When the first volume of Science and Civilisation in China was published in 1954, Needham's humanistic aspirations were still confronted by two established bodies of opinion.
儘管在李約瑟的人文胸懷裡，「與人類愛和友誼比較起來，驕傲是件不足為道的東西」，但當年出版「中國之科學與文明」第一卷的時候，仍然面對了兩種當道強勢的質疑。