CELESTIAL EMPIRE'. STASIS AND RETREAT^349
All of this has not discouraged the propagation of the new gospel,
because in matters of this kind scholars are often the servants of their
ideals and their needs. The extraneous ideological and political
motivation here may be inferred from the following text:
Educated people all over the world are now prepared to respond to new
revelations about Chinese scientific traditions.... The heightened interest
has meant a small but perceptible rise in the world's esteem for China. More
to the point, it has meant that scientists all over the world are increasingly
involved in the give and take that help Chinese scientists to be fully involved
in the international scientific community.^24As though even now they needed encouragement.^25