Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1991

What is Modernization? Modernization consists in applying the fruits o f modern science and technology to innovate the mode o f production and the way of life in society, to reform outdated political, economic and social systems, to work persistently to enhance productivity and to improve upon various social institutions. Science and technology do not stand still; they pro­ gress and develop constantly. I f we take a longer historical perspective, we w ill find that modernization and reform are likewise an unending process. Scientific and Technological Develop ment in China before and after the 17th Century The development o f science and technology in China is a very important facet of the modernization o f China. Before the 17th century, our ancestors stood ahead o f their contemporaries in the world with their many brilliant achievements in science and technology. It was the Chinese who have contributed the three important inventions so indispensable to the advent o f modem civilization, namely, gunpowder, the magnetic compass and printing. There were also a host o f great Chinese scientists in the fields o f mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, medicine, agronomy, irrigation and. architecture; some firsts include the calculation o f the circumference-to-diameter ratio, i.e. π , the measurement of the geomagnetic declination, the classification of plants and the determination o f the 12 tones. But for a variety o f reasons, rigorous and systematic modern science did not develop, nor did the machinery industry and the technology asso­ ciated w ith large scale production. When modern science and technology and the related industries developed in Europe and, with gunboats, merchandise and capital, swept across the whole world, China, lulled by an illusory sense of superiority, chose to adopt a closed-door policy rooted in ignorance, and standing outside the mainstream of human pro­ gress, stagnated and lay dormant for centuries. In 1840 ， the British forced open China's door w ith guns and opium . And then, w ith one unequal trea ty after another, w ith one part of China after another becoming colonized, some Chinese began to awaken to reality, recognizing that the idea o f a superior nation was but a myth, and started to explore anew from various angles the paths to modernization and development. Thus to learn modern science and technology from the West, and to let them take root and spread in China have become inevitable steps in the modernization o f China. A Period of Learning from the West to Modernize China A t the turn o f the century, a deep sense of national crisis prompted a group o f young classical scholars to forsake the traditional path o f gaining entry to the o fficia ldom and the mandarinate through examinations in the classics; instead, they went abroad to study modern science and technology and to learn about the modern ideas in the West. On their return to China, they built railroads, started enterprises, tried to bring education to the masses, formed scientific societies, and published scientific journals. Through reformation and the new cultural movement they launched the first wave in the modernization of China. However, resisted by the feudal system, undermined by corruption in the political sphere, and in the face o f increasing social instability as well as the invasion of foreign capital and m ilitary forces, they failed in their valiant effort to develop the national econ­ omy and to reform the feudal p o litic a l sys­ tem; but their hard toil on the great land of China had sown 42ND CONGREGATION 9