The first half of the 20th century is the pioneering period for the globalization of the Chinese natural science research. Based on a review of Chinese papers in the Science Citation Index during this period, this paper analyzes the characteristics of the globalization process with a historical reflections from an empirical perspective. It is shown that the scientists, the funds and the facilities are important factors for the scientific activities; the Matthew effect for the scientific institutions and the disciplines is remarkable; with the dominant idea of putting the emphasis on the technology rather than the science, the research hotspots are on the medicine, the biology, and the chemistry; the science center moves from Beijing to Yunnan in the turbulent times, which indicates that the talents are the most essential for the science, followed by other resources and conditions; and a high level of the international scientific cooperation in the initial stage is indispensable for the global scientific research. The unique history of the initial stage of the Chinese natural science research provides an important enlightenment for the progress of the science and the technology and the social development today.

scientist  /  scientific institution  /  disciplinary layout  /  science center  /  international cooperation