An Analysis and Comparison of China's Ancient Science and Contemporary Western Science
By Yi Fu
(Clearwisdom.net) People who are interested in scientific developments in
China have often asked, "Why did technology in China in modern times become
stagnant even though science in China had once made magnificent achievements?
Why didn't Western natural science appear in China in modern times? This is the
famous "Joseph Needham's Grand Question." (Joseph Needham was a
highly regarded biochemist and chemical embryologist in his early career.
He was from England, and was said to be a living legend, and also a classicist,
master of several languages, historian of science, philosopher of religion, and
a well-respected Sinologist noted for his monumental work, Science and
Civilization in China) To answer this question, one must have a deep understanding of China's
ancient culture, science and technology. It is important to understand the
magnificence of China's ancient science and the fundamental differences that set
China's ancient science and Western modern sciences apart. China's ancient
science shall flourish again, along with the renaissance of orthodox Chinese
culture. The universe, time and space and the plethora of life forms are shrouded in
countless mysteries. How do we explore them?
Zhang Heng, inventor of the world's first seismometer and water-powered
armillary sphere lived during the Han Dynasty. He was also a mathematician,
astrophysicist and literary scholar. A kind and modest man, he emphasized
morality. He said, "One does not need to worry about his lowly social
status, but rather his low moral standard."
Why did Zhang Heng attach such importance to morality? What is the
relationship between morality and scientific studies? Let us start with a simple
illustration from everyday life.
If you store money or valuables in a safe, wouldn't anyone who wants access
to the safe obtain your approval first? Likewise, every government has its
political, economic and military secrets that it guards from the general public.
It is as if these things don't exist for common people. Only qualified special
personnel can legitimately view classified documents. These people must be
trustworthy and must stay loyal to their country to be allowed knowledge of
state secrets.
Mysteries of the cosmos are more wondrous and profound than state secrets,
and not everyone is able to comprehend them. One needs a key to be able to
access the universal truths. If gods created everything in the universe, then to explore the deep secrets
of the universe, one must believe in and revere gods. One must conduct oneself
according to the gods' commandments, take fame and fortune lightly, and improve
one's moral levels. Then the gods may choose to reveal their secrets to those
who have earned it. "Cultivation of mind" is the prerequisite and
foundation for such exploration. Throughout Chinese history, scientists were
first of all men of high moral standards who had extraordinary wisdom and
abilities. In addition, wise masters taught them occult and systematic methods. China's ancient scientists conducted themselves according to the will of the
gods, and continued to raise their moral standards throughout their careers.
They were either cultivators or people of high morals, so gods revealed to them
secrets of the universe from different space-times. The higher their moral
standards, the more secrets the gods revealed to them. Considering this, we can
see why cultivation is the essence of orthodox Chinese culture and why China's
ancient society emphasized cultivation of body and mind. Cultivation is also
based on profound scientific principles. These are the fundamental reasons why
ancient China had a glorious civilization. Nowadays people might say, "I don't believe in gods. Where is god?"
What is the relationship between belief in god and moral principles? The
relationship is indeed significant. One who does not believe in gods and does
not cultivate himself is not allowed to see gods or know secrets of the
universe. Just as classified state secrets are out of reach for common citizens,
secrets about gods and the universe are too. If people wish to explore the
universe, they must first change their way of thinking. People these days cannot understand the reason for moral discipline and other
related spiritual ideas from ancient texts. They deem it too difficult to grasp,
and they think it serves little practical purpose. They even ask, "How much
is one pound of morality worth?" The Greek philosopher Socrates said the
goal of philosophy is not to understand nature but to understand oneself, or
one's mind, which is consistent with Eastern philosophy in essence.
