19世纪中叶中西军事技术优劣的物质层面探析

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Chinese and Western Military Technology in the Mid-19^(th) Century

中国军事技术发展向来具有连续、缓慢增长和技术发达、理论滞后的特征;传统的手工业难当改良军事技术的重任;军事技术发展缺乏财力支撑。从15世纪末期以来,欧洲军事科学理论、实验、技术三者间一向呈循环加速的关系;从18世纪70年代开始,实行了以蒸汽动力代替手工操作的"产业革命";海军发展与海外贸易的互动使其发展军事技术的财力雄厚。

China has lacked the atmosphere for the development of military civilization. Continuous but slow growth is characteristic of the military development in China, with its technology being advanced but its theoretical construction lagged. The level of productivity was very backward in the Ming and Qing dynasties, neither could traditional handicrafts improve the military technology, and firearms evolution did not have enough financial support, either. In contrast, in Europe, from the 1500s, theory, experiment, and technology of military science have promoted each other and in the 1770s the Industrial Revolution was realized, with steam-power in place of manual operations. The interaction between the Navy development and overseas trade resulted in a strong financial support for military technology.