The Soul of China: An Interpretation of Chinese History

"The Soul of China" by Amaury de Riencourt is a philosophical analysis of Chinese history from the second millennium BC to the present. Beginning with the Shang Dynasty which originated the first elements of Chinese higher culture, the author encompasses all successive epochs of China's evolution, resulting in the longest continuous civilisation in history. He draws comparison with other ancient and emerging cultures and civilisations and includes the violent Mongol invasion under Genghis and Kublai Khan. The fatal collision with the West contributed to the collapse of the old civilisation, the spread of the Marxist -Leninist ideology and the unification of China under Communism. De Riencourt then analyses the collapse of the Communist Party's structure and the reconstruction of China. The Soul of China Contents Introduction THE CHINESE MYSTERY CHINA AS A “TERMINATED” RATHER THAN “ARRESTED” ENTITY TOWARD A PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION part one THE MAKING OF CHINA 1 “Medieval” China SHANG: THE HEROIC AGE THE IDEOGRAPHIC SCRIPT: PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND THE CHOU INVASIONS AND THE BIRTH OF FEUDALISM THE I-CHING: ITS METAPHYSICS FROM NATURE-RELIGION TO PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY SHAPING OF THE CHINESE MIND: CAUSALITY AND SYNCHRONIZATION RELIGION AND MAGIC FROM PRIESTS TO SCHOLARS 2 The Spring and Autumn CHINA’S “AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT” CONFUCIUS AND THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF CULTURE ANCESTOR WORSHIP AND HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS CHINESE MUSIC CONFUCIUS AND THE SOCIAL MAN LAO TZU AND THE UNSOCIAL INDIVIDUAL: MYSTIC AND ARTIST CHINESE PAINTING: LANDSCAPE AND PORTRAIT ARCHITECTURE AND GARDENING 3 The Twilight of Culture FROM CULTURE TO CIVILIZATION CHINA’S “POST-SOCRATIC” PHILOSOPHERS CHINA'S “MODERN AGE”: THE BREAKDOWN OF FEUDALISM RISE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS AND OF NATIONALISMS INDEPENDENT STATES, DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AND THE BALANCE OF POWER THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE LEGALISTS LEAGUES OF NATIONS AND DISARMAMENT CONFERENCES CHINA ENTERS THE WARRING STATES ERA (403 B.c.) TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS, NATIONAL WARS AND CONSCRIPTION, SOCIAL REVOLUTIONS, COLLAPSE OF THE ARISTOCRACY THE RISE OF CAESARISM UNIFICATION OF THE CHINESE WORLD (221 2.3.) 4 The Universal Empire THE ‘‘FIRST UNIVERSAL EMPEROR” STANDARDIZATION AND THOUGHT-CONTROL: THE BURNING OF THE BOOKS RISE OF THE HAN DYNASTY; FROM NATIONALISM TO UNIVERSALISM CHINESE POLITICAL CONCEPTS REBIRTH OF CONFUCIANISM AND THE NEW SOCIAL ORDER THE MANDARIN SYSTEM; ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL ROOTS SOCIALISM IN CHINA 5 The Chinese Mind CONCRETE AND SYNTHETIC NATURE OF THE CHINESE MIND THE STRUCTURE OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHIC THOUGHT THOUGHT AND ACTION, SCIENCE AND “ETIQUETTE” CHINESE CONCEPTION OF TIME AND SPACE YIN AND YANG; CHINESE SYMBOLISM THE TAO; DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CHINESE AND THE INDIAN WORLD-OUTLOOKS CHINESE MATHEMATICS; QUANTITY AND QUALITY; EMBLEMATIC NUMBERS CHINESE SCIENCE AND MODERN PHYSICS RATIONALISM AND HUMANISM RITES AND MUSIC 6 The