Nevertheless, modern science only studies the [outward] nature but fails to
understand oneself or the great role of the mind and spirituality. Modern science emerged at a time when mankind's morals as a whole were
declining. The development of modern society was accompanied by the pursuit of
material interests and exploitation, which further contributed to the moral
degeneration. Gods only reveal the secrets and truths of the universe to those
who believe in gods and have high morals. Modern science does not acknowledge
gods and even slanders gods. It does not acknowledge the role of morals and even
ruins the moral standards. As a result, people's minds have been blinded. No
matter how advanced equipment might be, or how grand the research fund, the gate
toward deep-level truths of the universe remains locked in the face of modern
science. Just as a traitor is no longer allowed knowledge of state secrets,
people whose hearts and minds have been blinded by loss of belief in gods and
have given in to moral decline are not allowed to know the secrets of the
universe. People merely know some superficial phenomena about life and the
universe, and draw conclusions from incomplete and limited information. Having some understanding of China's ancient science, it would not be
difficult to accept the following statement: Chinese science did not use
quantitative analysis like modern science does, thus the results it produces are
significantly different. Modern science emerged after the majority of mankind had rejected gods'
existence, therefore the gods stopped displaying secrets of the universe to
people. We are all familiar with the story of the blind man and the elephant.
The blind man, using his sense of touch, felt one part of the elephant (the
trunk for example), and claimed the elephant was a giraffe. Is the blind man
wiser than a normal person? Is the result of the blind man's deduction more
precise than what a person with normal vision sees? Obviously it is not. People with normal eyesight would see clearly the entire elephant without
having to touch it. Western science takes a similar approach to the blind man,
by relying on equipment and technology to conduct research. What the equipment
can detect resembles what the blind man can feel. Scientists are required to
decipher or explain the signals the equipment picks up. A tool is necessary to
translate the signals that the equipment detected into a message or form that
man can understand. Modern math and logical analysis are used as translation
tools by scientists to interpret abstract data. The quantitative analysis of
modern science provides an explanation or puts forth a hypothesis (guess). Many
important factors may have been filtered out or distorted in the process of
investigation, but scientists may not be aware of it. Because of their
limitations, the equipment can only detect very superficial things - it has no
way to determine the deeper secrets of the universe. People with blind minds will judge everything with the rigid rules of modern
science, and when it comes to Chinese ancient science, they will never
understand it. China's ancient science took a shortcut in its investigation of life, nature
and the universe, therefore gods revealed many secrets of the universe to the
people of that time. What people now think are supernatural abilities, are in
fact people's innate abilities that emerge when people's moral standards are
high enough. Therefore, it is a given that China's ancient scientists possessed
what we now consider supernatural abilities. There are still people with good inborn qualities, especially children, who
are innocent and kind, and they have certain abilities. As they grow older,
their minds are constantly polluted, and as a result their abilities gradually
disappear. The fact that modern people do not believe in supernatural abilities
is the result of brainwashing with atheism and the effect of moral degeneration. Outstanding scientists in ancient China developed abilities such as the
Celestial Eye that would let them see into other dimensions. Since they
cultivated their minds and souls, they could explore the secrets of the
universe, time-space and life. The outstanding scientists (or cultivators)
constantly raised their moral standards and realms. With the rise in their moral
standards, their abilities to interpret human ills constantly improved as well.
This resulted in their being able to demystify more and more secrets about life
and the universe. This was actually a process of the gods revealing more truths
to them. China's ancient scientists explored matters directly using their own
supernatural abilities, and without the "middleman" of modern
experimental science. Therefore, they had no need for any
"translation," and no need for logical proof, as modern experimental
science requires. Sun Simiao, a great medical expert during the Tang Dynasty, was a Taoist. He
had supernatural abilities and could see directly the source of illness in other
dimensions. That made him an extraordinary doctor. Posterity still respects his
emphasis on moral standards. Zhang Heng during the Han Dynasty invented the armillary
sphere (a model of the celestial sphere) and the world's first seismometer
device. Modern people cannot figure out how he "designed" this
equipment. The reason is that he utilized divine powers acquired via diligent
self-cultivation to see things in other dimensions, which he then reproduced in
the human dimension. In other words, Zhang Heng was a good person with high
moral standards, thus certain secrets of the universe were revealed to him. He
did not need quantitative measurements, analysis or design to invent this
equipment. The current separation between man and the equipment he uses to investigate
matters is the result of a regression of man's innate supernormal abilities.
Modern science really is like the blind man touching the elephant. China's ancient science took a path of low cost and high efficiency. The
science helped to maintain morality and preserve the natural environment. It was
a path arranged by gods. Modern science takes the path of high cost and low
efficiency which also corrupts human morals and destroys the natural
environment. It is a self-destructive path completely against the will of the
gods. 3. Passing Down China's Ancient Science Why did such a glorious ancient science disappear in contemporary times? It has already been mentioned that scientists in ancient China required high
moral standards. People at that time as a whole were able to achieve a
harmonious co-existence with society and nature, thus they benefited from
numerous scientific advances. Generations of extraordinary scientists lived in
China. The science they practiced contained systematic theories and practices,
but unlike modern scientific methods, it could not be passed down to just anyone
due to its moral requirement. Scientists today can only learn knowledge and
methods. It can merely scratch the surface of the secrets of universe once known
to ancient Chinese scientists. Orthodox Chinese culture has a prerequisite of reverence toward gods and
heavens. Scientists needed to improve their moral discipline, and the entire
society respected moral values. The trends in the society were simple and
honorable, and the social conventions were good. China's ancient science was
passed down in that kind of society. Later, as atheism penetrated the society's
culture, the precious ancient medicine's lineage became very selective and
prudent. Doctors would rather not pass down the knowledge than pass it to a
person with low morals, including their own children. Chinese would rather lack
than overflow. Many good things are now buried in the grave, and the essence of
Chinese ancient science was lost in the society. The current society is what Shakyamuni (the Buddha) called "The end of
the Dharma," which means people are no longer restrained by the laws of
their conscience, and morality plunges at a frightfully rapid speed. After the
takeover by the Communist Party in China, the Party destroyed traditional
culture along with Chinese people's belief in gods. It labeled the most
essential part of Chinese culture "superstition." Atheism and moral
decline quickly corroded the minds and spirits of the Chinese people. Communist
Party propaganda and blind worship of Western science turned Chinese people into
true "spiritually blind men." They changed from heavenly dragons to
shortsighted persons. Modern people with narrow views can never understand the
realm of heavenly dragons, therefore they cannot grasp the essence of the
glorious Chinese civilization. The difference between Chinese ancient science and Western science is the
difference between heavenly dragons and frogs in the well. They are on an
entirely different level of thought and potency. To get away from the erroneous
zone of modern science and bring back the glory of Chinese civilization,
people's beliefs must be restored and morality must be rebuilt--the orthodox
Chinese culture that was passed down by gods will then go through a renaissance.
This is why we should bring about a renaissance of Chinese culture also from a
scientific perspective. Few people understand the concept of bringing about a renaissance of Chinese
traditional culture. To help understand this issue, we must first wipe away the
dust covering people's minds and scrub off the demonic culture the Communist
Party has forced upon the Chinese people. Let people emphasize morality and
practice kindness, and then their minds and spirits will regain insight, never
again to be "spiritually blind men." Purification of the soul is actually the current celestial phenomenon, as the
history books predicted. The ancient Mayans who lived in America had a prophecy
that the years 1992 to 2012 would be a renewal period for Earth. Earth and
mankind would be cleansed by energy from the center of the Milky Way and
people's minds and spirits would be uplifted and cleansed. Whether or not we are willing to admit it, Falun Gong and its dissemination
around the world is guiding the cleansing of people's minds. The wisdom
contained in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance rectifies people's minds,
improves their morality and purifies their souls. Since it is a
"renewal," purification is accompanied by elimination--the
historically predicted rooting out of morally corrupt people. The process of spiritual purification and moral ascension also involves
bringing about a renaissance of Chinese ancient culture and science.
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/8/25/161501.html
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