中世纪主要的技术发明大多数出自中国。然而,不像在西方,商业革命和技术进步都未给中国带来彻底改变社会的革命性影响。其根本原因,就在于中国历史的持续性,即隋朝实质上是汉朝的延续,唐、宋又是隋朝的延续,直到1912年帝国历史结束。因此,传统的官僚贵族统治集团,在理学的一些观念的支持下,能削减或削弱新技术和经济发展的作用。但是,在西方,罗马帝国灭 Most of the major medieval inventions came from China. However, unlike in the West, neither the commercial revolution nor the technological advance brought to China the revolutionary impact of completely changing society. The fundamental reason is that the continuity of Chinese history, that is, the Sui Dynasty is essentially a continuation of the Han Dynasty, Tang and Song is the continuation of the Sui Dynasty until 1912, the end of the history of the Empire. Therefore, the traditional bureaucratic aristocracy, with the support of some concepts of Neo-Confucianism, can reduce or weaken the role of new technologies and economic development. However, in the West, the Roman Empire went out