The Man Who Loved China: Joseph Needham and the Making of a Masterpiece

by Simon Winchester

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284 ratings, 3.64 average rating, 109 reviews (more data...)

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published

May 1st 2008 by Harper

binding

Hardcover, 316 pages

isbn

0060884592 (isbn13: 9780060884598)

description

In sumptuous and illuminating detail, Simon Winchester, the bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman ("Elegant and scrupulous"—Ne

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In sumptuous and illuminating detail, Simon Winchester, the bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman ("Elegant and scrupulous"—New York Times Book Review) and Krakatoa ("A mesmerizing page-turner"—Time) brings to life the extraordinary story of Joseph Needham, the brilliant Cambridge scientist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of China, long the world's most technologically advanced country.

No cloistered don, this tall, married Englishman was a freethinking intellectual, who practiced nudism and was devoted to a quirky brand of folk dancing. In 1937, while working as a biochemist at Cambridge University, he instantly fell in love with a visiting Chinese student, with whom he began a lifelong affair.

He soon became fascinated with China, and his mistress swiftly persuaded the ever-enthusiastic Needham to travel to her home country, where he embarked on a series of extraordinary expeditions to the farthest frontiers of this ancient empire. He searched everywhere for evidence to bolster his conviction that the Chinese were responsible for hundreds of mankind's most familiar innovations—including printing, the compass, explosives, suspension bridges, even toilet paper—often centuries before the rest of the world. His thrilling and dangerous journeys, vividly recreated by Winchester, took him across war-torn China to far-flung outposts, consolidating his deep admiration for the Chinese people.

After the war, Needham was determined to tell the world what he had discovered, and began writing his majestic Science and Civilisation in China, describing the country's long and astonishing history of invention and technology. By the time he died, he had produced, essentially single-handedly, seventeen immense volumes, marking him as the greatest one-man encyclopedist ever.

Both epic and intimate, The Man Who Loved China tells the sweeping story of China through Needham's remarkable life. Here is an unforgettable tale of what makes men, nations, and, indeed, mankind itself great—related by one of the world's inimitable storytellers.

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09/18/08

Trevor rated it:

Yet another fascinating book and story by a master. There is one thing you can say about Simon Winchester, he does like a good polymath and that love of learning and the learned shines through every page.

In a world where the next Vice President of the USA (or President if the Bible’s allotted three score and ten are anything to go by) could be someone who could more accurately be described as a polymoron – someone dangerously ignorant of just about everything except, obviously, ...more

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01/11/09

Leah rated it:

bookshelves: biography, history, non-fiction

Read in January, 2009

Once again, Simon Winchester lends his excellent research and story-telling skills to history - focusing this time on scientist/historian Joseph Needham and his creation of the expansive "Science and Civilization in China" - an encyclopedia of sorts of Chinese scientific accomplishment.

Though Winchester's writing is strong, I found the subject matter less rich than some of his other works. While "Science and Civilization" is an amazing achievement, Needham is not...more

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07/21/08

J. rated it:

bookshelves: asia, bio, china, empires-end, history, period-travel

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: ..China Science & Culture readers...

Slightly rickety account of the remarkable 20th century life of Joseph Needham, Cambridge Master and author of the mega-sized multi-volume Science & Civilisation In China. In a wildly stormy life that veered from being a founding father of UNESCO to meetings with Mao & Zhou EnLai before there was a Peoples Republic, Mr Needham saw quite a lot. Needham was in a pivotal position during the many phases of the origin of Modern China as a British Foreign Office scientific representative, arriving in...more

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06/18/08

Meri rated it:

bookshelves: china, history, lifelong-learners

Joseph Needham was a top British scholar who traveled to China during World War II, where he conceived his masterpiece, Science and Civilization in China. He spent much of his life trying to make the western world understand that China has a rich history of science and technological development. I enjoyed the descriptions of China during World War II, but the story of Joseph Needham--boldly nudist, essentially polygamist, and so passionate about his studies of China that he drove all over the ...more

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11/24/08

Paul Callister rated it:

bookshelves: history

Pretty interesting. Joseph Needham's work to set the record straight on China's contributions to science. It raises an interesting question (the Needham question) about why China stopped making significant progress in about the 16th Century.

