The Story of Civilization, Volume 1: Our Oriental Heritage (India, China & More) for Kindle

The first volume of the expansive Pulitzer Prize-winning series The Story of Civilization. Discover a history of civilization in Egypt and the Near East to the Death of Alexander, and in India, China, and Japan from the beginning; with an introduction on the nature and foundations of civilization. This is the classic reference on world history, recognized as the most comprehensive general history ever written, the result of four decades of work by Will and Ariel Durant -- a set that The New York Times called "a splendid, broad panorama of hereditary culture in words and images that the layman can fully understand." This series began as an effort to write a history on the nineteenth century, an undertaking that Will Durant realized could only be understood in terms of what had come before. So the Durants embarked on an encyclopedic survey of all civilization, ancient and modern, Occidental and Oriental. Table of Contents:- The Establishment of Civilization Chapter 1: The Conditions of Civilization Chapter 2: The Economic Elements of Civilization 1. From Hunting to Tillage 2. The Foundations of Industry 3. Economic Organization Chapter 3: The Political Elements of Civilization 1. The Origins of Government 2. The State 3. Law 4. The Family Chapter 4: The Moral Elements of Civilization 1. Marriage 2. Sexual Morality 3. Social Morality 4. Religion 1. The Sources of Religion 2. The Objects of Religion 3. The Methods of Religion 4. The Moral Function of Religion Chapter 5: The Mental Elements of Civilization 1. Letters 2. Science 3. Art Chronological Chart: Types and Cultures of Prehistoric Man Chapter 6: The Prehistoric Beginnings of Civilization 1. Paleolithic Culture 1. Men of the Old Stone Age 2. Arts of the Old Stone Age 2. Neolithic Culture 3. The Transition to History 1. The Coming of Metals 2. Writing 3. Lost Civilizations 4. Cradles of Civilization Book I: The Near East Chronological Table of Near Eastern History Chapter 7: Sumeria 1. Elam 1. The Sumerians 1. The Historical Background 2. Economic Life 3. Government 4. Religion and Morality 5. Letters and Arts 3. Passage to Egypt Chapter 8: Egypt 1. The Gift of the Nile 1. In the Delta 2. Upstream 2. The Master Builders 1. The Discovery of Egypt 2. Prehistoric Egypt 3. The Old Kingdom 4. The Middle Kingdom 5. The Empire 3. The Civilization of Egypt 1. Agriculture 2. Industry 3. Government 4. Morals 5. Manners 6. Letters 7. Literature 8. Science 9. Art 10. Philosophy 11. Religion 4. The Heretic King 5. Decline and Fall Chapter 9: Babylonia 1. From Hammurabi to Nebuchadrezzar 2. The Toilers 3. The Law 4. The Gods of Babylon 5. The Morals of Babylon 6. Letters and Literature 7. Artists 9. Babylonian Science 9. Philosophers 10. Epitaph Chapter 10: Assyria 1. Chronicles 2. Assyrian Government 3. Assyrian Life 4. Assyrian Art 5. Assyria Passes Chapter 11: A Motley of Nations 1. The Indo-European Peoples 2. The Semitic Peoples Chapter 12: Judea 1. The Promised Land 2. Solomon in All His Glory 3. The God of Hosts 4. The First Radicals 5. The Death and Resurrection of Jerusalem 6. The People of the Book 7. The Literature and Philosophy of the Bible Chapter 13: Persia 1. The Rise and Fall of the Medes 2. The Great Kings 3. Persian Life and Industry 4. An Experiment in Government 5. Zarathustra 6. Zoroastrian Ethics 7. Persian Manners and Morals 8. Science and Art 9. Decadence Book II: India and Her Neighbors Chronological Table of Indian History Chapter 14: The Foundations of India 1. Scene of the Drama 2. The Oldest Civilization? 