This volume outlines the origins of a wide range of disciplines including astronomy, agricultural science, medicine, physics, chemistry, and natural history. It provides an overview of Chinäs history of science and technology, which can be traced back to the pre-Qin times when the arts had free expression and the schools of thought were unrestricted. It also includes a glossary and comparison of the chronicle of events in China and the West for reference. This is the first volume in the series History of Science and Technology in China.

History of Science and Technology in China is the first series with high academic values on general history of Chinese science and technology, with contributions by top-notch scholars in this field. This 5-volume work provides an encyclopedic historical panorama of Chinese scientific and technological development. It unfolds the history of Chinese science and technology through a clarified timeline from as early as the farancient times to the very present. This work consists of five volumes: Origins of Chinese Sciences, Ancient Chinese Studies of Heaven and Earth, High Tide of Chinese Sciences, Theoretical and Technological Development, and Western Influences.