National Narrative and the Historiography of Chinese Science

National Narrative and the Historiography of Chinese Science

In this essay, I would like to show how national narrative has constrained the ways in which we think about the history of Chinese science. To do that, I shall examine the relationship between narratives of national history and narratives of the history of science. Although I will focus mainly on the history of Chinese science, I will refer to the histories of science in other East Asian nations when helpful.I see important similarities among these histories of science as they are usually written: they all invest in assumptions in the modern national narrative. After commenting on the existing historiography, I will briefly discuss a new perspective on the history of science in East Asia.