A Concise History of Human Civilization: The World through Chinese Eyes (Volume 1 & 2) (Bilingual edition)
本書特別適合中學(xué)生、大學(xué)生及對(duì)中外歷史有興趣的讀者閱讀。
History is the record of the inheritance of human civilization. Studying history not only enables us to know the present by looking at the past but also heightens our understanding of and concern for humanistic activities. The education system in Hong Kong separates Chinese history and World history into two unrelated subjects. However, no country in the world is totally isolated whose history could be impervious to the influence of other nations. We must comprehensively take into full account these relationships and their process of development.
A matrix is used in this book to present the rather complicated historical materials of human history, with the vertical axis representing the Chinese civilization and the horizontal axis those of other nations, in an attempt to reconstruct a comparatively complete picture so as to present to the reader the origin of our ancestors and the progress of humankind. The history encompassed is vast and comprehensive, from prehistory to that of Modern times, from China to the world, from the origin of human civilization to the rise and fall of dynasties. This is, in scope, a world history for the general reader.
The book is especially suitable for secondary school and university students as well as people interested in Chinese and world history.
這不是一本按照既定課程編寫的教科書,也不是一本以趣味性為招徠的消閒書籍。這是一本比較全面地和系統(tǒng)地介紹人類文明進(jìn)程的歷史書。它以中國(guó)為經(jīng)、世界其他地區(qū)為緯,並配以大量地圖,嘗試把人類錯(cuò)綜複雜的歷史整合起來(lái),構(gòu)成一幅比較完整的圖畫,讓讀者看到我們的先祖是怎樣走過(guò)來(lái)的。
筆者知道,這是一項(xiàng)艱巨的工程。要跨越的時(shí)空實(shí)在是太大了,要概括的資料實(shí)在是太多了,因此,這本書難免不會(huì)給予讀者一個(gè)紛亂和零碎的感覺(jué)。這不是一本易寫的書,也不是一本易讀的書。但願(yuàn)對(duì)歷史感興趣的讀者會(huì)把它放在案頭,不時(shí)翻閱。
筆者希望這本書能令讀者明白,任何一個(gè)地方的歷史都不是孤立地發(fā)展起來(lái)的。它無(wú)時(shí)無(wú)刻不在影響著其他地區(qū),同時(shí)也受到其他地方歷史的影響。自古以來(lái),人類一直都在互動(dòng):不但人與人之間時(shí)有聯(lián)繫,種族與種族之間也是往還不斷的。
這些年來(lái),筆者一直都在注視著書店的書架,渴望找到一本比較中肯地概括幾個(gè)主要文化的普及版世界歷史書籍,但所見(jiàn)的都是從西方角度寫成的「世界歷史」。它們無(wú)一例外,都給予北非、西南亞、南亞、東南亞和東亞極少篇幅,甚至把它們完全忽視了。本書嘗試比較合理地處理這個(gè)問(wèn)題,但為了矯正過(guò)去百多年來(lái)的偏見(jiàn),本書會(huì)特別著重中國(guó)。
香港的中學(xué)課程一向都把中國(guó)歷史和世界歷史截然劃分為兩個(gè)互不統(tǒng)屬的科目。本世紀(jì)初,筆者曾經(jīng)多次會(huì)見(jiàn)當(dāng)?shù)氐男iL(zhǎng)和教師,鼓勵(lì)他們嘗試把中史和世史合併為一科。校長(zhǎng)的反應(yīng)一般不錯(cuò),但教師大都面有難色。教中史的說(shuō),他沒(méi)有修過(guò)世史;教世史的說(shuō),他對(duì)中史認(rèn)識(shí)不深。
在香港,歷史從來(lái)不是一門受歡迎的科目,近年更受到教育界無(wú)意的忽視或有意的踐踏,以致選修歷史的學(xué)生越來(lái)越少,港人對(duì)歷史的認(rèn)識(shí)也越來(lái)越薄弱。這是很可悲的。不知過(guò)去,難言將來(lái):在上位者,領(lǐng)導(dǎo)無(wú)方;在下位者,無(wú)所適從。問(wèn)題會(huì)因此而起:小者錯(cuò)失良機(jī),大者造成災(zāi)難。唐太宗說(shuō)得好:「以銅為鏡,可以正衣冠;以古為鏡,可以知興替;以人為鏡,可以明得失?!刮覀?cè)跄懿欢嘧x一點(diǎn)歷史?
