French-Chinese Comparative Biographies of World Famous Figures: Politicians Volume

Author: Xu Sujuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: It is worth noting that the more people pursue what they call the "absolute" truth, the more they realize that it is impossible to analyze history or evaluate those who led it forward using simple concepts of good and evil. Those recognized as politicians or "great" leaders are not necessarily good people, and the figures selected in this book are no exception: Peter the Great was an extremely cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant, as Marx said, "he subdued Russia with barbarity." Alexander the Great, as well as Napoleon, is remembered largely because they were conquerors. Richelieu, during his time of relentless taxation and insatiable greed, died when national taxes had already been pre-collected for three years. Louis XIV, though undoubtedly a talented and ambitious ruler, was also extravagant and wasteful, engaging in endless military campaigns and lavish spending. His seventy-two-year reign was also the period when French power and the monarchy declined from its peak to gradual decline. All these political figures—General de Gaulle and Mahatma Gandhi being perhaps the exceptions—were difficult for later generations to judge as simply good or bad. Regardless, they were fortunate to stand before the opportunities offered by history and their times, and ultimately seized them, thereby influencing the course of history and changing the lives and destinies of millions. As Nixon metaphorically put it: When the curtain falls on a play, the audience exits the theater one by one, returning to their normal lives; but when a leader's career ends and the curtain falls, the audience's own lives also change, and the course of history may undergo profound transformations.
Richard Nixon explicitly stated in his book Leaders: "Throughout history—from the ancient Greeks, through Shakespeare, to the modern era—few themes have endured as long as the great leaders have fascinated playwrights and historians." Indeed, for centuries, common people have shown an enduring interest in praising or condemning these lofty politicians while spreading countless rumors and anecdotes about them, true or not. People are concerned with the "men of flesh and blood" because their words and actions can alter their own destinies. As later generations trace the footsteps of these powerful figures, they can clearly hear the rumbling of history's wheels rolling forward and glimpse the steady steps of human society as it moves toward the distant horizon.
The ten figures included in this book are precisely such political leaders. Their names are etched in history, and any study of the forward march of humanity during that era cannot avoid their names and achievements.
It is worth noting that the more people pursue what they call the "absolute" truth, the more they realize that it is impossible to analyze history or evaluate those who led it forward using simple concepts of good and evil. Those recognized as politicians or "great" leaders are not necessarily good people, and the figures selected in this book are no exception: Peter the Great was an extremely cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant, as Marx said, "he subdued Russia with barbarity." Alexander the Great, as well as Napoleon, is remembered largely because they were conquerors. Richelieu, during his time of relentless taxation and insatiable greed, died when national taxes had already been pre-collected for three years. Louis XIV, though undoubtedly a talented and ambitious ruler, was also extravagant and wasteful, engaging in endless military campaigns and lavish spending. His seventy-two-year reign was also the period when French power and the monarchy declined from its peak to gradual decline. All these political figures—General de Gaulle and Mahatma Gandhi being perhaps the exceptions—were difficult for later generations to judge as simply good or bad. Regardless, they were fortunate to stand before the opportunities offered by history and their times, and ultimately seized them, thereby influencing the course of history and changing the lives and destinies of millions. As Nixon metaphorically put it: When the curtain falls on a play, the audience exits the theater one by one, returning to their normal lives; but when a leader's career ends and the curtain falls, the audience's own lives also change, and the course of history may undergo profound transformations.