Joseph Needham’s inspiration for research on agricultural history in China
Ancient Chinese civilization was agricultural. To grasp the essence of science and civilization in China, Dr Joseph Needham drew attention to its agricultural development. He maintained close academic relations with Chinese historians of agriculture and obtained their help from time to time for the compilation of his Science and Civilisation in China. Needham also had a far-reaching influence on research on the agricultural history of China, both on its institutionalization and on transitions in the directions of research. The so-called ‘Needham puzzle’ was first proposed systematically in his address titled ‘Science and agriculture in China and the West’ at the annual conference of the China Agronomic Association in Chongqing in 1943. He believed that science is not isolated from society but is an indivisible part of civilization and that civilization has evolved as the result of the interactions of science, society and the environment.