久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

New book records triumphs, trials of ancient civilization to the present day

Updated: 2011-07-01 18:55

By Yu Wentao (China Daily)

  Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

New book records triumphs, trials of ancient civilization to the present day

The recorded history of 5,000 years of Chinese civilization is not just a national treasure but also opens the doors to an understanding of what is still an enigma to the West.

China: Images of a Civilization, published in English by the Foreign Languages Press, unveils the fascinating story of China through vivid illustrations and well researched facts.

The book falls neatly into two segments: pre- and post-1840 China.

While the first part dwells on the contributions of an advanced ancient civilization, the latter focuses on Chinese people's efforts to seek independence, freedom and dignity.

While most books couch the history of the nation in terms of class struggle, peasant rebellions and dynastic change, this book takes a more unorthodox approach.

It presents the formation, evolution and far-reaching influence of ancient China, which boasted not just the Four Great Inventions, namely, the compass, gunpowder, paper-making and printing, but also made seminal contributions to the making of silk, porcelain, herbal medicine, gardens and architecture.

Among the galaxy of thinkers, strategists, scientists, writers and artists who defined this period was the great thinker-philosopher Confucius (551-479 BC). Lun Yu (The Analects), the earliest Confucian classic, was a collection of his conversations and discourses recorded by his disciples.

Writer Cao Xueqin (1715-1763) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), meanwhile, was China's answer to Shakespeare, Balzac and Tolstoy. His unfinished masterpiece, A Dream of Red Mansions continues to engage scholars to this day.

The Opium War in 1840 was a defining event in Chinese history.

The British started the opium trade in the late 18th century to reduce their trade deficit with China. In March 1839, imperial commissioner Lin Zexu arrived in Guangzhou, confiscating and destroying in public some 20,000 chests of opium. Early in 1840, the British government decided on a military intervention to protect its trade interests and force China to open its doors to the West.

The Revolution of 1911 led by Dr Sun Yat-sen overthrew the 267-year rule of the Qing Dynasty and put an end to the feudal autocratic monarchy that had lasted more than 2,000 years.

Sun is remembered by Chinese in different parts of the world as a great pioneer of the Chinese democratic revolution.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the nation has made great strides.

China: Images of a Civilization devotes much space to detailing the nation's achievements since 1978, the start of reform and opening-up. On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong returned to the motherland. On Dec 20, 1999, China resumed its sovereignty over Macao. In 2001, China was formally admitted into the World Trade Organization. In 2008, China stunned the world with a spectacular Olympic Games. Two years later, came the Shanghai World Expo.

"China should do more for the world," says Xu Mingqiang, co-editor of the book and former editor-in-chief of the Foreign Languages Press.

He says the nation should borrow the best from the West while preserving its own heritage.

Michael J. Walsh, professor of the Sheridan Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, says the book is a publishing landmark and a must for those eager to learn more about the people, places and stories that make the Middle Kingdom a magical place that has roused the curiosity of so many over thousands of years.

主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美日韩视频一区三区二区 | 欧美成人精品第一区 | 久久久久久久久久久96av | 中国老妇另类xxxx | 欧美视频成人 | 亚洲一区二区免费 | 国产欧美另类久久久精品免费 | 亚洲欧美成人综合 | 亚洲图片一区二区三区 | 日韩a级一片 | 99在线视频播放 | 韩国一级特黄毛片大 | 国产午夜精品久久久久小说 | 亚洲精品日本 | 亚洲男人的天堂久久精品 | 91在线一区二区三区 | 天天综合天天看夜夜添狠狠玩 | 99久久一区二区精品 | 国产成人久久久精品一区二区三区 | 99免费在线观看视频 | 美女张开腿黄网站免费国产 | 亚洲综合色一区二区三区另类 | 特级淫片欧美高清视频蜜桃 | 视频精品一区二区 | 免费网站看v片在线香蕉 | 国产91精品一区二区 | 亚洲一级毛片免费看 | 美女流白浆网站 | 热99re久久精品这里都是免费 | 国产短视频精品一区二区三区 | 99精品在线观看 | 免费国产成人高清无线看软件 | 欧美国产日韩一区二区三区 | 日本成本人片 | 久久久久一 | 久久免费视频在线观看30 | 亚洲男同视频网站 | 欧美理论大片清免费观看 | 美国欧美一级毛片 | 久久精品视频一区 | 国产欧美日韩在线观看一区二区三区 |