The Localization of Meteorology and Climate Science during the Chinese Republican Period

Science and Technology in Asia Seminar

Speaker: Iwo Amelung, Professor of Chinese Studies, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main

Chair: Victor Seow, Assistant Professor of the History of Science, Department of the History of Science, Harvard University

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It has been suggested that during the early period of the reception and appropriation of modern science in China, those sciences, which could be localized – in the sense of making use of the peculiarities of the local conditions – developed best. The examples usually mentioned include geology and biology. In this paper, I will show that in the process of the development of meteorological sciences in China except for its practical purposes - such as agriculture and military use - different aspects of localization were of prime importance for shaping the field. Early Chinese meteorologists were able to use these aspects of localization strategically, and thus managed to generate institutional support, which in some areas resulted in highly original and innovative research results, which had a major impact on the development of the science in China and beyond.