3. The Indo-Aryans 4. Indo-Aryan Society 5. The Religion of the Vedas 6. The Vedas as Literature 7. The Philosophy of the Upanishads Chapter 15: Buddha 1. The Heretics 2. Mahavira and the Jains 3. The Legend of Buddha 4. The Teaching of Buddha 5. The Last Days of Buddha Chapter 16: From Alexander to Aurangzeb 1. Chandragupta 2. The Philosopher-King 3. The Golden Age of India 4. Annals of Rajputana 5. The Zenith of the South 6. The Moslem Conquest 7. Akbar the Great 8. The Decline of the Moguls Chapter 17: The Life of the People 1. The Makers of Wealth 2. The Organization of Society 3. Morals and Marriage 4. Manners, Customs and Character Chapter 18: The Paradise of the Gods 1. The Later History of Buddhism 2. The New Divinities 3. Beliefs 4. Curiosities of Religion 5. Saints and Sceptics Chapter 19: The Life of the Mind 1. Hindu Science 2. The Six Systems of Brahmanical Philosophy 1. The Nyaya System 2. The Vaisheshika System 3. The Sankhya System 4. The Yoga System 5. The Purva Mimansa 6. The Vedanta System 3. The Conclusions of Hindu Philosophy Chapter 20: The Literature of India 1. The Languages of India 2. Education 3. The Epics 4. Drama 5. Prose and Poetry Chapter 21: Indian Art 1. The Minor Arts 2. Music 3. Painting 4. Sculpture 5. Architecture 1. Hindu Architecture 2. “Colonial” Architecture 3. Muslim Architecture in India 4. Indian Architecture and Civilization Chapter 22: A Christian Epilogue 1. The Jolly Buccaneers 2. Latter-Day Saints 3. Tagore 4. East Is West 5. The Nationalist Movement 6. Mahatma Gandhi 7. Farewell to India Book III: The Far East A. China Chronology of Chinese Civilization Chapter 23: The Age of the Philosophers 1. The Beginnings 1. Estimates of the Chinese 2. The Middle Flowery Kingdom 3. The Unknown Centuries 4. The First Chinese Civilization 5. The Pre-Confucian Philosophers 6. The Old Master 2. Confucius 1. The Sage in Search of a State 2. The Nine Classics 3. The Agnosticism of Confucius 4. The Way of the Higher Man 5. Confucian Politics 6. The Influence of Confucius 3. Socialists and Anarchists 1. Mo Ti, Altruist 2. Yang Chu, Egoist 3. Mencius, Mentor of Princes 4. Hsun-Tze, Realist 5. Chuang-Tze, Idealist Chapter 24: The Age of the Poets 1. China’s Bismarck 2. Experiments in Socialism 3. The Glory of T’ang 4. The Banished Angel 5. Some Qualities of Chinese Poetry 6. Tu Fu 7. Prose 8. The Stage Chapter 25: The Age of the Artists 1. The Sung Renaissance 1. The Socialism of Wang An-Shih 2. The Revival of Learning 3. The Rebirth of Philosophy 2. Bronzes, Lacquer and Jade 3. Pagodas and Palaces 4. Painting 1. Masters of Chinese Painting 2. Qualities of Chinese Painting 5. Porcelain Chapter 26: The People and the State 1. Historical Interlude 1. Marco Polo Visits Kublai Khan 2. The Ming and the Ch’ing 2. The People and Their Language 3. The Practical Life 1. In the Fields 2. In the Shops 3. Invention and Science 4. Religion Without a Church 5. The Rule of Morals 6. A Government Praised by Voltaire Chapter 27: Revolution and Renewal 1. The White Peril 2. The Death of a Civilization 3. Beginnings of a New Order B. Japan Chronology of Japanese Civilization Chapter 28: The Makers of Japan 1. The Children of the Gods 2. Primitive Japan 3. The Imperial Age 4. The Dictators 5. Great Monkey-Face 6. The Great Shogun Chapter 29: The Political and Moral Foundations 1. The Samurai 2. The Law 3. The Toilers 4. The People 5. The Family 6. The Saints 7. The Thinkers Chapter 30: The Mind and Art of Old Japan 1. Language and Education 2. Poetry 3. Prose 1. Fiction 2. History 3. The Essay 4. The Drama 5. The Art of Little Things 6. Architecture 7. Metals and Statues 8. Pottery 9. Painting 10. Prints 11. Japanese Art and Civilization Chapter 31: The New Japan 1. The Political Revolution 2. The Industrial Revolution 3. The Cultural Revolution 4. The New Empire Envoi: Our Oriental Heritage Introduction The Establishment of Civilization Chapter 1: The Conditions of Civilization Chapter 2: The Economic Elements of Civilization 1. From Hunting to Tillage 2. The Foundations of Industry 3. Economic Organization Chapter 3: The Political Elements of Civilization 1. The Origins of Government 2. The State 3. Law 4. The Family Chapter 4: The Moral Elements of Civilization 1. Marriage 2. Sexual Morality 3. Social Morality 4. Religion 1. The Sources of Religion 2. The Objects of Religion 3. The Methods of Religion 4. The Moral