前 言
典籍是知識的重要載體,知識通過傳鈔、印刷、出版與流傳等過程,形成了龐大的知識與社會網絡。華夏文明的特色之一,即為十分重視歷史經驗和知識的流傳。在紙張和印刷術的技術背景下,典籍成為重要文化核心。因此,對科學史典籍的勘察,實為科學史研究溯本追流的重要工作。
近二十年來,大量的科學史典籍印行,促進了科學史研究的廣度,也促進了文化史和其他專史領域中對於科學典籍的理解與利用。其中最明顯的,有西學東傳的科學典籍傳播,日常生活科技的文化史探究,以及科學社會學史等等。
無疑的,科學史研究與傳統史學研究的差異,主要在於必須有輔助學科的協助。因此科學史典籍研讀,除了能培養特殊文字內涵的校讀能力,也能培養學者的科際整合能力。誠如《夢溪筆談》和《天工開物》等代表性科學史典籍的校讀,開展了二十世紀的中國科學技術史研究的高潮一樣,本工坊的目的即在於透過導讀科學史典籍,培養青年學者對科學典籍的樂趣和解讀能力,以促進科學史的基礎研究,並透過研究典籍與其他文獻的比對分析,促進深化科學史的研究發展。
國際科學史與科學哲學聯合會科學史組中華民國委員會主委
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Foreword
Books are carriers of knowledge. Through copying, printing, publication, and distribution, these activities created an enormously large social and knowledge network. Chinese culture is known to place great emphasis on the continual distribution of knowledge and historical experiences from one generation to another. Using paper and printing press, books became the core of culture. As a result, the survey of texts has become an important root-seeking work in the study of the history of science.
The past two decades has seen the re-publication of a massive amount of historical scientific texts. The increased availability of texts resulted in the expansion of the scope of the study of history of science. It also promotes the use of historical scientific texts in many other disciplines such as cultural history and many other area-specific histories. Among them, the study of Asia's adoption of western knowledge through books, the investigation of cultural context for many everyday life technologies and the social history of scientific communities are good examples of this trend.
Needless to say, the study of the history of science demand the knowledge in assisting fields which is quite different from the traditional study of history. The study of historical scientific texts, as a result, not just cultivates a researcher's ability to decipher texts within a specialized context; it helps the researcher to integrate various academic disciplines. The study of Mengxi Bitan(《夢溪筆談》)and Tiangong Kaiwu(《天工開物》), two landmark historical scientific texts, opened 20th century's wealth of Chinese history of science discovery. The goal of this workshop is to elevate young scholars' ability and interest in deciphering historical scientific texts in order to advance fundamental studies of the history of science by showing them how to read. Through cross-analysis of various historical scientific texts and other historical sources, we hope our efforts can reach deeper understanding to the history of science.
Chairman, Republic of China National Committee for Division of History of Science of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science.
LIN Tsungyi
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