Science and Civilisation in China, Part 13, Mining(English, Hardcover, Golas Peter J.)

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Science and Civilisation in China, Part 13, Mining(English, Hardcover, Golas Peter J.) is written by Golas Peter J. and published by Cambridge University Press. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 0521580005 (ISBN 10) and 9780521580007 (ISBN 13).

The fifth volume of Dr Needham's immense undertaking covers the subjects of chemistry and chemical technology. This, the thirteenth part of the volume, is the first history of Chinese mining to appear in a western language. Covering from the Neolithic period to the present day it deals with the full range of Chinese mining from copper to mercury, arsenic to coal and a large number of other minerals and materials. The author draws extensively not only on written sources but also on archaeological remains, and observation of traditional techniques still in use. The interrelationship between Chinese mining and the social, economic and political conditions in which it took place is examined, and leads the author to conclude that these extraneous factors were probably more important in determining how mining was carried out than technological progress.