Mineral and mineralogy in late Qing China: translations and conceptualizations, 1860s-1910s.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read Online Read More Add to Saved list
  • Author(s): Ma X;Ma X
  • Source:
    Annals of science [Ann Sci] 2021 Jan; Vol. 78 (1), pp. 64-91. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Oct 30.
  • Publication Type:
    Historical Article; Journal Article
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Taylor & Francis Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0372361 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1464-505X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00033790 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Ann Sci
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: London : Taylor & Francis
    • Subject Terms:
      Concept Formation* ; Minerals* ; Translating* ; Translations*; Geology/*history; China ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; Japan
    • Abstract:
      This article critically examines the translations of two terms - mineral and mineralogy - in modern China. The last decades of the Qing dynasty (1860s-1910s) witnessed a transition in the terminological usage of the Chinese equivalents of mineral and mineralogy from jinshi (metals and rocks) and jinshi xue (a study of metals and rocks) to kuangwu and kuangwu xue . A scrutiny of this transition raises questions regarding not only the exchanges in scientific knowledge between China, the West, and Japan since the nineteenth century, but the changes in the understanding of natural things in China. This article locates the translation of the terms within the scope of cultural translation and the history of science. It sheds new light both on the confrontations between languages and knowledge systems, which led to the re-conceptualization of natural things in China and Japan, and on the interplay between various domestic and transnational forces that shaped the intellectual landscapes in China. Through the confrontations and interplay, mineralogy eventually projected minerals into the domain of science and modern science claimed the authority over understanding these natural things.
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Chinese history; history of concepts; history of mineralogy; science and translation
    • Accession Number:
      0 (Minerals)
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20201030 Date Completed: 20210811 Latest Revision: 20210811
    • Publication Date:
      20231215
    • Accession Number:
      10.1080/00033790.2020.1833082
    • Accession Number:
      33124953