科学史中的比较

史学工作不仅比较两种不同文化中的某个现象，也比较同一种文化中处于不同时期和不同地域的概念或习俗“自然”与“nature”;、“身体”与“body”，其含义并非一一对应，而且它们在中国和欧洲不同历史时期的含义也大为不同。西方天文学和医学在中国和日本的影响大不相同。因而，理解一个国家对待外国科学的态度，需要考虑政治变化、新旧方法的价值、社会组织以及学习动机之类的因素。19世纪晚期，中国人对待轮船和蒸汽机车的不同态度，反映出他们对网络技术的社会影响的认识，以及官员们高超的外交手腕。

Using Comparison in the History of Science

A good deal of historical work compares something in two different cultures, but one can also compare an idea or a custom in the same culture at different times or different places. The meanings of ziranand nature, or shenti and body, differ. The situations of Western astronomy and medicine in China and in Japan are entirely different. This suggests that changes in governments, the value of old and new methods, the organization of society, and the motivations for learning may be crucial to an understanding of the attitudes about Western science. Late nineteenth-century Chinese attitudes to the steamboat and steam-driven railways differed greatly. These different attitudes indicate that Chinese officials of the time recognized the social impact of network technologies and were skilled in diplomacy.