The world’s preeminent authority on Chinese science explores the philosophy, social structure, arts, crafts, and even military strategies that form our understanding of Chinese science, making instructive comparisons along the way to similar elements of Indian, Hellenistic, and Arabic cultures. A major portion of the book concentrates on Taoist alchemy that led not only to the invention of gunpowder and firearms, but also, through the search for macrobiotic life-elixirs, to the rise of modern medical chemistry.

• Contents 
• Preface
• 1. 
• Introduction
• 2. 
• The Epic of Gunpowder and Firearms, Developing from Alchemy
• 3. 
• Comparative Macrobiotics
• 4. 
• The History and Rationale of Acupuncture and Moxibustion
• 5. 
• Attitudes toward Time and Change as Compared with Europe
• Appendix: 
• Table of Chinese Dynasties