This mathematics, however, was not geometrical (but instead arithmetic/algebraic), and the Chinese did not attempt to create any kind of model for the motions of celestial bodies. Such a project would have been antithetical to their entire view of the world; the order and regularity of these sky events simply arose from the broader order of the entire cosmos, micro and macro alike. That this order could be described with mathematics was interesting but not extraordinary, because order was naturally to be expected everywhere in accordance with the Tao and the organicist conception of nature. From it came the accompanying order to the calendar, presented each year by the Emperor to the people as a sign of his maintaining of this proper cosmic balance in the state and in nature itself. To ask for some sort of other underlying source of the order and regularity found in astronomical observations would have made no sense, because the observed order was simply a manifestation of what was inherently there in all of nature, even when disguised by locally unbalanced tendencies (this is why an unexpected event was considered a bad omen for societal affairs).
Chinese cosmology has already been described in some detail. The major elements of cosmology were the macrocosm/microcosm paradigm, the material organicist conception of the world, the role of ch’i, yin and yang, and the wu hsing, and underlying all of these the ineffable Tao. Like any genuine cosmology, in the traditional sense of the word, this conception penetrates into the specific understandings developed in all of the particular sciences. This is seen in astronomy, and we have already discussed the influence of the Chinese cosmology on medicine. These cosmological ideas were combined with a store of empirical knowledge, resulting in a sophisticated medical practice that developed its own diagnostic methods based on observable symptoms and its own treatments such as acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbalism. One of the basic ideas of this medicine was that of disease as a disruption in the natural balance and harmony of the body (along with its relation to the world). Balance in the yin and yang plus proper flow of the ch’i through the body are essential to good health, so problems with these things as demonstrated by observed symptoms were treated accordingly (prescribing a yang herbal regimen to remedy a yang deficiency, for example).
The herbal remedies were supplemented by mineral-based drugs supplied by the alchemists. One of the major overarching projects of Chinese alchemy was to prolong human life, producing the long-sought elixir (this goal eventually became incorporated into European alchemy by way of Arab alchemy). Although Chinese alchemists are sometimes represented as superstitious and uncritical practitioners of a degenerated form of Taoism, they actually produced a good deal of genuine chemical knowledge (e.g. ammonium chloride, ammonium carbonate, and potassium nitrate) and developed instrumentation and techniques that also influenced the Arabs and hence the west. The theoretical ideas that guided the alchemists, though much different from the understanding of modern chemistry, were complex and sophisticated, related to the overall cosmology of China but more independent of it than the sciences supported by the state bureaucracy, retaining more of the archaic elements from prehistorical culture. At an empirical level, though, quantitative methods were employed and recorded. Chinese alchemy, though never incorporated into the mainstream of Chinese culture, was an influential and successful enterprise, affecting medicine, metallurgy, and even (as we shall see) warfare.
Mathematics became highly developed, but only in certain areas such as algebra and arithmetic. Deductive systematization did not become important, with the emphasis remaining on practical calculational methods (especially simplified algorithms that could be implemented by relatively unskilled members of the bureaucracy; the state collected and used large amounts of quantitative information). Geometry in general was not developed to any large extent until after contact with the west via the Jesuits. Although not having geometry did not hinder work in astronomy or engineering, it may have inhibited the study of optics to some extent. The role of number in Chinese culture was important and had a quasi-mystical significance, as shown by the importance attached to the four directions, the five phases, the nine heavens (as well as, mathematically, the nine numbers of a magic square), and the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching. This aspect of number also reinforced the correlative thinking of Chinese cosmology and thereby permeated the thinking of all intellectual culture. The extent of the mutual influence of numerical significance and practical mathematical computation is not clear, but both certainly had a role beyond mathematics itself.
Engineering, although important and supported by the state, was not part of the official Imperial bureaucracy. For this reason, engineers were not literate and have thus left few records of their thinking. Their accomplishments, however, in areas such as massive hydraulic and irrigation projects, weapons technology, the iron chain suspension bridge, and shipbuilding were highly impressive. Cloth and paper making, metal work (including iron casting many centuries before Europe), temperature control in the porcelain furnaces, and a host of other accomplishments attest to the practical technological skill of the Chinese. We do not have a clear understanding of how this body of technological knowledge was related to the cosmological conception of nature developed within the literate elite, but it’s fair to speculate that both were fed by the empirical strain of Chinese thought and by the strong appeal to tradition.
We’ll finish by looking at a few of the most famous results and accomplishments of the Chinese. The invention of the compass is certainly prominent among these accomplishments, and this invention was the result of their study of magnetism. Magnetic phenomena were less mysterious in the context of China’s idea of nature than in that of Europe, because the non-causal relationship of things separated by distances was already a part of Chinese thinking. That a bar magnet should orient itself in a certain direction, subject to no apparent push, was a natural outcome of their organicist and correlative thinking. They also studied this phenomenon empirically with great thoroughness, working out the details of declination at an early date. That the Chinese soon put their knowledge of magnetic properties to practical use in the compass is not surprising given their usual practical attitude. A different accomplishment for which they are known is the development of acupuncture. This technique is now becoming more often used in the west, and controversies over its efficacy and mechanism in particular cases don’t detract from its status as a major success of the Chinese medical tradition. Once again, we see the combination of Chinese cosmological theory and a great deal of empirical observation as leading to the results under discussion. Yet another major accomplishment of the Chinese was the great astronomical clock tower of Su Sung, built in 1088 at least three centuries before any similar clock in Europe, and which “was preceded by the elaboration of a special theoretical treatise by his assistant, Han Kung-Lien, in which the trains of gears and general mechanics were worked out from first principles. He did not have Euclid, but he could do that.”24 Here, the integration of cosmological conceptions and practical know-how is seen in the purpose of the device as well as in its construction. Finally, we consider the perhaps most famous Chinese invention of all, gunpowder. Gunpowder eventually resulted from the studies of the alchemists, who mixed saltpeter (potassium nitrate) together with sulfur for various purposes as early as the 7th century, as recorded in alchemical treatises from that time. They noticed that these mixtures burned violently, and the later additions of carbon sources into the mixture enhanced the effect. Reports of such combinations appear by the middle of the 9th century, and by the end of the 10th century gunpowder as we know it has been given a name (huo yao) and is being used in warfare to make simple bombs. The further evolution of gunpowder’s use in military technology doesn’t concern us here. What is interesting about this story is the advanced and advancing state of alchemical knowledge that it suggests at these early dates, a suggestion that can be generalized to the sophistication of the entire Chinese encounter with nature.
Nature Concepts in 12th Century Islamic Civilization
Prior to the time of Muhammad, Arab tribesmen had already developed a stock of knowledge concerning nature in order to survive in the harsh desert environment. Knowledge of plants and animals was obviously useful, for example, and knowledge about the night sky was needed to navigate. The world-view of these Arabs had an element of animism, so nature was also a living presence to them. The Islamic revelation, embodied in the Quran, did not add any specific pieces of information regarding nature, but it profoundly reoriented the entire approach to nature experienced by a believer. The Quran “provided the earliest stimulus
