Introduction for SI: EPEED on TIS: The emergence of Chinese discussions of engineering, philosophy, and ethics

•This issue is devoted to Chinese scholarship on technology in society with philosophical and ethical perspectives.•It offers an account of themes in the philosophical and ethical discussion, of technology and engineering in Chinese society.•It also concludes with a summary of the contributions being made by the articles collected in this special issue.

As a general introduction to this special issue, what follows is a brief account of themes in the philosophical and ethical discussion of technology in China. It begins with some special perspectives on technology from ancient philosophers such as Kongzi, Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Mozi. Then it turns to the relationship between Chinese and western science and technology that grew out of the eastward spread of western culture since the end of the sixteenth century. Finally, it indicates some developments and new trends in the discussion on technology and engineering under the influence of Marxism and other western analyses since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. It concludes with a summary of the contributions being made by the articles collected in this special issue.