Function of Religion Chapter 5: The Mental Elements of Civilization 1. Letters 2. Science 3. Art Chronological Chart: Types and Cultures of Prehistoric Man Chapter 6: The Prehistoric Beginnings of Civilization 1. Paleolithic Culture 1. Men of the Old Stone Age 2. Arts of the Old Stone Age 2. Neolithic Culture 3. The Transition to History 1. The Coming of Metals 2. Writing 3. Lost Civilizations 4. Cradles of Civilization Book I: The Near East Chronological Table of Near Eastern History Chapter 7: Sumeria 1. Elam 1. The Sumerians 1. The Historical Background 2. Economic Life 3. Government 4. Religion and Morality 5. Letters and Arts 3. Passage to Egypt Chapter 8: Egypt 1. The Gift of the Nile 1. In the Delta 2. Upstream 2. The Master Builders 1. The Discovery of Egypt 2. Prehistoric Egypt 3. The Old Kingdom 4. The Middle Kingdom 5. The Empire 3. The Civilization of Egypt 1. Agriculture 2. Industry 3. Government 4. Morals 5. Manners 6. Letters 7. Literature 8. Science 9. Art 10. Philosophy 11. Religion 4. The Heretic King 5. Decline and Fall Chapter 9: Babylonia 1. From Hammurabi to Nebuchadrezzar 2. The Toilers 3. The Law 4. The Gods of Babylon 5. The Morals of Babylon 6. Letters and Literature 7. Artists 9. Babylonian Science 9. Philosophers 10. Epitaph Chapter 10: Assyria 1. Chronicles 2. Assyrian Government 3. Assyrian Life 4. Assyrian Art 5. Assyria Passes Chapter 11: A Motley of Nations 1. The Indo-European Peoples 2. The Semitic Peoples Chapter 12: Judea 1. The Promised Land 2. Solomon in All His Glory 3. The God of Hosts 4. The First Radicals 5. The Death and Resurrection of Jerusalem 6. The People of the Book 7. The Literature and Philosophy of the Bible Chapter 13: Persia 1. The Rise and Fall of the Medes 2. The Great Kings 3. Persian Life and Industry 4. An Experiment in Government 5. Zarathustra 6. Zoroastrian Ethics 7. Persian Manners and Morals 8. Science and Art 9. Decadence Book II: India and Her Neighbors Chronological Table of Indian History Chapter 14: The Foundations of India 1. Scene of the Drama 2. The Oldest Civilization? 3. The Indo-Aryans 4. Indo-Aryan Society 5. The Religion of the Vedas 6. The Vedas as Literature 7. The Philosophy of the Upanishads Chapter 15: Buddha 1. The Heretics 2. Mahavira and the Jains 3. The Legend of Buddha 4. The Teaching of Buddha 5. The Last Days of Buddha Chapter 16: From Alexander to Aurangzeb 1. Chandragupta 2. The Philosopher-King 3. The Golden Age of India 4. Annals of Rajputana 5. The Zenith of the South 6. The Moslem Conquest 7. Akbar the Great 8. The Decline of the Moguls Chapter 17: The Life of the People 1. The Makers of Wealth 2. The Organization of Society 3. Morals and Marriage 4. Manners, Customs and Character Chapter 18: The Paradise of the Gods 1. The Later History of Buddhism 2. The New Divinities 3. Beliefs 4. Curiosities of Religion 5. Saints and Sceptics Chapter 19: The Life of the Mind 1. Hindu Science 2. The Six Systems of Brahmanical Philosophy 1. The Nyaya System 2. The Vaisheshika System 3. The Sankhya System 4. The Yoga System 5. The Purva Mimansa 6. The Vedanta System 3. The Conclusions of Hindu Philosophy Chapter 20: The Literature of India 1. The Languages of India 2. Education 3. The Epics 4. Drama 5. Prose and Poetry Chapter 21: Indian Art 1. The Minor Arts 2. Music 3. Painting 4. Sculpture 5. Architecture 1. Hindu Architecture 2. “Colonial” Architecture 3. Muslim Architecture in India 4. Indian Architecture and Civilization Chapter 22: A Christian Epilogue 1. The Jolly Buccaneers 2. Latter-Day Saints 3. Tagore 4. East Is West 5. The Nationalist Movement 6. Mahatma Gandhi 7. Farewell to India Book III: The Far East A. China Chronology of Chinese Civilization Chapter 23: The Age of the Philosophers 1. The Beginnings 1. Estimates of the Chinese 2. The Middle Flowery Kingdom 3. The Unknown Centuries 4. The First Chinese Civilization 5. The Pre-Confucian Philosophers 6. The Old Master 2. Confucius 1. The Sage in Search of a State 2. The Nine Classics 3. The Agnosticism