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03/23/09

Johnny rated it:

bookshelves: biography

Read in March, 2009

Early in this fascinating biography of Dr. Joseph Needham, the brilliant scientist who compiled the massive multivolume work on Science and Civilisation in Ancient China, the author quotes former U.S. Secretary of State John Hay’s 1899 statement that China was the “storm center of the world,” and that anyone who took the time and trouble to understand “this mighty empire” would have a key to politics for the next five centuries. (p. 8) Hay was quite prescient, considering that we are a...more Early in this fascinating biography of Dr. Joseph Needham, the brilliant scientist who compiled the massive multivolume work on Science and Civilisation in Ancient China, the author quotes former U.S. Secretary of State John Hay’s 1899 statement that China was the “storm center of the world,” and that anyone who took the time and trouble to understand “this mighty empire” would have a key to politics for the next five centuries. (p. 8) Hay was quite prescient, considering that we are a fifth of the way through his prediction and it seems to be more accurate than ever.

To be honest, as much as the actual subject matter of Needham’s expeditions and discoveries was fascinating, The Man Who Loved China resonated even more with my personal pilgrimage to learn as much as I can about everything I can. I smiled at the quotation from the former headmaster at Neeham’s (and sci-fi writer/reformer H. G. Wells’ sons’) school (Oundle): “Think in a spacious way. Think on a grand scale.” I liked that even better when it was rounded off with Admiral Jackie Fisher’s variant of that quotation, “Think in oceans.” (p. 16)

Add to those great challenges the statement of Needham’s own father and you have my philosophy, “No knowledge is ever to be wasted, or ever to be despised.” (p. 36) I loved reading about how Needham kept acquiring books and could relate to his problems of finding a place to keep them. I was horrified to read here, as elsewhere, that when Japan invaded China, the military targeted colleges in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Guangzhou for bombings. Then, after occupation, they turned the main university in Beijing into brothels, bars, and stables for their convenience (p. 51). How horrified I was to read that of 100 colleges in China before the war, 52 were destroyed or badly damaged in the course of the war. (p. 51)

There were even interesting references to evangelical mission work like that of the China Inland Mission. Apparently, this interdenominational effort had 358 mission stations prior to the war. They were expected to live in the most Chinese manner possible as a testimony to the people that they were authentic in their desire to share the life and love of Jesus with the Chinese. By the Communist revolution in 1949, these had dwindled to 100 stations and they were all shut down (and missionaries escaped to Hong Kong) by 1953 (p. 110). This was fascinating information to me that I hadn’t gathered in my reading about missionary efforts in Asia.

But the bulk of the book was about uncovering Chinese discoveries, whether ancient steelmaking, gunpowder development, the printing press, or flood control. It was amazing to see how the ancient Chinese managed great accomplishments. One of my favorites was the discovering of the creation of a spillway in 250 BC. One Li Bang cut a 70 foot wide spillway through solid rock at Dujiangyou. He accomplished this by burning piles of hay on top of the rocks. Then, before the rocks had a chance to cool, he would pour cold water on them so that the instant contraction would crack them open (pp. 108-109). This is ingenious stuff.

I also benefited from reading Needham’s demonstration that the game of chess began with xianqi, invented by the Chinese in the second century (BC) and exported to India (p. 187). A lot of people give the Indians the credit for inventing chess. I think Needham is most likely right.

But the saddest part of the book was reading about how Needham was duped by the Communists into believing that the U.S. used infected animals in Korea as biological weapons of mass destruction. Needham’s inspection team indeed found evidence, but it was all evidence created by the Communists to feed the rumor. Of course, it wasn’t totally beyond possibility. According to testimony given before the U.S. Senate in 1976, we used live biological agents against eight of our own cities between 1950 and 1966 (p. 203, note 43). Still, Needham fell for the ruse and it cost him a lot of credibility throughout the world. For a long time, he was not allowed to travel in the U.S. as a result.

Judging by how much I enjoyed this book, I should probably read biographies more often.
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03/22/09

Agreenhouse rated it:

Have you ever read biographies about people and then start to question your own productivity? Even if you are a real go-getter, it is hard not to read the history of Joseph Needham and not feel lazy in comparison. It is also hard not to admire his intellectual passion and devotedness.

Needham also had a passion for women, which was what led this Oxford scholar to China in the first place. Needham and his wife Dorothy had a "open marriage," so when he fell in love with L...more Have you ever read biographies about people and then start to question your own productivity? Even if you are a real go-getter, it is hard not to read the history of Joseph Needham and not feel lazy in comparison. It is also hard not to admire his intellectual passion and devotedness.

Needham also had a passion for women, which was what led this Oxford scholar to China in the first place. Needham and his wife Dorothy had a "open marriage," so when he fell in love with Lu Gwei-djen, a visiting scholar from China, his wife accepted her into their lives. I can't imagine how such an arrangement worked, but they remained married and devoted until Dorothy's death 40 something years later. Needham married Lu Gwei-djen after Dorothy's death, when they were both elderly and frail.

