisation. However, the west used to see it as a curiosity, an intellectual backwater: there was some nice art and some poetry worth translating, but the Chinese were not as modern as us.
Credit for overturning this view goes to the English biochemist turned historian . His monumental , published in 1954, revealed a largely unknown hotbed of invention, that brought the world clocks and compasses, printing, gunpowder and many other key technologies. Simon Winchester relates how Needham fell in love with a Chinese colleague, her language and finally the country.
As usual, Winchester makes an intellectual quest exciting, weaving romance and wartime adventure into Needham’s story. There is more to say about his life and work, which are nearly as astonishing as the China he uncovered, but this nicely paced story is a great place to start.
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The Man Who Loved China
HarperCollins