Unearthing the Nation

Modern Geology and Nationalism in Republican China

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Earth Sciences, Geology, Other Sciences, History
Cover of the book Unearthing the Nation by Grace Yen Shen, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Grace Yen Shen ISBN: 9780226090542
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: February 13, 2014
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Grace Yen Shen
ISBN: 9780226090542
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: February 13, 2014
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

Questions of national identity have long dominated China’s political, social, and cultural horizons. So in the early 1900s, when diverse groups in China began to covet foreign science in the name of new technology and modernization, questions of nationhood came to the fore. In Unearthing the Nation, Grace Yen Shen uses the development of modern geology to explore this complex relationship between science and nationalism in Republican China.

           

Shen shows that Chinese geologists—in battling growing Western and Japanese encroachment of Chinese sovereignty—faced two ongoing challenges: how to develop objective, internationally recognized scientific authority without effacing native identity, and how to serve China when China was still searching for a stable national form. Shen argues that Chinese geologists overcame these obstacles by experimenting with different ways to associate the subjects of their scientific study, the land and its features, with the object of their political and cultural loyalties. This, in turn, led them to link national survival with the establishment of scientific authority in Chinese society.

The first major history of modern Chinese geology, Unearthing the Nation introduces the key figures in the rise of the field, as well as several key organizations, such as the Geological Society of China, and explains how they helped bring Chinese geology onto the world stage.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Questions of national identity have long dominated China’s political, social, and cultural horizons. So in the early 1900s, when diverse groups in China began to covet foreign science in the name of new technology and modernization, questions of nationhood came to the fore. In Unearthing the Nation, Grace Yen Shen uses the development of modern geology to explore this complex relationship between science and nationalism in Republican China.

           

Shen shows that Chinese geologists—in battling growing Western and Japanese encroachment of Chinese sovereignty—faced two ongoing challenges: how to develop objective, internationally recognized scientific authority without effacing native identity, and how to serve China when China was still searching for a stable national form. Shen argues that Chinese geologists overcame these obstacles by experimenting with different ways to associate the subjects of their scientific study, the land and its features, with the object of their political and cultural loyalties. This, in turn, led them to link national survival with the establishment of scientific authority in Chinese society.

The first major history of modern Chinese geology, Unearthing the Nation introduces the key figures in the rise of the field, as well as several key organizations, such as the Geological Society of China, and explains how they helped bring Chinese geology onto the world stage.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Human-Built World by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book Strained Relations by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book Snowbird by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book The Value of Labor by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book The Political Economy of Pipelines by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book The Democratic Constitution by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book Irrevocable by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book Dirty Money by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book Switching Codes by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book Electing Judges by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book Uncomfortable Situations by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book The Score by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book This Land Is Your Land by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book Miss Cutler and the Case of the Resurrected Horse by Grace Yen Shen
Cover of the book When Peace Is Not Enough by Grace Yen Shen
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy