During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties (1582—1687), the study of investigating things and exploring principles showed effectiveness.

Author: Shang Zhicong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features: The Study of Investigating Things and Seeking Principles in the Late Ming and Early Qing: The Pre-modern Form of Chinese Scientific Development was published by Sichuan Education Press. Comrade Shang Zhicong is a Ph.D. student at the Center for Science and Society, Peking University. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in July of this year, with his thesis titled The Study of Investigating Things and Seeking Principles in the Late Ming and Early Qing (1582–1687). Now, this Ph.D. thesis is about to be published by Sichuan Education Press, and both the author and the publisher asked me to write a preface for it. As his supervisor, this is an unavoidable responsibility. In Shang Zhicong's thesis, he primarily studies a case within this complex context, focusing on the emergence of "the study of investigating things and seeking principles" in the Sino-Western academic exchange during the late Ming and early Qing (1582–1687). This concept was first proposed by the Ming scholar Xu Guangqi, and its origins can be traced back to Chinese Neo-Confucianism. However, when Zhu Xi discussed "investigating things and seeking principles" in the Song Dynasty, the core issue he was concerned with was primarily life. Under the influence of Western learning, Xu Guangqi discussed "investigating the principles of things," with the core issue he focused on being natural phenomena. It can be said that it is a result of the integration of Western natural philosophy and the traditional Chinese theory of investigation and study. This Ph.D. thesis, based on extensive documentary evidence, provides a detailed analysis of the concept of "the study of investigating things and seeking principles" and the knowledge form it represents, its characteristics, its position in the history of Chinese scientific development, the epistemological foundation it relies on, its historical achievements, and its historical impact, thereby establishing it as the pre-modern form of Chinese scientific development.