Myriad Rivers and Seas: The Turning Points and Development of Chinese History and Culture

Author: Xu Zongyuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: The River of a Million Years is the crystallization of Xu Zongyuan's lifelong wisdom and an innovative interpretation of the development of Chinese culture! This book uses the expansion of river basins to metaphorically describe the progress of culture, starting from the geographical space where Chinese culture began, discussing the diverse development and fragmentation of Chinese culture in prehistoric times, and then detailing the gradual expansion of Chinese culture into the world system through continuous conflict and integration. Finally, the book concludes with the "century of stumbling" faced by Chinese culture under the pressure of Western capitalist imperialism. The River of a Million Years spans nearly 270,000 words, covering an extremely rich range of topics, including folk life, beliefs, literature and art, the evolution of economies and societies, the development of science and technology, and cultural exchanges. The text reveals both macroscopic insights from an aerial perspective and detailed descriptions of everyday life. The book uses the expansion of river basins to metaphorically describe the progress of culture, starting from the geographical space where Chinese culture began, discussing the diverse development and fragmentation of Chinese culture in prehistoric times, and then detailing the gradual expansion of Chinese culture into the world system through continuous conflict and integration. The book concludes with the "century of stumbling" faced by Chinese culture under the pressure of Western capitalist imperialism. It covers a rich range of topics, including folk life, beliefs, etc. More importantly, the book not only breaks free from Sinocentrism but also emphasizes the perspective of ordinary people and comparative studies of large regional cultures. It often interprets the diverse and complex development of Chinese culture from a global cultural viewpoint. Its broad perspective and expansive thinking are unparalleled in related works. The book primarily introduces the natural geography that gave rise to Chinese culture, human activities during the Paleolithic era, and comparative studies of ancient Chinese culture and ancient Mesopotamian culture.