
Lightning Wires
The Telegraph and China's Technological Modernization, 1860-1890
Erik Baark(Author)
Praeger Publishers Inc
Published on 18. March 1997
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-313-30011-0 (ISBN)
Description
Baark examines the transfer of telegraph technology to China in the late nineteenth century. He shows how the initial Chinese rejection of the telegraph as an inconvenient technology contributed to violent conflicts between foreigners and the Chinese, but that this resistence gradually gave way to an assimilation of the telegraph into Chinese society.
The transfer and assimilation of advanced technology has been an important challenge for China's modernization for more than a century. Baark examines some of the dilemmas faced by Chinese modernizers of the yangwu (Western affairs) movement from the 1860s to the 1890s. Telegraph technology emerged in the West on the basis of scientific discoveries in electricity in the early nineteenth century, and was greeted with enthusiasm by governments and the public alike.
The Chinese attitudes to the telegraph, however, were informed by entirely different political and cultural priorities. Baark examines the tensions which existed between the Chinese and the foreign companies seeking to extend telegraph technology to East Asian cities, and he shows how the domestic network was shaped by indigenous social and cultural forces. This book will be of considerable interest to historians of modern China, technology, and economic development.
The transfer and assimilation of advanced technology has been an important challenge for China's modernization for more than a century. Baark examines some of the dilemmas faced by Chinese modernizers of the yangwu (Western affairs) movement from the 1860s to the 1890s. Telegraph technology emerged in the West on the basis of scientific discoveries in electricity in the early nineteenth century, and was greeted with enthusiasm by governments and the public alike.
The Chinese attitudes to the telegraph, however, were informed by entirely different political and cultural priorities. Baark examines the tensions which existed between the Chinese and the foreign companies seeking to extend telegraph technology to East Asian cities, and he shows how the domestic network was shaped by indigenous social and cultural forces. This book will be of considerable interest to historians of modern China, technology, and economic development.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 7 to 17 years
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
546 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-313-30011-0 (9780313300110)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
ERIK BAARK is Associate Professor, Department of Technology and Social Sciences, Technical University of Denmark. He has published extensively on science and technology policy and technological innovation and cultural change in Asia, Africa, and Europe. He has also worked as a consultant for international organizations such as the World Bank and UNDP.
Content
Preface
The Dilemmas of China's Technological Modernization
China's Nineteenth-Century Modernizers: Policies and Personalities
The Telegraph: Challenges of Communication
"Inconvenient Technology"--Telegraphs Arrive at China's Shores, 1860-1870
The Telegraph Lines in Fujian, 1874-1877
The Genesis of the Chinese Telegraph Network, 1881-1889
Chinese Modernizers: Lessons from the Nineteenth Century
Bibliography
Index
The Dilemmas of China's Technological Modernization
China's Nineteenth-Century Modernizers: Policies and Personalities
The Telegraph: Challenges of Communication
"Inconvenient Technology"--Telegraphs Arrive at China's Shores, 1860-1870
The Telegraph Lines in Fujian, 1874-1877
The Genesis of the Chinese Telegraph Network, 1881-1889
Chinese Modernizers: Lessons from the Nineteenth Century
Bibliography
Index