Science & Civilisation in China: Volume V, Part 6

Needham, Joseph; Yates, Robin D.S.

ISBN 10: 052132727X / ISBN 13: 9780521327275

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995

About this Item

Hardcover. Good condition. Rather faded and worn dust jacket with several marks and one or two bumps. Slight wear on jacket spine head and upper leading corners of jacket. Head of page block is foxed and has one or two additional marks. Slight bump on hardcover spine head. Binding is sound, pages are clean, and the contents are clear. AF.

Seller Inventory # 458279

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Science & Civilisation in China: Volume V, Part 6
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 052132727X
• ISBN 13: 9780521327275
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Book Type: Used
• Seller catalogs:
  • Science - General

About this title

Synopsis

Science and Civilisation in China Volume V Part 6 is the first of the three parts dealing with the arts of war in ancient and medieval China. (Part 7--on gunpowder and all aspects of explosive weapons--has already been published, while Part 8--on cavalry techniques and signaling--is still in preparation.) The present volume opens with an introduction on Chinese attitudes to warfare in general. Four major sections follow: on the making and use of simple bows; on the crossbow, the standard weapon of the Han armies, and its introduction to the Western world; on the pre-gunpowder forms of artillery, including the invention of the trebuchet; and on the art of siege warfare in which the Mohists were particularly interested. There is a good deal of material on siege-warfare available, and this final section is a substantial one, covering all aspects in detail.

From the Back Cover

'The width of his view, the range of his reading, and the penetration of his mind compel the utmost respect for his treatment and his conclusions. It is a book which is bound to modify all subsequent histories of Chinese thought and indeed the histories of thought the world around.' - L. Carrington Goodrich in Far Eastern Survey (New York).