Within the World
Tags
Summary
From China's remote antiquity to the late Qing, this book selects ten little-known yet profoundly influential episodes of history, hoping to show readers one fact: China is a China shaped jointly by the diverse forces of the world.
This book has a grand vision, a unique perspective, extraordinary insights, and sound argumentation. It integrates numerous theories from political science, economics, international relations, and archaeology, spanning five thousand years, and presents to us many important historical scenes that were once overlooked.
Editor's review
From an editorial perspective, the core value of this book lies in its strong "problem consciousness" and interdisciplinary integration. Zhang Xiaoyu abandons the conventional paths of national history or chronological history, using the "hub" as a thread to reconnect historical fragments from Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean world, the Eurasian steppe, and the Indian Ocean trade network. He explores why "here" rather than "there" became the crucible of civilizational collision and innovation. This approach bears traces of geographical determinism while transcending it, emphasizing the dynamic formation and transfer of hubs and the agency of people within them. For readers weary of fragmented knowledge or a single linear view of history, this book offers a highly inspiring, even subversive, holistic perspective. Reading it is like drawing a dynamic topological map of civilization, deepening our understanding of history while providing a profound historical coordinate system for examining the dilemmas and future of today's globalized world.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers with a strong interest in macro-historical narrative and comparative civilizational studies
- Intellectual explorers seeking to break through traditional frameworks of historical writing and find new explanatory models
- Social science enthusiasts concerned with globalization, geopolitics, and civilizational exchange
- Readers who enjoy big-history works such as Sapiens and Guns, Germs, and Steel
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking detailed chronological accounts of specific historical events
- Academic-minded readers expecting rigorous source criticism and evidence-based historiography
Reading tips
- It is recommended to read the introduction first to understand the core hypotheses and overall framework of the "hub civilization theory" before proceeding to the chapters
- Readers may consult maps while reading to visualize the geographical locations and connectivity of the hub regions discussed
- Consider comparing the book's arguments with other historical theories you know; full acceptance is not required—the point is to stimulate critical thinking
About the publisher
Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 自序
- 第一章 中国为什么叫中国
- 中国文明的起点
- “中”的来历
- 陶寺为谁所毁
- 石峁从何而来
- 第二章 秦始皇崇拜亚历山大大帝吗？
- “秦制西来”说
- 十二金人的渊源
- 神秘的大夏
- 胡亥的身世
- 秦始皇从亚历山大大帝那里可能学到了些什么
- 结语：对古代中国的全新想象
- 第三章 道教是一种“弥赛亚”宗教？
- 道教的“弥赛亚”：李弘
- 道教的“弥赛亚主义”是外来因素吗？
- 得到过道教认可的“弥赛亚”领袖
- 第四章 匈汉原来是一家
- 投奔匈奴的中行说
- 匈奴的政权建设
- 复兴汉室的匈奴刘
- 结语：秦制的“往复活塞”运动
- 第五章 慕容复的真正仇家是高句丽
- 高句丽的来龙去脉
- 运筹帷幄，颠覆后燕
- 高句丽的灭亡
- 结语：东北亚方向的战略失误
- 第六章 粟特人与唐帝国的历史转向
- 谁是粟特人
- 军事、外交与经济的三重角色
- 扰乱两大帝国
- 结语：中亚的漫长诅咒
- 第七章 阿拉伯商人与宋代的财政国家进程
- 财政国家与政治现代化
- 两宋的财政国家化演进
- 阿拉伯商人与两宋的商贸与财政
- 结语：不理解商业活力的官僚
- 第八章 没有地理大发现就没有张居正的一条鞭法改革？
- 蒙古征服与“穷困的中国”
- 白银流入与一条鞭法
- “脱钩”与帝国的衰落
- 结语：看不见的因果
- 第九章 海外华人也曾“走向共和”？
- 罗芳伯与兰芳公司
- 是公司还是共和国
- 南洋华人的政治进化史
- 第十章 孙中山的老师主张建立现代财政国家
- 何启的家族与生平
- 《新政真诠》
- 财政合法性与大清亡国
- 结语
- 结语 “我们是谁”与“我们本可以”
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
FAQ
How does this book relate to the author's previous work, Technology and Civilization?
Is the "hub civilization theory" a form of geographical determinism?
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About the author
Zhang Xiaoyu is an author whose writing focuses on world history. Publicly available information about him is limited, and two works can be confirmed: Rebuilding the Continent: Reflections on Five Hundred Years of World Order and Within the World. Judging from the titles and their common classification, his writing centers on world history and historical reading, paying attention to the formation and evolution of the modern world order and reflecting on established historical narratives. He tends to adopt a long-term and holistic perspective, taking five hundred years of global change as his subject and discussing the relationships among continents, order, and civilization. His works are categorized as world history and historical reading and are intended for readers interested in broad historical questions. Since no reliable public information is available about his dates of birth and death, nationality, or educational background, no inferences are made here; readers may understand his work mainly through the themes and approaches of these two books.