Winter of Civilization LAW IN CHINA CRYSTALLIZATION OF CHINESE CULTURE THE COMING OF BUDDHISM; ITS METAMORPHOSIS IN CHINA THE T'ANGS AND THE SUNGS NEO-CONFUCIANISM: THE FINAL SYNTHESIS CHINESE CIVILIZATION PETRIFIES part two CHINA AND ASIA 7 The Moonlight Civilizations RISE OF THE MOONLIGHT CIVILIZATIONS SOUTH CHINA AND SOUTH INDIA AS MOONLIGHT CIVILIZATIONS THE BIRTH OF JAPAN THE JAPANESE CHARACTER; SHINTO ZEN BUDDHISM CHINESE INFLUENCE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA THE MONGOLIAN HURRICANE: GHENGIS KHAN AND KUBILAI GEOPOLITICAL TRANSFORMATION OF ASIA: DECLINE OF THE MONGOLS AND THE RISE OF RUSSIAN SIBERIA part three CHINA AND EUROPE 8 The Spiritual Impact of the West EUROPE’S GOTHIC AGE: THE BIRTH OF A NEW CULTURE MEDIEVAL CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES THE JESUITS IN CHINA CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN MODERN TIMES THE T’AI PING REBELLION THE FAILURE OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA 9 The Intellectual Impact of the West IMPACT OF WESTERN TECHNOLOGICAL POWER THE IMPACT OF SCIENTIFIC HISTORIOGRAPHY ON CHINA INTELLECTUAL EVOLUTION OF THE WEST HEGEL HEGEL AND ASIAN THOUGHT FEUERBACH AND MARX MARXISM AND LENINISM THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND ASIA part four CHINA AND THE WORLD 10 The Collapse of Chinese Civilization JAPAN: METAMORPHOSIS OF A MOONLIGHT CIVILIZATION JAPANESE PHILOSOPHIC THOUGHT IN THE MEIJI ERA CHINA: THE COLLAPSE OF AN OLD CIVILIZATION SUN YAT-SEN AND THE REVOLUTION OF 1911 THE FLOUNDERING REPUBLIC THE LITERARY REVOLUTION: CULTURAL DISINTEGRATION THE GREAT SOCIAL PROBLEM: THE RURAL MASSES 11 In Search of a New Philosophy PEASANTS AND SCHOLARS BREAKDOWN OF CONFUCIAN ORTHODOXY AND THE SEARCH FOR A NEW ONE INTELLECTUAL CONSERVATIVES, MODERNISTS AND MARXISTS INTELLECTUAL FAILURE OF THE WEST: RUSSELL AND DEWEY THE INTELLECTUAL IMPACT OF MARXISM-LENINISM BIRTH OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY AND RISE OF THE KUOMINTANG UNIVERSALISM VERSUS NATIONALISM INTELLECTUALS AND THE PROLETARIAT 12 Rise and Fall of the Kuomintang COMMUNIST-KUOMINTANG ALLIANCE; THE NORTHERN EXPEDITION BREAKUP OF THE COMMUNIST-KUOMINTANG ALLIANCE CHIANG KAI-SHEK’S CHINA COLLAPSE OF PROLETARIAN COMMUNISM IN URBAN AREAS RISE OF THE AGRARIAN MARXISTS: THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE MAO TSE-TUNG THE JAPANESE INVASION DETERIORATION OF THE KUOMINTANG’S LEADERSHIP 13 Red China THE BASIC PREDETERMINATION OF EVENTS IN THE FAR EAST) WESTERN POLICY IN THE FAR EAST SOVIET RUSSIA AND CHINESE COMMUNISM CHINESE COMMUNIST POLICY AFTER THE WAR THE COMMUNIST VICTORY MARXISM AND CHINA’S TRADITIONAL CULTURE THOUGHT CONTROL, PAST AND PRESENT FIRST YEARS OF THE COMMUNIST REGIME THE NEW DEMOCRACY AND THE END OF THE GENTRY TRANSITION TO SOCIALISM: THE FIRST FIVE-YEAR PLAN, NATIONALIZATION OF PRIVATE INDUSTRY, AND COLLECTIVIZATION OF AGRICULTURE THE HUNDRED FLOWERS. AFTERMATH SUPPRESSION OF THE NATIONAL MINORITIES THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD. THE COMMUNES RED CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY PEKING AGAINST MOSCOW: THE FUNDAMENTAL SCHISM RED CHINA AND THE UNDERDEVELOPED WORLD 14 Today and Tomorrow RED CHINA AND THE FUTURE OF THE FAR EAST ANTI-WESTERN FEELINGS IN CHINA CHINESE MARXISM AND MAGIC RED CHINA AND WESTERN CIVILIZATION Notes and References Bibliography Index