The articles in this collection were all selected from the first five volumes of the Journal of Dialectics of Nature published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences between 1979 and 1985. The Journal was established in 1979 as a comprehensive theoretical publication concerning the history, philosophy and sociology of the natural sciences. It began publication as a response to China's reform, particularly the policy of opening to the outside world. Chinese scholars began to undertake distinctive, original research in these fields. This collection provides a cross-section of their efforts during the initial phase. To enable western scholars to understand the historical process of this change in Chinese academics, Yu Guangyuan's On the Emancipation of the Mind' and Xu Liangying's Essay on the Role of Science and Democracy in Society' have been included in this collection. Three of the papers included on the philosophy of science are discussions of philosophical issues in cosmology and biology by scientists themselves. The remaining four are written by philosophers of science and discuss information and cognition, homeostasis and Chinese traditional medicine, the I Ching (Yi Jing) and mathematics, etc. Papers have been selected on the history of both classical and modern science and technology, the most distinctive of which are macro-comparisons of the development of science in China and the west. Some papers discuss the issue of the demarcation of periods in the history of science, the history of ancient Chinese mathematics, astronomy, metallurgy, machinery, medicine, etc. Others discuss the history of modern physics and biology, the history of historiography of science in China and the history of regional development of Chinese science and technology. Also included are biographies of three post-eighteenth-century Chinese scholars, Li Shanlan (1811-1882), Hua Hengfang (1833&endash;1902), and Cai Yuanpei (1868&endash;1940), who contributed greatly to the introduction of western science and scholarship to China. In addition, three short papers have been included introducing the interactions between Chinese scholars and three great western scientists, Niels Bohr, Norbert Wiener, and Robert A. Millikan.

Zusammenfassung
Others discuss the history of modern physics and biology, the history of historiography of science in China and the history of regional development of Chinese science and technology.

Inhalt
On the Emancipation of the Mind.- Essay on the Role of Science and Democracy in Society.- Historical Development of the Chinese Communist Party's Scientific Policy (Prior to the Founding of the People's Republic).- Speeches at the Qingdao Genetics Conference of 1956.- The Qingdao Conference of 1956 on Genetics: The Historical Background and Fundamental Experiences.- Concepts of Space and Time in Ancient China and in Modern Cosmology.- Information and Feedback in Epistemology.- Time: A Philosophical Survey.- The Concept of 'Primordial Motion': Past and Present.- On the Unity of Biology and Physics.- Homeostasis and Chinese Traditional Medicine: Commenting on Cannon's The Wisdom of the Body.- The Book of Changes and Mathematics.- The Structure of Science and Technology in History: On the Factors Delaying the Development of Science and Technology in China in Comparison with the West since the 17th Century (Part One).- Historical Changes in the Structure of Science and Technology (Part Two, A Commentary).- The Problem of Demarcation of Periods in the History of Science.- A Brief Account of Chinese Studies of the History of Science and Technology in China.- The Development of Modern Physics in China: The 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese Physical Society.- A Preliminary Study of the Characteristics of Metallurgical Technology in Ancient China.- Liu Hui's Theories of Mathematics.- A Comparison of the Structures of the Mathematical Systems of China and the West: Several Revelations from Information Theory.- The Historical Value of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art in Society and the Economy.- Studies of the South-Pointing Chariot: Survey of the Past 80 Years.- A Comparison of Archimedes' and Liu Hui's Studies of Circles.- The StruggleBetween Evolutionary Theory and Creationism in China.- Why did Zheng He's Sea Voyage Fail to Lead the Chinese to Make the 'Great Geographic Discovery'?.- The Effect of the Autocratic Monarchy of the Qing Dynasty on Science and Technology.- A Preliminary Analysis of Scientific Development and its Causes in Anhui Province during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.- Li Shanlan: Forerunner of Modern Science in China.- Hua Hengfang: Forerunner and Disseminator of Modern Science in China.- Cai Yuanpei's Contributions to China's Science.- The Treatise on Fevers and Miscellaneous Diseases: Vicissitudes during the Millenium after its Completion.- A Critique of 'Zhang Heng's Theory of a Spherical Earth'.- Niels Bohr in China.- Millikan and China.- Norbert Wiener at Qinghua University.- Notes on the Contributors.- Index of Non-Chinese Names.- Index of Chinese Names.