/kloc-the 6th century was the turn of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China. At that time, the feudal society in China had developed extremely well, but it was this perfection that produced a strong resistance to social change and progress. The feudal economy is based on the self-sufficient natural economy and is a closed small-scale peasant economy. Farmers live a life of "work at sunrise and rest at sunset". The content of labor is that "men plow and women weave" production can basically meet all the needs of life, and there are not many surplus products to exchange, and there is no need for too much exchange. Therefore, the development of industry and commerce lacks the necessary market and the degree of development is very low. In such a society, people have no desire to improve their technical level to produce more commodities, nor do they have the economic and social conditions to engage in scientific and technological research. In order to ensure the dominant position of feudal economy, the rulers of China have been implementing the policy of "emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce" and strictly controlling commerce and handicrafts. This has slowed down the development of commodity economy and prevented the growth and expansion of capitalist economic factors that are still in the primary stage.
At this time, due to the development of commodity economy after the geographical discovery, the self-sufficient natural economy is gradually disintegrating in the West. In order to produce more goods, accumulate more wealth, strengthen military strength, develop navigation and expand overseas trade, western countries began to vigorously advocate practical science, and businessmen began to explore ways to improve production technology, which gave the west an internal social impetus to develop science and technology. Two or three hundred years later, when science and technology are finally combined and applied to production, the west will occupy an absolute advantage in science and technology.
Second, political factors.
China's feudal autocracy was conducive to the formation of centralization of authority in the early feudal society and objectively promoted the development of science and technology. However, in the late feudal society, the feudal autocratic system was constantly strengthened, which became the main obstacle to the development of science and technology. In modern times, many scientific and technological departments were monopolized by the ruling class, and their role was only to provide the rulers with weapons and skills slightly higher than those of the people. Therefore, science and technology, to a great extent, was a means for feudal rulers to maintain their rule and a tool for enjoyment, and it was not combined with people's production and life at all. What's more, it is usually the children of bureaucrats who manage the science and technology department. Compared with their official career and fame, they are really not interested in scientific and technological research. In addition, in order to cope with the invasion of external forces and the strengthening of external influence since modern times (such as the Japanese invasion in the late Ming Dynasty), China has long implemented the policy of "closing its doors to the outside world". This policy not only blocked the trade between China and overseas, but also cut off the channels of scientific and cultural exchanges between China and the outside world, making China lose the way to absorb foreign advanced technology.
Europe is obviously different from China in this respect. As early as the early modern times, in order to strengthen the national economic strength against feudal lords, European monarchs began to support the emerging bourgeoisie to develop business and overseas trade, and adopted an encouraging and positive attitude towards science and technology. Take Britain as an example. Long before the industrial revolution, British rulers had realized the importance of developing science and technology. For example, in 1624, Britain's first science and technology monopoly law came out and became the originator of modern patent law. For another example, the king of England showed a very positive attitude towards the Royal Society established by 1662, and "decided to grant the royal family the kindness, protection and all due encouragement to this group and such a beneficial and commendable thing." The support of state power for science and technology has created a free and relaxed social environment for scientific and technological progress. Therefore, it is possible for Britain to maintain a leading position in the field of modern science and technology for a long time, which may be one of the reasons why the industrial revolution first occurred in Britain later.
Third, traditional ideological and cultural factors.
Confucianism is the orthodoxy of China's feudal society, and it has long occupied a dominant position in China's ancient social thoughts. Confucianism is a kind of social ethics, which emphasizes the moral norms of "benevolence, courtesy, wisdom and trust" and the ethical principles of father and son, and pays attention to promoting social harmony with the "golden mean". The main object of this thought is society, which coordinates the relationship between people and society and between people, and does not care about the relationship between people and nature or between people and science. Confucianism has been highly respected by rulers of past dynasties, and has penetrated into China people's thoughts and values, so that people in China generally lack the spirit of exploring natural science and thirst for knowledge. Especially since the establishment of the imperial examination system, "Confucianism" has become the only criterion to examine the talents of intellectuals, and science and technology have been regarded as "strange skills and cunning". Therefore, intellectuals in China are becoming more and more accustomed to rote learning. Once they became number one, they began to be busy with complicated red tape and intrigue in officialdom. In such a social environment, who has the time and energy to make inventions? This shows that some traditions in China society have imprisoned people's thinking and wasted the wisdom of intellectuals.
The development of western modern ideology and culture is in sharp contrast with that of China. The Renaissance forged the spirit of humanism, which made western thought and culture break through the shackles of medieval theology and laid the foundation for the development of modern natural science. The establishment of Protestantism has cleared the way for the development of capitalist economy and bourgeois culture, and has become the spiritual driving force for the emerging bourgeoisie to accumulate wealth and improve technology; In a free and dynamic social atmosphere, a large number of talented scientists and inventors such as Newton and Watt gave full play to their wisdom and experience, which greatly promoted the final combination of modern science and technology and production. All these have become the ideological and cultural impetus for the rapid development of modern western science and technology. There is no motivation to continue to develop in science and technology. During the period after Portuguese firearms entered, the people of China felt the pressure. However, China's huge manufacturing industry and not inferior imitation industry quickly absorbed the Dutch and Portuguese military technology. China's artificial cannon is slightly heavier than that of the West, but it far exceeds all European countries in range and power. At that time, in the small-scale conflict between the Dutch navy in Nanyang and China, China occupied the peak, so China had no technology at all.
The national strength of China's neighbors is far from that of China, and it adopts the diplomatic strategy of subjugating the country and paying tribute, unlike the land and sea aggression of the Turkish Empire in European countries in the 6th century 15 and 16, which made Europeans feel nervous in business and science and technology.
In Europe, only Spain and Portugal have strong centralization under the banner of Catholicism, while most other countries have not solved their own unification problems. China has been reunified for a long time, and its political dependence and decadent mentality cannot be eliminated by a dynasty.