The Needham Question (page 43)
"My capital is the hub and centre about which all quarters of the globe revolve... We possess all things... I have no use for your country's manufactures."
— Emperor Qianlong's reply to King George III of Great Britain, translated by the Jesuits at the imperial court from Chinese into Latin, then translated by Lord Macartney's embassy from Latin into English, 1793
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„Diese ganze Einrichtung des chinesischen Kalenderwesens mit allen diesbezüglichen Vorkehrungen lässt uns gleichfalls einen Blick in die hervorragende Geistesrichtung dieses Volkes werfen; und wahrscheinlich sind die Chinesen auch deshalb in den Augen manches Europäers Barbaren, weil sie sich unterfangen, die Astronomen – ein höchst unnützes Völkchen nach der Ansicht dieser Erdenpilger im hoch culturellen Westen – im Range gleichzuhalten den Sectionschefs und ersten Ministerialsecretären. – O grässliche Barbarei! –“
— Franz Kühnert, Das Kalenderwesen bei den Chinesen, 1884
“This whole establishment of the Chinese calendar system with all the relevant precautions also gives us a glimpse of the outstanding spiritual direction of this people; another reason why many Europeans consider the Chinese such barbarians is on account of the support they give to their astronomers – people regarded by our civilized western mortals as completely useless – the same rank as the heads of Departments and Secretaries of State. – What frightful barbarism! –”
— Franz Kühnert, The Chinese Calendar System, 1884
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“The English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) selected three inventions, paper and printing, gunpowder, and the magnetic compass, which had done more, he thought, than any religious conviction, or any astrological influence, or any conqueror's achievements, to transform completely the modern world and mark it off from Antiquity and the Middle Ages. He regarded the origins of these inventions as "obscure and inglorious" and he died without ever knowing that all of them were Chinese. We have done our best to put this record straight.”
— Joseph Needham, 1988