Legacy of the East

Author: Will Durant
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: Four thousand years of history, the richest civilizations on Earth's largest continents are brought back to life in Will Durant's works. Farming, industry, transportation, trade, government, morality, religion, science, philosophy, writing, and art are the elements that constitute civilization, a part of the heritage bestowed by the Eastern world on the West. Europe and America can be said to be unworthy descendants of Asia, as they have never truly understood the treasures of Asian culture. In this book, you will see:
Sumer – The city of Eden. The birthplace of cities and laws.
Egypt – The realm of pharaohs. The Egyptians had already perfected pyramid construction, medicine, and mummification techniques 3,500 years ago.
Babylon – The pearl of the Tigris-Euphrates region. The Babylonians developed astronomy and physics, sowing the seeds of Western theology.
Assyria – The land of dreams. The Assyrians, conquerors of the Near East, were marked by their kings with statues of half-human, half-beast figures.
Persia – Imperialism. The Persians ruled the largest empire before the recorded history of Rome. This book also records the history of civilizations in India, China, and Japan from their establishment to the 20th century:
India – The mystical land. From the pre-Buddhist period to the Gandhi era, the profound organization of Indian philosophy, the bloody Islamic wars of resistance, the history of British colonialism, the Indian monarchy, and the ancient sages.
Japan – The rising island nation. The samurai of Japan's closed era had a strict interpretation of "dignity"; geisha, poets, and printers, and Japan's modern miracle of rapid rise.
China – The central and magnificent nation. Discussing Chinese calligraphy and painting, porcelain, and the universe; it possesses great philosophers such as Laozi and Confucius; its vast population and numerous dynasties.