Dr Joseph Needham's account of the Chinese achievement in science & technology will stand as one of the great works of our time. It's been acclaimed by specialists in both East & West & also by readers with wider & more general interests. The text, based on research of a high critical quality, is supported by many hundreds of illustrations & is imbued with a warm appreciation of China. Volume 1 is an introductory volume, in which Needham prepares his readers for the study of a whole human culture. He begins by examining the structure of the Chinese language; he reviews the geography of China & the long history of its people, & discusses the scientific contacts which have occurred throughout the centuries, between Europe & E. Asia.