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The Eternal River: The Turning Point and Development of Chinese History and Culture Author: Xu Zhuoyun
The Eternal River: The Turning Point and Development of Chinese History and Culture Author: Xu Zhuoyun
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Introduction · · · · · ·
★ A masterpiece on the history of China by overseas Chinese historians who are on par with Yu Ying-shih, Huang Ren-yu, Yang Lien-sheng, Ho Ping-ti, and Chang Kuang-chih
★ Winning works of the 3rd "Wenjin Book Award"
★Yu Yingshi, Yao Dali, Ge Zhaoguang, Wang Zijin, Xu Jilin, Bai Yansong unanimously recommended
Yu Yingshi: Mr. Xu is studious and thoughtful, with extensive knowledge in humanities and social sciences. He is able to integrate his extensive knowledge into an analytical system that is the result of careful consideration. His works interact with the macro and micro perspectives, are consistent from ancient times to the present, and are appreciated by both the elite and the masses.
Yao Dali: In Mr. Xu Zhuoyun's own words, the change of regimes is not necessarily completely consistent with the cycle or rhythm of change of China, a complex community. This cycle is actually a longer period of time, which transcends dynasties. If the general history of China is told one dynasty at a time, then the clues of its internal economic, cultural and social evolution will be cut off. The Eternal River is very good because it tells Chinese history in a time span that transcends time.
Ge Zhaoguang: Mr. Xu's writing is a big history. "The so-called 'big history' cannot be viewed from a single event, but must be viewed from the interaction of various phenomena to observe the overall changes." Big history requires big judgments, and only those who are well-read and learned can make big judgments.
Wang Zijin: How can we depict the peak and tide of social movements while also capturing the ripples and trickles of social life? How can we observe the overall social outlook through understanding a specific social event, just like analyzing a water sample in a test tube to understand the water quality of a river? The Eternal River is a relatively good treatise in this regard. To know the location and direction of a river, you can use a 1:10,000 map or a 1:25,000,000 map. The former is easy to detect subtle details, while the latter is easy to understand the general trend. The reasonable combination of the two is the success of The Eternal River.
Xu Jilin: Mr. Xu Zhuoyun is a great scholar of Chinese history. His research on the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, and the social history of the Han Dynasty is unparalleled in the world, but his research on general history that connects China and the West and looks at the past and the present is even more influential. Only when one's knowledge is perfect, one's experience is thorough, and one has seen the vicissitudes of life, can one simplify the complex and bring out the deep wisdom of history in plain language. There are many experts with knowledge, but there are too few wise people, and Mr. Xu is one of the great wise men alive today.
Bai Yansong: Who are we? We have always thought we know. After reading Mr. Xu Zhuoyun's book, I realized that we actually don't know much. Mr. Xu has difficulty walking and writing, but he has taken his thinking to the farthest, crossing history and prejudice. Our ignorance is a way of paying tribute to him.
★ Broaden your historical perspective and look at the path China has taken in the “cultural circle”
★ Focus on the daily life, spiritual care and faith of Chinese people for thousands of years
★ Explore the rich and diverse interweaving and integration of Chinese regional cultures
★ Comparison of China and other civilizations on the world stage
【Content Introduction】
In the turbulent tide of the existence and change of world civilization, how should China position itself and view its own history and culture? Where did China come from, where did Chinese culture come from, and where is it going?
This book, The Eternal River, is an answer sheet submitted by Mr. Xu Zhuoyun, a famous historian who cherishes Chinese culture. It is also a history written for today's Chinese people and a biography of the growth and development of Chinese culture. With the progress of history, the content of Chinese culture and the space occupied by Chinese culture have been constantly changing: from the origin of Chinese culture seen in archaeological discoveries to the emergence of "Central Plains", Central Plains became China, "Central Plains China" slowly expanded to become "China of China", and then went beyond China, slowly absorbing the surrounding areas, and through cultural exchanges and the expansion of sphere of influence, it became "China in East Asia", and then played an important role in Asia, becoming "China in Asia", and after more than a hundred years of bumps and stumbling into the world, becoming "China in the World". In the narration of these long-term cultural circles that transcend dynasties and regimes, Chinese culture and the people who grew up in China are the real protagonists, so Mr. Xu focuses on a series of topics such as the national system and characteristics of the times, changes in thought, religion and culture, agriculture, handicrafts and economic networks, the integration and interaction of ethnic groups and cultures, the daily life of the Chinese people, lifestyles and living resources, folk society and the world of faith, the progress and transformation of culture, science and technology, foreign relations and comparative interactions with other civilizations, etc. He tells the colorful and vivid growth stories of Chinese culture and the Chinese people.
What is more noteworthy is that at every stage, China has to face other ethnic groups and the cultures they created. After constant contact and communication, either welcoming or rejecting them, it finally changed "itself" and the culture of its neighboring ethnic groups. "Itself" even merged with "others" into a new "self".
About the Author · · · · · ·
【Author introduction】
Xu Zhuoyun was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province in 1930. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1962. He taught at National Taiwan University and the University of Pittsburgh in the United States. During this period, he was hired as a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Hawaii, Duke University, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In 1986, he was honored as an honorary member of the American Humanities Society. He is a historian who has mastered both Chinese and Western knowledge. He is proficient in ancient Chinese history, cultural history, and social history. He is familiar with Western history and its theories and ideas. He is good at using the perspectives and methods of different disciplines to study history, especially to examine Chinese history and culture. He is not confined to the study, but always cares about the world and the development and direction of Chinese culture. His representative works include "History of the Western Zhou Dynasty", "Agriculture in the Han Dynasty", "On the Social History of Ancient China", "The Eternal River", "Self and Others", "Talking about China", etc.
[Author’s statement]
I wrote this book to give everyone something to read. I don't want to record the glory of dynasties, emperors, and the motherland anymore. I want to show how ordinary people live and what they think. There is no hero in my book. I hope to guide readers into a new human society that includes China but transcends China.
I talk about the expansion of culture, not the use of force. I have never liked to talk about martial arts, because I grew up in war, war is a very cruel thing, I know what blood is, so I am most opposed to praising heroes in war and praising blood. I don't talk about martial arts, I don't talk about the Han Emperor, Tang Zong, Genghis Khan, I don't talk about opening up new territories, I only talk about the expansion of the cultural circle. The main theme of my talk is: in the process of expanding the cultural circle, we have "giving", and we have also "taking". We have given a lot of culture to our neighbors, and we have also absorbed and accepted the culture of our neighbors.
After thousands of years of development, Chinese culture has experienced countless ups and downs, and the Chinese people in this cultural circle have also experienced countless joys and sorrows. Looking back at the development trajectory of Chinese culture, the most noteworthy thing is its inclusive mind; for this reason, when Chinese people encounter foreign heterogeneous cultures, they are often able to absorb their essence and integrate them into their own cultural system. At the same time, if a system of thought tends to be dogmatic and even rigid, there are often internal corrections, giving Chinese culture a chance to renew.
We must first reorganize ourselves psychologically, and stop being confined to the "China-centered theory", especially the "Central Plains-centered theory". Only in this way can we be open-minded and organize a large civilized group, and this civilized group also needs to be open-minded and face those civilized groups that have oppressed and bullied us. We should admit that other people's plans are not necessarily wrong, and our plans are not necessarily right. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The parts we are right about can be reorganized for the future use of the whole world. If the part you think is very good has problems today, you should also think about whether to throw it away or start over. Only by keeping calm can everyone live in harmony.
