Althoughthehistoryoftechnologicalandscientificillustrationsisawell-establishedfieldintheWest,scholarshiponthemuchlongerChineseexperienceisstillundeveloped.ThisworkbyPeterGolasisashort,illustratedoverviewtracingthesubjecttopre-HaninscriptionsbutfocusingmainlyontheSong,Yuan,Ming,andQingdynasties.
HismainthemeisthattechnologicaldrawingsdevelopedinadifferentwayinChinafromintheWestlargelybecausetheyweremadebyartistsratherthanbyspecialistillustratorsorpractitionersoftechnology.Heexaminesthetechniquesoftheseartists,theiruseofpainting,woodblockprintsandthebook,andwhattheirdrawingsrevealaboutchangingtechnologyinagriculture,industry,architecture,astronomical,military,andotherspheres.Thetextiselegantlywritten,andtheimages,about100inall,arecarefullychosen.
Thisislikelytoappealtobothscholarsandgeneralreaders.
Yuan TIMES TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY CHINA architecture
