Civilization and Barbarism (New Edition) -- Cultural Life Translation Series

Author: Luwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-07
Features: The book "Civilization and Barbarism" introduces how early Bolivian Indians ate honey, using a thing like a brush for shaving, licking a bit and passing it to you, and you licking a bit and passing it to him. In the gourd, there was a pile of mashed fruit. Whoever wanted to eat, scooped it up, chewed a couple of times, and then threw it back into the gourd. Why bother asking if there was someone else's saliva? The dining etiquette of Uganda in East Africa is considered the most refined among barbarians. Before and after eating, one had to wash their hands. But without knives and forks, a group of people would gather around a large pot, pinch a piece of food with their thumb, roll it into a small ball, and send it to their mouths. Especially when drinking soup, the requirements were very strict: one couldn’t burn their fingers, nor could they splash the soup around.
Early medicine was also very interesting. The topics of doctoral dissertations from the Paris Medical College included:
① Whether air is more essential than food;
② Whether clean water is more beneficial than wine;
③ Whether women suffering from love sickness should be bled;
④ Whether drinking alcohol once a month is beneficial;
⑤ Whether beautiful women have more offspring;
⑥ Whether women are more promiscuous than men;
⑦ Whether the more promiscuous a woman is, the more fertile she becomes?
According to another book, "The Historical Background of the Italian Renaissance," literature flourished in Italy after it became prosperous, and it was no longer shameful for monarchs to attend poetry recitals. But in Germany, monarchs were more concerned with horses and dogs rather than poets and writers. Therefore, they did not understand literature, and when they died, they were almost as forgettable as their livestock, leaving little worth remembering.