From his relationship with Lu, Needham became fascinated with China, learned to read and write Chinese, and then was sent on a diplomatic mission by the British government China during World War 2. A good portion of China was occupied by the Japanese, so Needham traveled extensively in the free sections to get supplies to universities and to aid intellectuals in any way he could. He had some fantastic adventures and met fascinating people during this time. It was also during this first trip that he began to realize that many scientific inventions that were assumed by the Western world to have been invented in Europe had much earlier origins in China. I always thought that everyone knew the Chinese invented gunpowder and the compass, but that is a recent revelation to the West, mostly due to the efforts of Needham to get the word out. When he returned to England he devoted the next few decades to writing Science and Civilization in China, thousands of pages that painstakingly detail China's accomplishments.

I was fascinated to learn about the Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist text discovered in a carved Buddhist caves on the Silk Road. While we often think of Guttenberg producing the first printed book, the Diamond Sutra was proof of a printed text hundreds of years before Guttenberg. I also was amazed to learn about the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. Over 2300 years ago, a governor Li Bing came up with an innovative levee and dam system to control the Min River. The system stopped the catastrophic floods and turned this part of Sichuan province into an agricultural paradise. Till this day, with only slight modifications, the system still works!!! Just this morning, I heard Bloomberg, Schwarzenhegger and the governor of Pennsylvania talking about the need to fix America's dam and levee systems because they are falling apart. How old are these dams -- 70 years old at most???

The back of the book has a list of all the inventions credited to the Chinese. Even if you don't want to read the whole book, that list is worth a look.

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01/28/09

Pat rated it:

Read in February, 2009

Simon Winchester always writes fascinating books - from the creation of the OED to the explosion of Krakatoa. They are a mix of science and, very often, an in-depth portrait of people who were involved in the event. Joseph Needham was a highly eccentric Cambridge don who ended up producing a masterwork on Chinese history - especially as it related to the inventions that came from the Chinese culture in the past. It surprised me to find out that, until Needham, the prevailing Western view was ...more

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01/19/09

Sharon rated it:

Read in January, 2009

This is the fascinating story of Joseph Needham, a brilliant and eccentric Cambridge biochemist who, in 1937, fell in love with a visiting Chinese student and began a life-long love affair. His love affair was not only with her, but with her country. Needham taught himself Chinese and traveled in China for several years, researching the history of scientific development and invention there.

At a time when western nations considered China a backward country, Needham extensively resear...more

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01/18/09

Patricia_Bjaaland rated it:

Read in January, 2009

When I was a student at the University of Oslo studying Chinese, Joseph Needham used to come up to our department. As one of the few students with a car, it was my job to pick him up at the airport, ferry him about town, and generally take care of him. I was with him at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo while he studied the construction of the Viking ships, remarking at some of the similarities with ancient Chinese shipbuilding (a subject mentioned in the book). When he left one of his ever-present...more

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03/22/09

Luis rated it:

I had never heard of Joseph Needham before reading this book. He made an important contribution in presenting a historically accurate picture of China’s contribution to science and technology long before European scientific breakthroughs. The book talks about Needham’s great achievement (writing a number of volumes on China’s discoveries) as well as his vey liberal personal life (including his womanizing).

China was once a great empire and it made amazing discoveries. As it...more

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12/02/08

Hbalikov rated it:

Read in December, 2008

I may be out of step with other reviewers, but having read a good number of Winchester's books (including The Professor and the Madman and The Map that Changed the World) this one is very disappointing. The author has never had a problem in picking interesting topics. The best parts of the book are its early descriptions of Needham "on the ground" in China and the appendix listing Chinese inventions. In between the narrative is sloppy and unfocused. It is mostly a chronological rec...more

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02/05/09

Bookmarks Magazine added it

With The Man Who Loved China, Simon Winchester turns out another compelling, readable, and relevant tale. Any good storyteller will embellish his subject, and Winchester effortlessly keeps readers interested in Needham's adventures��even when they flag a bit. For the most part, though, Needham's life is one that relatively few readers will know��and one that Winchester brings to life with a passel of research and an ever-present sense of wonder for his unique subject. Despite some errors and r

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05/20/09

Sandybanks rated it:

bookshelves: biography, china

Read in May, 2009

Ever since I picked up the condensed, popular version of Needham's book years ago, I've been curious about the man who wrote it. Now Simon Winchester provides us with the biography of the fascinating man behind the book, an eccentric Cambridge Don of prodigious intellect, an uncritical China lover, a playboy who spent most of his life in a menage a trois with his wife and mistress, as well as a comitted Catholic and socialist. The most interesting part of the book is the section describing Need...more

