Description |
5 volumes : illustrations ; 24 cm |
Contents |
1. Roads -- 2. Walls, and the Great Wall -- 3. Building technology -- 4. Bridges -- 5. Hydraulic engineering (I), control, construction and maintenance of waterways, Hydraulic engineering (II), water-raising machinery and the use of water as a power source |
Summary |
This fifth volume of Colin Ronan's abridgement of Joseph Needham's monumental work is concerned with the staggering civil engineering feats made in early and medieval China. No other country did more in civil engineering, both as to scale and skill, than China. The book opens with an account of the road system, which compared not unfavourably with that of the Roman Empire. Naturally, the Great Wall of China is covered in some detail within the social context of walls, which mark, more than any other structure, the basic features of the Chinese communities. The Chinese genius of town planning and achievements in building canals and in hydraulic engineering are covered in later chapters. This book concludes the abridgement of the Chinese engineering, and provides many clues as to the influence of Chinese innovation on Western engineering trends |
Notes |
Includes index |
Bibliography |
Bibliography: volumes 1, pages 307-311 |
Subject |
Science -- China -- History.
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SUBJECT |
China -- Civilization.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85023992
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China -- Intellectual life.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85024139
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Author |
Ronan, Colin A.
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LC no. |
77082513 |
ISBN |
0521218217 |
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0521252725 (v. 3) |
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0521292867 |
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0521315603 (paperback: v. 3) |
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