Excellence and Confusion: A Review of the Process of European Cultural Development

Author: Hu Shaoyang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Every nation and every era has its own glory and dreams, its pursuit of nobility and excellence, even aspiring to stand alone in the world and dominate the realm. This has been true throughout history. Thus, there have been hatred and conflict, violence and slaughter. The songs of kings resounding to the heavens and the cries of oppressed creatures rise and fall. However, all this clamor will eventually fade into the eternal silence of time. Like distant waterfalls, though they may plunge with the grandeur of "thirty thousand feet of cascading water," the distance and separation of time make it difficult for people to perceive their existence and magnificence. To recreate these existence and magnificence is precisely the purpose of this book. By reviewing and elaborating on some major events and important figures in European history, this book brings back to life the tempests that have long been silent in Europe, as well as the great historical figures who have long turned to dust. Let us approach these distant waterfalls, amidst the surging and churning waves, in the deafening clamor, to once again appreciate the lofty efforts, brave hopes, steadfast faith, and remarkable glory of the Europeans who lived in a bygone era, separated from us Asians by vast temporal and spatial gaps. Let us also witness their bitter failures, helpless despair, painful confusion, and heartbroken resignation. And of course, there is also the echo of all this in our own time.