ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the magnitude of emotional and intellectual change that was required for Chinese intellectuals and officials to accept Western science and technology. One of the first Chinese intellectuals who did perceive a contradiction, and who thereby gained insight into the degree of cultural change that the mere use of Western technology would require, was Wang T'ao. The history of Chinese technology acquisition has been strongly influenced by both of the traditions. Cultural attitudes and political policies are basic determinants of the rate of technological change, but their operational significance lies in how they affect improvements in both human and physical capital. During the first nine months after the fall of the Gang, Chinese technology acquisition policy appeared to be similar to that of the early 1970s. In all three of the ways that technological change can be furthered—improvement of physical capital, improvement of human capital, and relaxation of foreign exchange constraints—there have been dramatic new developments.
