[gtr32x]

Why then did math, astronomy and other sciences, and natural philosophy not originate in China, but centuries earlier in Europe (with a loose definition of "originate", I know Europeans were not the first)?

A few examples, Pythagoras Theorem is called 勾股定理 in China, named after its individual discoverer Gou Gu from China. Circa 1090~ AD, There is a book called 梦溪笔谈 by Sheng Kuo consisting of discussion of various topics such as Astronomy, Physics, Math etc. Some other books in Math include 数学九章，四元玉鉴。Circa 500～ AD, Zu Chong Zhi figured out Pi to 6 decimal digits. Sorry I didn't have time looking up the English name of those books.

I see you have made your edits thereafter. Though I would just like to say really it's hard to define what is 'awesome' or not as per your argument.

"China invented gun powder, but they didn't use it to gain a military advantage."

So is it awesome to utilize tools made to enhance men's life to slaughter men?

"Most of Chinese philosophy seems to me to be mostly about society and the duty of men etc."

This is largely correct, but it isn't any less than the modern science we have today. Iching in particular is really a science of life, the science of nature. Yet nobody can understand it now.

While I like some of your arguments about China missing out on further opportunities, but to simply dismiss China as not 'awesome' is also an over stretch.

[yetanotherphd]

He is right though, in spite of your examples Chinese mathematics lagged far behind Western mathematics. E.g. By the 1700's, mathematicians were solving Newton's equations using sophisticated approximations, to calculate the future position of the moon.

I'm not inclined towards bold explanations of these differences, but the facts are clear: Western science and mathematics was far beyond anything else in the world at that time.

[wavefunction]

Not to be pedantic but the Pythagorean Theorem was probably "discovered" and at least described much earlier than either Pythogoras or "the Chinese."

Gougo only provided a reasoning for the 3-4-5 triangle but not a general solution for other triangles. The Apastamba Sulba Sutra (~600BCE from "India") contained a numerical proof for the theorem. The Assyrians and Babylonians recorded "Pythagorean triples" but didn't mention triangles.

It's only until Euclid comes along that a proper axiomatic proof is provided. None of takes away from all those that contributed to the upward climb that is human history, though. It's high time to appreciate human achievements rather than "national or ethnic" ones.

[purplelobster]

Sorry, I'm aware of Chinese, Indian and Islamic mathematics. By "originating" I don't necessarily mean first in everything, but it's hard to argue that Chinese mathematics had as much of an impact.

While I don't condone violence, military technology is a big part of the advantage of western powers up to this point. It has driven innovations in other areas as well.

And I didn't mean to say China is not awesome (just not as awesome back then), I love Chinese history and culture, but my reaction is against the popular sentiment that China was humiliated for ~two centuries and it was just a temporary fluke. I think it began way before then, and that it's not certain that China was on the cusp of a scientific and industrial revolution itself, had not western powers arrived there first.

[gtr32x]

Nah no need to say sorry haha. You brought up some very valid points, just it's hard to category anything as awesome or not in a strictly objective sense.

Throughout human history, there's no telling whether or not a particular event or happening is awesome or not, it's just the natural progression of humankind seeking power and regime.

In terms of contribution towards modern science and industrial revolution though, you are perfectly right about China not participating too much in it. For me personally, I rather feel like the more I learn about life, the more I wonder about the power of mind and less about the materialistic world. Hence ancient Chinese's philosophies of life and Dao is surprisingly more powerful to me than modern scientific advances, yet it seemed to have entirely lost its roots throughout history sadly.