Technology in China

As one of the eighteen field-specific reports comprising the comprehensive scope of the strategic general report of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, this sub-report addresses long-range planning for developing science and technology in the field of mineral resources science. They each craft a roadmap for their sphere of development to 2050. In their entirety, the general and sub-group reports analyze the evolution and laws governing the development of science and technology, describe the decisive impact of science and technology on the modernization process, predict that the world is on the eve of an impending S&T revolution, and call for China to be fully prepared for this new round of S&T advancement. Based on the detailed study of the demands on S&T innovation in China's modernization, the reports draw a framework for eight basic and strategic systems of socio-economic development with the support of science and technology, work out China's S&T roadmaps for the relevant eight basic and strategic systems in line with China's reality, further detail S&T initiatives of strategic importance to China's modernization, and provide S&T decision-makers with comprehensive consultations for the development of S&T innovation consistent with China's reality. Supported by illustrations and tables of data, the reports provide researchers, government officials and entrepreneurs with guidance concerning research directions, the planning process, and investment.

This volume outlines the origins of a wide range of disciplines including astronomy, agricultural science, medicine, physics, chemistry, and natural history. It provides an overview of China’s history of science and technology, which can be traced back to the pre-Qin times when the arts had free expression and the schools of thought were unrestricted. It also includes a glossary and comparison of the chronicle of events in China and the West for reference. This is the first volume in the series History of Science and Technology in China.