CHEMISTRY IN CHINA.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13958, 19 July 1909, Page 7

CHEMISTRY IN CHINA.

In the law section of the Chemistry Congress in London on June Ist. Vu Tung Jvwai .read a paper on "The present attitude and future of chemical industry of China." According to their historical records, lie said, alchemy was known in China at least 2700 years before Christ. Tho chief object of such practice at that time was to cure diseases and to try to prepare a sort of medicine under the name of. " gold pills," somewhat analagous in nature to the well-known " philosopher's stone." Metallurgical' work and dyeing carried them back to time immemorial, and the processes of making gun-powder, |>aper, glass, and porcelain wore all originated in China. He attributed tho backwardness of China' in scientific matters during the past 100 years to the fact that most people were led to concentrate their life's attention simply on a kind of most difficult literary work. But history had already proved that those peoplo possessed scientific genius. Circumstances had now quite changed. Sjnce China had been known for thousands of years to be an agricultural country, and to possess an enormous undeveloped wealth of minerals, their attention was naturally directed first of all to the study ot those two branches of applied science—agricultural, chemistry and metallurgy. Chemistry and mathematics were compulsory subjects in the elementary schools. Among recent entcrpriccs a syndicate had been formed to explore a new Chinese petroleum field, which would probably prove one of the largest productive regions in the world. The de\-elopnient of China would be of benefit to the world.