Chinese paleontology and the reception of Darwinism in early twentieth century Xiaobo Yu Department of Biological Sciences, Kean University, Union, NJ, 07083, USA article info Article history: Received 29 March 2017 Received in revised form 21 August 2017 Available online 25 September 2017 Keywords: Darwinism Social darwinism Nationalism Chinese paleontology Evolution Modern synthesis abstract The paper examines the social, cultural and disciplinary factors that influenced the reception and appropriation of Darwinism by China’s first generation paleontologists. Darwinism was mixed with Social Darwinism when first introduced to China, and the co-option of Darwinian phrases for nation- alistic awakening obscured the scientific essence of Darwin’s evolutionary theory. First generation Chi- nese paleontologists started their training in 1910se1920s. They quickly asserted their professional identity by successfully focusing on morphology, taxonomy and biostratigraphy. Surrounded by Western paleontologists with Lamarckian or orthogenetic leanings, early Chinese paleontologists enthusiastically embraced evolution and used fossils as factual evidence; yet not enough attention was given to mech- anistic evolutionary studies. The 1940s saw the beginning of a new trend for early Chinese paleontol- ogists to incorporate more biological and biogeographical components in their work, but external events such as the dominance of Lysenkoism in the 1950s made the Modern Synthesis pass by without being publicly noticed in Chinese paleontology. Characterized by the larger goal of using science for nation building and by the utilitarian approach favoring local sciences, the reception and appropriation of Darwinism by first generation Chinese paleontologists raise important questions for studying the indigenizing efforts of early Chinese scientists to appropriate Western scientific theories. Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The reception and creative adaptation of Darwinian ideas by China’s first generation paleontologists present an interesting case for studying the indigenizing efforts of early Chinese scientists to appropriate Western scientific theories. This paper examines the social, cultural and disciplinary context that influenced the recep- tion and appropriation of Darwinism by China’s first generation paleontologists. 1 Many authors (e.g., Schwartz, 1964; Kwok, 1965; Pusey,1983, 2009; Elman, 2006; Schmalzer, 2008; Yang, 2013a, b; Shen, 2014; and; Wu, 2015) have shown that China’s unique so- cial, cultural and historical conditions made the Chinese reception of Darwinian ideas different from that in any other countries. Glick (1972), Glick, Puig-Samper, & Ruiz (2001), Elshakry (2009, 2014), Ruse (2013), and Yang (2013a, b) have studied how cultural and social boundaries affect the transmission and spread of Darwinism in different countries. Fan (2004), Raj (2007), Yen (2012), Lightman, McOuat, and Stewart (2013), Yang (2013a,b), Shen (2014), Tsu and Elman (2014), and Wu (2015) have explored related historical themes such as the circulation, movement and construction of knowledge in the larger context of colonialism, imperialism, nationalism, industrialization, and science. Yen (2012) pointed out that in knowledge formation, ideas are socially and culturally constructed and are historically contingent. In the second half of the nineteenth century, China’s repeated de- feats at the hand of Western powers and Japan made the Chinese anxious to borrow Western technology and Western learning for defense and self-strengthening. This, together with the lack of indigenous religious resistance to evolution and the lack of a sci- entific establishment, made early Darwinian ideas reach China under favorable conditions. Darwin’s Origin (1859) predated the earliest efforts to train Chinese geologists (including paleontolo- gists) by 50 years. Shen (2014) showed how science and nation were always linked for Chinese geologists (including paleontolo- gists) during China’s Republican period (1912e1949). Shen (2014) and Wu (2015) described how early Chinese geologists prioritized their work in response to China’s practical needs for mineral re- sources exploitation. By establishing China’s fossil record through their empirical work, early Chinese paleontologists filled in a E-mail address: xyu@kean.edu. 1 As loosely defined in this paper, China’s first generation paleontologists generally received their college education in 1913e1937. These early paleontolo- gists had the time to complete their advanced training overseas and to reach the prime of their career before 1949. Many became the founders or leading figures in their respective fields. This paper does not attempt to give a complete account of all the early Chinese paleontologists. Nor does it discuss issues primarily related to biostratigraphy, paleoanthropology or archeology in China. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/shpsc https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2017.09.001 1369-8486/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 66 (2017) 46e54