Letters from Persia

Author: Montesquieu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-12-01
Features: The Letters of a Persian was published in 1721, taking about ten years from 1709 to 1720 to and write. The entire book consists of over one hundred and sixty letters, mainly composed of communications between two Persians, Usbek and Rica, during their travels in Europe, especially in France, with people back in Persia, as well as their exchanges when they were apart, and their communications with a few Persian expatriates and diplomats living abroad. Epistolary novels were very popular in France in the 18th century. This book can be considered both a travelogue and a political treatise, or a philosophical novel, laying the foundation for the philosophical novel genre that was unique to 18th-century French literature. Even just considering the story of the inner courtyard, The Letters of a Persian is a decent work. However, the inner courtyard story that runs throughout the book is by no means the central focus of the entire work. The central focus of The Letters of a Persian is on the West, particularly on France. Montesquieu, through the observations and comments of Usbek, who embodies democratic and progressive ideas, expresses his own views and opinions on fundamental issues such as society, politics, government, law, and religion. The story of the inner courtyard was actually just a pretext to conceal these views and opinions from censorship. In this book, the author, in the form of letters, uses the voices of two Persians to make detailed observations and outstanding critiques of French society at the time. These two points are also what we—the several authors of this book—have strived to achieve when discussing the concept of law in China. Interestingly, Montesquieu, back then, used the names of two Persian nobles to critique France from an Eastern perspective. Two hundred and sixty years later, we, on the other hand, have used the eyes of several young Parisians to make a serious observation of Chinese society from the perspective of the concept of law. The eleven letters included in this book are the work of "them."