On whether ancient China had science, what kind of science it had, and how it relates to Western science.
Viewpoint one: little frog and big frog — ancient China had the same science as the West, but it was simply undernourished and underdeveloped, not as sturdy and robust as Western science. That is all.
Viewpoint two: tadpole and frog — this admits that ancient China did not form a mature science, but it did have the “sprouting” of science; even without outside intervention, it would sooner or later grow into a frog. Although a tadpole and a frog look extremely different, in essence they are the same.
Viewpoint three: frog and bullfrog — the view I personally lean toward. Although ancient Chinese “science” had many similarities to Western science, they are fundamentally different things. The “bull” part is not merely a matter of better nutrition; it is that they are different species to begin with. No matter how much it developed, China’s independently developed science could never become the Western kind, even though it may seem to share many similarities. Of course, although the frog may look a bit frailer, it may possess strengths in other respects; one cannot judge a frog by the standards of a bullfrog.
Viewpoint four: frog and prince — although ancient China apparently did not have the kind of science found in the West, ancient Chinese thought contains profound inner meaning or potential, and this potential merely needs some external stimulus to be awakened (for instance, a princess kissing it*), whereupon it can be reborn. For example, one can link new physics with Eastern mysticism.
Viewpoint five: frog and field frog — exactly the same. Various Western scientific theories are, in fact, often things that “existed in China long ago”; only the terms used and the way they are expressed are different.
Viewpoint six: frog and qinggui — a total misunderstanding from start to finish! Mistaking Feng Jing for Ma Liang. It is like mechanically forcing Western Europe’s “feudal system” onto China and saying that China too had a long feudal period; it is nothing more than a childish misunderstanding.
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November 2, 2006
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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