The Middle Ages

Name: The Middle Ages
ISBN: 9787546329819

Guo FangJilin Publishing Group Co., Ltd. · ChinaApr 2017

3.8

Word count: 143K words
Chapters: 16
ISBN: 9787546329819

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Summary

Sometimes we believe this was a dark age, when the world was tormented by terrible plagues, frequent wars, and repeated raids. Clergy blamed people for corruption and loss of faith, calling their sins the root of all misfortune and declaring repentance the only way out—a way that offered only peace after death. Yet on the scorching, arid deserts, nomadic peoples, summoned by their prophet, seemed to rise up in an instant and establish a new hegemony. Unstoppable and irresistible, they left emperors helpless, and the ancient empire seemed to have reached its end. But there is another voice, telling us that in this age of despair people did not abandon hope; they did not wait passively for death but kept on living. In this age of knights warring on every side, this age when ecclesiastical and imperial power carried equal weight, this age of ceaseless legends and horror stories, the sun of a new era was slowly rising and, through the pervading darkness, shedding its first ray of dawn.

Editor's review

Medieval Era is the fruit of Professor Guo Fang's years of research. Focusing on the global history of the thousand years from 500 to 1500 CE, the book breaks with the traditional narrative framework that separates Chinese history from world history. Adopting a distinctive comparative-historical perspective, the author sets the development of China's Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties alongside contemporaneous civilizations—Europe, the Islamic world, India, and others—revealing the different choices civilizations made when facing similar challenges. The book's most outstanding value lies in its grand global vision: it attends not only to political and military history but also explores in depth the micro-mechanisms of civilizational interaction, including the spread of technology, trade networks, and the exchange of ideas. Its analysis of Eurasian integration during the Mongol Empire is especially compelling, showing the pivotal role of nomadic peoples in connecting Eastern and Western civilizations. Professor Guo Fang's writing combines scholarly rigor with readability, avoiding the obscurity of specialized works while retaining the depth of historical narrative. Particularly commendable is that, while presenting history's complexity, the book consistently reflects on the laws governing human social development, giving readers a solid historical dimension for understanding how the modern world took shape.

Who it's for

A good fit for

History enthusiasts interested in a global historical perspective
Advanced readers seeking to break out of national-history frameworks
Social science learners interested in comparative civilizational studies
General readers who want to understand medieval East-West interactions

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking only a single-country chronological narrative
Casual readers expecting popular, novelistic historical storytelling

Reading tips

Read the introduction first to grasp the author's core historical perspective and methodology
Read alongside an atlas to understand the influence of geography on civilizational development
The discussion questions at the end of each chapter deserve careful thought and can sharpen historical thinking

About the publisher

Jilin Publishing Group Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 2003

Jilin Publishing Group Co., Ltd. focuses on fine fiction, social sciences, literary appreciation, history, classical poetry and classical literature, with 1,141 titles in the library. Representative books include Dan Simmons's science fiction novels Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, Freud's works on psychology and society such as The Ego and the Id and Group Psychology, and classical literature ranging from Laozi and Zhuangzi, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Three Hundred Poems of the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties to Lü Simian's A General History of China. Its authors include Dan Simmons, Freud, Laozi, Lü Simian, Hengtang Tuishi, Pan Zhenhua, Li Yi and Guan Shanming, reflecting a balance between translated works and domestic editions. Public information is limited; the above is based on the library's holdings.

前言
Chapter 1 帝国余晖
Chapter 2 国王执政官（1）
Chapter 2 国王执政官（2）
Chapter 3 第二罗马（1）
Chapter 3 第二罗马（2）
Chapter 3 第二罗马（3）
Chapter 4 阿拉伯帝国（1）
Chapter 4 阿拉伯帝国（2）
Chapter 5 新时代的足音（1）
Chapter 5 新时代的足音（2）
Chapter 5 新时代的足音（3）
Chapter 5 新时代的足音（4）
Chapter 6 东方文明（1）
Chapter 6 东方文明（2）
Chapter 7 孤单的文明

FAQ

How does this book's periodization of the medieval era differ from conventional textbooks?

The author adopts a global-historical periodization, treating the 5th to 15th centuries as a whole and emphasizing the synchronicity and interaction among civilizations, rather than using Chinese dynastic succession or the Western European Middle Ages as the sole standard.

Does the book include comparisons between China and surrounding regions?

Yes. The book devotes separate chapters to comparing the institutional innovations and cultural achievements of China during the Tang and Song with those of the contemporaneous Abbasid Caliphate in the Islamic world and the Vardhana dynasty in India, analyzing their mutual influences.

Can non-specialist readers understand the book's content?

The author strikes a good balance between scholarship and accessibility, explaining key concepts in plain terms; readers do, however, need a basic sense of historical chronology.

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About the author

Guo Fang Author · Chinese · 1948

Guo Fang, born in 1948 and a native of Beijing, is a research fellow and doctoral supervisor at the Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and formerly vice chairman of the Chinese Society for the Study of Ancient and Medieval World History. He has long been engaged in research on and translation of world history, especially European history. His works concentrate on social and cultural history and world history, addressing themes such as the transition from antiquity to feudalism, turning points in European history, and the rise of great powers, while also attending to the overall course of human civilization. Besides monographs including The Formation of the Modern English State and Ancient Democracy and Republican Institutions, he has translated The Modern World-System and A History of Europe, and contributed to the compilation of A Global History and A Visible World History. His works in the library number 26. Public information on his personal career is limited, and this profile relies only on confirmed library data.