Abstract: The communication of western mechanical knowledge in the Ming and Qing Dynasties laid the foundation for the development of mechanics in modern China, and its communication paths helped to understand the role of social and cultural differences and the cognitive characteristics of the audience in the process of intercultural communication. The accumulation of Chinese ancient mechanical knowledge and the trend of pragmatic thought in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were the bases for the communication of western mechanical knowledge; the development of western mechanics in the early 17th century, the differences between Chinese and western cultures, and the shift of Chinese audience's attention to western science influenced the formation of the communication paths of western mechanical knowledge in China. Under the influence of these factors, western mechanics presented different communication paths of theory and technology in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. These paths reflected the restructuring process in which Chinese traditional culture assimilated western mechanical knowledge, and are the microcosm of the development of Chinese modern mechanics.