Humans gather and modern civilization

Author: Xia Jun, Ma Xiheng, et al.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: We seem to or overlook a tendency related to human behavior and human activities, which differs from the gregariousness of certain animals and is instead a socially conscious, dynamic process unique to humans—human convergence. Human convergence is not only one of the fundamental laws of human activities but also aligns with the trajectory of civilization's development and is fully reflected in the world today. Therefore, it is necessary to explore it as a fundamental law of human activities. Due to various constraints, directly implementing this idea is currently challenging. Thus, the idea of starting with Shanghai, a highly densely populated megacity, to explore this issue concretely emerged. Human convergence is closely related to specific spaces and resources. The process is reflected in density, while the effects are manifested in human production and life, psychology and behavior, social forms and mechanisms, as well as institutions and culture. From the perspective of Shanghai's urban development history and its role in contemporary China's modernization process, the city is quite typical for studying the aforementioned issues, making it, to a certain extent, a model. This book uses the Shanghai model as a mirror to elaborate on the correlation between human convergence and the development of modern civilization in nine chapters.