中国近现代工程史的“魏源-李鸿章-郭嵩焘问题”

Wei Yuan-Li Hongzhang-Guo Songtao Thesis in the Modern History of Engineering in China

中国近现代工程史的关键问题是关于在近现代时期"中国必须学习西方"的"魏源-李鸿章-郭嵩焘问题"。这个系统性问题包括了"是否需要学习"、"学习什么"、"学习谁"、"向西方学习是战略性的、长期的任务还是战术性的、短期的任务"等7个子问题。这个问题由魏源首先提出,经李鸿章深化,至郭嵩焘而达到了对这个问题分析和认识的最高潮。最后论及了这个问题和"李约瑟问题"的关系。

The core question of modern history of engineering in China is the Wei Yuan-Li Hongzhang-Guo Songtao thesis that in modern times, the Chinese have to learn from the West. This question consists of seven sub-questions, that is, Whether the Chinese have to learn from the West? What to learn? Whom to learn from? Is the task of learning a long-term and strategic one or a shortterm and tactical one? The question was first raised by Wei Yuan and deepened by Li Hongzhang. Finally Guo Songtao got to the wisest analysis and knowledge of it. At the end of the paper, the relationship between the question and the Needham puzzle is discussed.