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05/28/09

Saki rated it:

(review of isbn 0670913782)

Read in December, 2008

This is a biography about a unique Cambridge scholar who recorded all the great inventions by the Chinese - including bombs, books, and compasses. This was revolutionary in a sense that he changed the world's view of China as a backward nation - in fact, it was far more advanced than others in terms of volumes and frequencies of innovation! However, the more intriguing part of this book is how Joseph Needham himself is an eclectic character who becomes intertwined with the politics of the time. ...more

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01/14/09

Jeff rated it:

bookshelves: biography, history, non-fiction

Read in July, 2008

A fascinating look at the life of an interesting historical character, as well as what it was like to live in the Cambridge of the '20s and '30s, and the China of the World War (the one that was actually fought worldwide). Of course, I've got some personal interest, since my senior thesis topic actually would not have existed without Needham and, more importantly, the rediscovery of science in China which he prompted.

I wish it had discussed more of the content of Needham's books. Oh ...more

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01/04/09

Vicky rated it:

It was not an easy book to read. The amount of factual information was simply overwhelming. To imagine that Joseph Needham, a brilliant biochemist without any background in Asian languages and history, single handedly accumulated and produced the biggest modern encyclopaedia on history of Chinese science and civilization, published 17 volumes of unique research into the ancient China, could speak and write in Chinese without any proper training in this field. For anyone who is interested in the ...more

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02/07/09

Garth rated it:

(review of isbn 0670913790)

bookshelves: history

Read in February, 2009

A well-written biography of Joseph Needham, who traced the history of science in China and found a multitude of "firsts" in that country before scientific endevour seemed to suddenly stop in the 1600's, and much of the knowledge was "lost" until it was again developed (and claimed) in the West.
Needham was a brilliant but deeply flawed man, who found it possible to rationalise the excesses of Mao Zedong's communist party until the 1970's - despite the deaths of tens of m...more

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01/05/09

Jenny rated it:

(review of isbn 0670913790)

It's definitely an encouraging and proud experience for a Chinese to read this book and it is indeed amazing to recount the effort and achievements that Joseph Needham made on this path. It was a very eventful period of China's contemporary history to read about too.

However I was actually expecting, very curiously, to read the final answer that Joseph Needham, or the author of the book, gave or could give to the ultimate question he raised in the beginning. Though the author did ex...more

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08/27/08

Alan rated it:

Read in August, 2008

This is a fascinating book about a person I had never heard of. Joseph Needham was a brilliant British scientist who made significant contributions to biochemistry while still in his early twenties. He was also a boisterous character -- a nudist, progressive Christian, committed socialist, Morris dancer, fluent in several languages and believer in open marriage. Above all, he was full of energy and intellectual curiosity.
The turning point in Needham's life came when he met a young ...more This is a fascinating book about a person I had never heard of. Joseph Needham was a brilliant British scientist who made significant contributions to biochemistry while still in his early twenties. He was also a boisterous character -- a nudist, progressive Christian, committed socialist, Morris dancer, fluent in several languages and believer in open marriage. Above all, he was full of energy and intellectual curiosity.
The turning point in Needham's life came when he met a young Chinese scientist, Lu Gwei-djen, in 1938. He not only fell in love with her, although he'd been happily married to a fellow scientist for several years, but made the decision to learn fluent Chinese. Lying in bed together, she was his first teacher. This led Needham to his life's work, the compilation of a huge, multi-volumed work on the history of science in China which transformed the way the world looked at Chinese history and civilization. Incidentally, Needham managed to a sustain loving relationships with both women until the end of their lives, aparently with all three getting along comfortably with each other.
During the Second World War, Needham was sent by the British government to China to formed links with Chinese universities, then under terrible pressure from the invading Japanese, to help them with supplies of books and materials. During his years there, he was able to make several epic journeys, well described by Winchester, penetrating far-flung corners of the huge country, making interesting discoveries along the way.
His massive study, which began appearing in the 1950s. It had grown to 18 volumes by the time Needham died in 1995 and now stands at 24. Needham was the one who informed the world that the Chinese had invented gunpowder, printing and the compass centuries before the West and also blast furnaces, arched bridges, crossbows, vaccination against smallpox, toilet paper, wheelbarrows, stirrups and a thousand other things.
This book is a wonderful window on one of the great minds of the 20th century. For anyone who wants to understand more about China and meet this brilliant and captivating man, I recommend this book.(less)

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