"Customs (Middle Volume)"

Author: Voltaire (French), translated by Liang Shouqing et al.
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-08-01
Features: This is a monumental and epic work that focuses on religious issues while delving into various aspects of culture, highlighting the arduous journey of humanity from ignorance to civilization. The book uses numerous facts to expose the darkness and corruption of the Church, opposing religious fanaticism, persecution, and sectarian strife. With sharp prose and grandeur, it spans thousands of years and traverses several continents, presenting a magnificent panorama of the spirit and customs of important nations around the world. The book narrates complex historical events, capturing their essence and extracting their essence; it portrays characters vividly and skillfully uses concise brushstrokes to depict social dynamics and historical landscapes. It is not only a valuable academic classic for historians but also a must-read for general readers interested in world history. Discourse on Customs focuses on the customs of different peoples while also studying the underlying national spirit and mentality behind these customs. Therefore, this historical work is not merely a chronicle of dynasties, politics, or events. In a sense, it can even be considered a precursor to the contemporary French Annales School, where we can find the seeds of later social science methodologies. Voltaire explicitly states in the book: "My main idea is to understand as much as possible the customs of different peoples and to study the human spirit. I regard the succession of kings as a guiding thread rather than the purpose of writing history." Law, art, and customs are the main subjects of this book. Thus, it is not a strict chronicle or genealogy. As a more personalized teaching method, he did not even deliberately consult a large number of books to clarify details but instead attempted to provide the world with a general outline. The author of Discourse on Customs also shows a strong interest in and an egalitarian attitude toward non-Western civilizations. He dedicates considerable space to discussing the culture of non-Western worlds, often with a tone of praise, especially when introducing China, where he expresses great enthusiasm. He mentions that in other countries, law is used to punish crimes, while in China, it plays a greater role in rewarding good deeds. He points out that in ancient times, the Chinese were already quite advanced, but he also raises the question: why did China remain at this stage for so long? Why, despite its ancient astronomy, did China achieve so little in this field? Why did they still not know about semitones in music? In his view, these people, so different from Westerners, seemed to be endowed by nature with organs that could easily discover what they needed but could not progress further. We, on the other hand, acquired knowledge late but quickly perfected everything. He speculates that there might be two reasons: one is the Chinese people's inexplicable reverence for what their ancestors left behind, believing that everything ancient is perfect, and the other lies in the nature of their language. Regarding later academic criticism of Discourse on Customs, Moroia considers it "a mixed bag of praise and criticism." There are still many factual errors in the book, some of which the author is hard-pressed to deny, while others are unavoidable, as the truth was not yet clear at the time. Montesquieu said that Voltaire's purpose in writing history was to glorify his own sect, that is, to promote his secular religion. Voltaire wanted to prove that Boussuet's explanation of world history in the name of God's will was wrong, arguing that history should not be explained by original causes but by the blind play of many small causes. He denied all supernatural phenomena, and it can be said that drawing this line was very meaningful for the independent development of historiography. However, he sometimes believed that the past of humanity was a continuous series of sins and suffering, and that the confusion could soon be cleared up by reason, which was perhaps too pessimistic about the past and too optimistic about the future. Nevertheless, regardless of anything else, we can quote one sentence from the book to describe it: "A person who thinks deeply will always inspire others to think."