筆者本科修讀的是地理,不是歷史。雖然任職中學(xué)時(shí)教過(guò)中史,最近又和陳慕華合作,出版了拔萃男書院的校史,但始終是歷史科的門外漢。也許正因?yàn)槭情T外漢,才有一股儍勁,不自量力,扛起這項(xiàng)沒(méi)有多少人願(yuàn)意做的工作??尚抑形陌婷媸泪?,讀者的反應(yīng)一般不錯(cuò)。
(Contents of Volume I)
(上冊(cè)目錄)
Prehistory
史前篇
01 Out of Primal Chaos
混沌初開(kāi)
02 Evolution of the Universe
萬(wàn)物衍生
03 The Stone Age
石器時(shí)代
04 Human Species and Languages
人種、語(yǔ)言和文字
The Ancient Period
古代篇
05 The Four Great Civilizations
四大文明
06 Africa and the Americas in the Early Times
早期的非洲和美洲
07 Hellenistic Civilization
希臘文明
08 Periods of the Spring-Autumn and the Warring States
春秋戰(zhàn)國(guó)
09 The Founding and Spread of Buddhism
佛教的創(chuàng)立和傳播
10 The Qin Dynast
秦朝
11 The Han Dynasty
漢朝
12 The Roman Empire
羅馬帝國(guó)
13 Jewish Civilization and the Founding and Spread of Christianity
猶太文明與基督教的創(chuàng)立和傳播
14 Science and Technology before the Common Era
公元前的科技
15 Literature and the Arts before the Common Era
公元前的文藝
16 The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and the Split of Christianity
羅馬帝國(guó)的衰亡和基督教的分裂
17 Wei-Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties: Split in the Country
魏晉南北朝:國(guó)家的分裂
18 Wei-Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties: National and Cultural Integration
魏晉南北朝:民族和文化的融和
The Middle Ages
中世紀(jì)篇
19 Sui-Tang and the Five Dynasties
隋唐五代
20 Korea and Japan in the Early Times
早期的朝鮮和日本
21 Southeast Asia in the Early Times
早期的東南亞
22 The Song Dynasty
宋朝
23 The Founding and Spread of Islam and the Rise of the Arab Empire
伊斯蘭教的創(chuàng)立和傳播與阿拉伯帝國(guó)的崛起
24 Europe in the Early and High Periods of the Middle Ages
中世紀(jì)前期和中期的歐洲
25 The Rise of Russia
俄國(guó)的崛起
26 The Mongol Empire encompassing Europe and Asia
橫跨歐亞的蒙古帝國(guó)
27 The Ming Dynasty
明朝
28 Europe in the Late Middle Ages
中世紀(jì)後期的歐洲
29 Cultural Developments before the Renaissance
文藝復(fù)興前的文化發(fā)展
30 The Renaissance in Europe
歐洲的文藝復(fù)興
The Early Modern Period
近代篇
31 The Protestant Reformation
基督教的改革
32 International Trade and Voyages of Discovery
國(guó)際貿(mào)易與航海大發(fā)現(xiàn)
33 Sea Hegemony and the Scramble for Colonies
海上霸權(quán)和殖民地爭(zhēng)奪戰(zhàn)
34 Africa and South Asia during the Colonial Period
殖民地時(shí)期的非洲和南亞
35 Southeast Asia and Australasia during the Colonial Period
殖民地時(shí)期的東南亞和大洋洲
36 The Early Qing Period
清朝前期
37 The Enlightenment in Europe
歐洲的啟蒙時(shí)期
38 The First Industrial Revolution
第一次工業(yè)革命
39 The American War of Independence
美國(guó)獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)
40 The French Revolution
法國(guó)大革命
41 The Meiji Restoration in Japan
日本明治維新
42 The Late Qing Period
清朝後期