"Customs Theory (Part 1) - Ping (Translation of Famous Works from Chinese)"

Author: Voltaire (French), translated by Liang Shouqing
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: Customs of Nations focuses on the customs of various peoples while also exploring the underlying national spirit and mentality behind these customs. Therefore, this historical work is not merely a chronicle of dynasties, political history, or event history. In a sense, it can even be considered a precursor of the contemporary French Annales School, where we can find the seeds of many later social science methodologies. Voltaire explicitly states in the book: "My main idea is to understand the customs of various peoples as much as possible and to study the spirit of humanity. 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 approach, he did not deliberately consult numerous books to clarify details but instead attempted to provide a general outline of the world. The author of Customs of Nations 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 complimentary tone, particularly when introducing China, where he expresses great enthusiasm. He mentions that in other countries, law is used to punish crimes, while in China, its role is greater, rewarding virtuous behavior. He points out that ancient Chinese people were already quite advanced, but he also raises the question: Why did China remain at this stage for so long? Why was astronomy so ancient in China yet its achievements so limited? Why did they still not know about half-tones in music? In his view, these people, so different from Westerners, seemed to be naturally endowed with organs that could easily discover what they needed but could not progress further. We, on the other hand, acquired knowledge late but quickly brought everything to perfection. 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 is the nature of their language.
Regarding later academic criticism of Customs of Nations, Moroah argues that it "can be said to be a mix of praise and blame." There are still many factual errors in the book, some of which the author is hard-pressed to excuse, while others are unavoidable, as the truth of the matter was not yet clear at that time. Montesquieu said that Voltaire's purpose in writing history was to glorify his own sect, i.e., to promote his secular religion. Voltaire wanted to prove that Bochart's explanation of the world's history through the will of God was wrong, believing that history should not be explained by original causes but by the blind play of many small causes. He denies all supernatural phenomena. It should be said that drawing this line is very meaningful for the independent development of historiography. However, sometimes he believed that the history of humanity's past was a continuous chain of sin and suffering, and that chaos could soon be clarified by reason, which was perhaps too pessimistic about the past and too optimistic about the future.
Nevertheless, regardless of all this, we can quote one sentence from the book to describe it: "A thoughtful person will always inspire others to think."