On the Invention and Use of Gunpowder and Firearms in China

Mr. Wang Ling's article printed below covers the same ground as the article by L. Carrington Goodrich and Feng Chia-sheng previously printed (Isis, 36, I 423, I946), and this implies a certain amount of duplication which was unavoidable, as it would have been unfair to either of the authors to have suppressed parts of his article. Indeed, both articles were composed independently and at the same time, but Goodrich and Feng worked in New York, while Mr. Wang Ling was working in Lichuang, Szechuan. Naturally enough, the Goodrich MS reached me first, on August 25, 1944, while Wang's was brought to me from China, by Dr. Joseph Needham, on February 23, 1945. Students are advised to read both articles and not to omit the addenda to the Goodrich one (Isis, 36, 250). The proofs of this article were read by Professor James R. Ware, of Harvard University, Associate Editor of Isis. GEORGE SARTON