A Chinese menu
| AN OUTSIDERS VIEW |
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| Ken Fuller |
Among the many books this outsider shipped to the Philippines when he moved here permanently in 2003 was a two-volume English translation of A History of Chinese Civilization, by the French historian and sinologist Jacques Gernet. This was one of several large books purchased but, due to the pressures of the day job, not actually read at the time.
A few months ago, I read the first volume and then decided to take a breather. It hadn’t been particularly heavy going, simply that the period from antiquity until the demise of the Mongol empire was so unfamiliar to me, as were the names of the major historical figures populating these millennia, that I found I was retaining very little. It was, then, with a sense of duty rather than pleasurable anticipation that a few days ago I approached the second volume. Surprisingly, I zipped through it in no time at all, so although remembering the names was still a problem, the last 500 or so years of Chinese history must have struck me as more relevant.
Often when reading such a work, I will be struck by a certain phrase or fact and find myself asking whether the readers of this column would find it interesting. Hopefully you will, because this is all that’s on the menu this week..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110802com4.html
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