Chinese failure to discover glass.

Given that Chinese technology fell behind that of western europe in the post medieval age what part did the chinese failure to discover glass play in that decline. 

True, but it's not "glass" in the sense refered to.  The Chinese do not appear to have progressed to the science of optics, which does seem a little odd given their scientific curiousity and prowess.

The evidence of a wide use of optics in China from the late medieval to the nineteenth century just doesn't seem to exist. What telescopes, spectacles and magnifying gasses of Chinese origin have been found.  In the west the use of lenses and optics furthered scientific progress, that same level of progress seems to be absent in China. Clearly social and political considerations have to be taken into account when investigating this, but the scarcity of optics must have seriously hampered scientific progress.  

Although there have been claims that Salvino degli Armati of Florence invented eyeglasses, these claims have been exposed as hoaxes.^[15][16] Furthermore, although there have been claims that Marco Polo encountered eyeglasses during his travels in China in the 13th century, no such statement appears in his accounts.^[17][18] Indeed, the earliest mentions of eyeglasses in China occur in the 15th century and those Chinese sources state that eyeglasses were imported.

Actually, all we "know" is that Marco Polo claimed to have seen Chinese wearing spectacles.  This proves nothing in regards to the origin of those spectacles, if they even existed in the first place.

After all, Marco wasn't the only European visiting the Chinese during all that time.

Europeans didn't discover glass. It was discovered by middle easterners and then passed onto Europe.

Europeans can't take credit for it they took it from other people.

The Middle east is farther from China than Europe so glass obviously did not spread there easily.

...and Nimrud lens:

signaling device in the high, lonely, lonesome and a fire starter if it really is glass.

And the sun is out.

Wonder how long man has been doing that Chinese or other.

Edited by Centrix Vigilis - 16-Mar-2016 at 11:48

Originally posted by Historian The playwright Aristophanes mentioned using stones (burning lenses) in his 5th century BC play the Clouds, and from the way he mentioned it, it sounds like it was an established method even then. The Nimrud lens dates from the 7th century BC, and one of the speculated uses for the lens was for starting fire. When men first started digging up and using clear crystal for jewelry and other uses is when they probably first noticed the magnifying and fire starting properties, which were probably discovered by accident.

Fair enough and informative. What I like to see. Your latter para intriguing as I don't recall any data on glass making prior to 3500 BC. Tho... Pliny reports the Phoenicians allegedly discovered it ie. the process... circa 5000 BC; on the Syrian coast.

The caveat of course being that naturally occurring glass was in use much earlier. Eg. Stone age cultures using obsidianites

Here's a good little generic reference:

https://web.archive.org/web/20110415194738/http://www.glassonline.com/infoserv/history.html#5000 BC

Many more detailed can be found thru a search.

Welcome to the fray.


Edited by Centrix Vigilis - 19-Mar-2016 at 18:37