1988/02/01 by Nathan Sivin · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #History of Science and Medicine #Chinese history and philosophy #Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies
paper · doi:10.2307/2056359
openalex publication_date 1988/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Sinology and the history of science have changed practically beyond recognition in the past half-century. Both have become academic specialisms, with their own departments, journals, and professional societies. Both have moved off in new directions, drawing on the tools and insights of several disciplines. Although some sinologists still honor no ambition beyond explicating primary texts, on many of the field's frontiers philology is no more than a tool. Similarly, many technical historians now explore issues for which anthropology or systems analysis is as indispensable as traditional historiography.