Makes meaningful connections be
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xi
Introduction 1
Maps 4
Timeline 7
1 The Paradox of Agriculture and its Impact on China and Western Civilization 8
The Oldest Paradox 8
Chinese Agriculture 13
The First Chinese Dynasties 19
Roman Agriculture 30
Italian Agriculture 31
Egypt 37
The Levant and Mesopotamia 41
Greece 43
Overview of the Roman Economy 46
Notes 49
2 Ancient Philosophy: Chinese versus Western 52
The Chinese Quest for Stability 54
Implementing Legalism: Li Si and the Qin Dynasty 65
The Han Dynasty 67
The Greek Worldview: Part One—the Problem 69
The Greek Worldview: Part Two—the Quest for a Solution 71
The Roman Worldview 79
The Kosmopolite 83
Christianity 84
Notes 92
3 The Nomads 96
Two Incompatible Lifestyles: Nomads versus Farmers 96
The Persistent Nomadic Threat, Cannon, and China’s Three Main Issues 99
The Silk Road: Revelation of a Deadly Paradox of Culture 109
Loyalty, the State, and Paradise Lost 112
An Era of Chaos 116
The Fall of Rome 118
Chinese Potential for Reunification versus Western Fragmentation 120
Notes 123
4 Contrasting Medieval China and Europe 126
Unexpected Consequences 126
Revisiting the Paradox of Agriculture 128
The Sui Dynasty (581–618) 130
The Tang Dynasty (618–906) and the Rejuvenation of China 133
The Song (960–1279): The Golden Age Continues 140
A Nomadic Interlude 145
Evolution of Feudalism during the Fall of Rome 149
Medieval Agriculture: The Rise of Feudalism 152
The Late Middle Ages (1300–1500) 159
Contrasting Systems: A Unified China versus a Fragmented Europe 164
Notes 165
5 China and Medieval Europe: Cultural Orthodoxy and Creativity 169
The Economy, Administration, and Formation of a Chinese Orthodoxy 172
Foundations of a Medieval European Orthodoxy 180
A Revival of Learning: The Medieval Orthodoxy 189
Conclusions 203
Notes 204
6 The Nomad Apogee of Power 207
The Paradox of Culture Springs a Trap 207
Mongol Conquest and Rule 210
The Yuan Dynasty: A Century of Uneven Rule 221
The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) 223
The Qing: The Second Nomadic Regime to Rule China (1644–1911) 231
Notes 244
7 Modernization 251
Germanic Europe during the Early Middle Ages 254
China does not Modernize: The Pitfalls of Tradition 286
Conclusion 296
Notes 297
Select Bibliography 301
Index 309
