I'm trying to make a mod for the game EUIV that makes Chinese technological development more historically accurate. The main problem I run into is that there doesn't seem to be (as) many indigenous technological innovations once the Qing Dynasty took control. Can some of the experts on here help point me in the right direction for research into this area? Does anyone have theories on why this seems to be the case?
Needham's Science and Civilization in China ought to be your first stop. It is a massive multi volume set. Find it in a good library. Elman is great also, but less focused on specific tech items than it's needham.