Historical Dictionary of Science and Technology in Modern China

Lawrence R. Sullivan is professor of political science at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, and a research associate at the East Asian Institute of Columbia University in New York City. He is the author of several works including Leadership and Authority in China: 1895-1976 (Lexington Books, 2012), Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Communist Party (Scarecrow Press, 2012) and Historical Dictionary of the People’s Republic of China, Second Edition (Scarecrow Press, 2007).Nancy Y. Liu currently works on cancer research at the Sloan-Kettering Institute at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and is lecturer in the Department of Biology at the College of Staten Island in New York. She is the co-editor and co-translator of Ma Jun, China’s Water Crisis (2004) and Dai Qing, The River Dragon has Come!: The Three Gorges Dam and the Fate of China’s Yangtze River and Its People (1998).

China has made tremendous advances in scientific research and technological innovation as it has emerged as the world's second-largest economy. In this first historical dictionary to focus on the topic, Sullivan and Liu compile an impressive amount of current information on the rapid development of science and technology in modern China. The volume offers acronyms and abbreviations, a detailed chronology with emphasis on the late 19th century to the present, an informative introduction, over 700 dictionary entries, four appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. Key terms having separate entries are bolded, and post-1949 Hanyu Pinyin spellings are preferred, although earlier systems are also employed, as noted. The main body of the dictionary contains entries on major branches of science, outstanding universities and research centers, the role of the Chinese Communist Party and policy-making bodies, and biographical entries on prominent Chinese scientists and Westerners who contributed broadly in transforming China into a modern society. Scientists who suffered during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) are highlighted for their extraordinary achievements and contributions. The dictionary serves as an excellent reference tool for students, scholars, and anyone wishing to learn more about science and technology in China today. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All libraries, all levels.