A reissue with a foreword and supplement, of a modern classic published
in 1960. The invention of the mechanical clock was one of the most
important turning points in the history of science and technology. This
study revealed six centuries of mechanical clockwork preceding the first
mechanical escapement clocks of the West of about AD 1300. Detailed and
fully illustrated accounts of elaborate Chinese clocks are accompanied
by a discussion of the social context of the Chinese inventions and an
assessment of their possible transmission to medieval Europe. For this
revised edition, Dr Joseph Needham has contributed a new foreword on
recent research and perceptions. In a supplement John H. Combridge
details a modern reconstruction of Su Sung's timekeeping device, which
together with textual studies modifies our understanding of this
important early technology.