of Confucius 4. The Way of the Higher Man 5. Confucian Politics 6. The Influence of Confucius 3. Socialists and Anarchists 1. Mo Ti, Altruist 2. Yang Chu, Egoist 3. Mencius, Mentor of Princes 4. Hsun-Tze, Realist 5. Chuang-Tze, Idealist Chapter 24: The Age of the Poets 1. China’s Bismarck 2. Experiments in Socialism 3. The Glory of T’ang 4. The Banished Angel 5. Some Qualities of Chinese Poetry 6. Tu Fu 7. Prose 8. The Stage Chapter 25: The Age of the Artists 1. The Sung Renaissance 1. The Socialism of Wang An-Shih 2. The Revival of Learning 3. The Rebirth of Philosophy 2. Bronzes, Lacquer and Jade 3. Pagodas and Palaces 4. Painting 1. Masters of Chinese Painting 2. Qualities of Chinese Painting 5. Porcelain Chapter 26: The People and the State 1. Historical Interlude 1. Marco Polo Visits Kublai Khan 2. The Ming and the Ch’ing 2. The People and Their Language 3. The Practical Life 1. In the Fields 2. In the Shops 3. Invention and Science 4. Religion Without a Church 5. The Rule of Morals 6. A Government Praised by Voltaire Chapter 27: Revolution and Renewal 1. The White Peril 2. The Death of a Civilization 3. Beginnings of a New Order B. Japan Chronology of Japanese Civilization Chapter 28: The Makers of Japan 1. The Children of the Gods 2. Primitive Japan 3. The Imperial Age 4. The Dictators 5. Great Monkey-Face 6. The Great Shogun Chapter 29: The Political and Moral Foundations 1. The Samurai 2. The Law 3. The Toilers 4. The People 5. The Family 6. The Saints 7. The Thinkers Chapter 30: The Mind and Art of Old Japan 1. Language and Education 2. Poetry 3. Prose 1. Fiction 2. History 3. The Essay 4. The Drama 5. The Art of Little Things 6. Architecture 7. Metals and Statues 8. Pottery 9. Painting 10. Prints 11. Japanese Art and Civilization Chapter 31: The New Japan 1. The Political Revolution 2. The Industrial Revolution 3. The Cultural Revolution 4. The New Empire Envoi: Our Oriental Heritage Glossary of Foreign Terms Bibliography of Books Referred to in the Text Notes Pronouncing and Biographical Index This is the classic reference on world history, recognized as the most comprehensive general history ever written, the result of four decades of work by Will and Ariel Durant -- a set that The New York Times called "a splendid, broad panorama of hereditary culture in words and images that the layman can fully understand." This series began as an effort to write a history on the nineteenth century, an undertaking that Will Durant realized could only be understood in terms of what had come before. So the Durants embarked on an encyclopedic survey of all civilization, ancient and modern, Occidental and Oriental. The books: Our Oriental Heritage (Volume 1): Will Durant opens his massive survey of civilized history with a sweeping look at the Orient: the Egyptians, who perfected monumental architecture, medicine and mummification; the Babylonians, who developed astronomy and physics; the Judeans, who preserved their culture in the immortal books of the Old Testament; and the Persians, who ruled the largest empire in recorded history before Rome. The Life of Greece (Volume 2): Will Durant's survey of ancient Greece shows us the origins of democracy and the political legacy to the Western world; the golden age of Athens, its architecture, poetry, drama, sculpture and Olympic contests; the blossoming of philosophical thought amid a society still rooted in slavery and barbarism; and the mysterious lost island of Crete, land of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. Caesar and Christ (Volume 3): Spanning a millenium in Roman history, the third volume in the Durants' series shows us a world-conquering Roman army, undefeated, unafraid and...vegeterian; Hannibal, who transported an army of elephants over the Alps to invade Rome; Julius Caesar, who brought Western Europe under Roman rule; the life and Passion of Christ; and the struggle of the rising church. The Age of Faith (Volume 4): Over 1,000 years, we meet the Christian ascetics and martyrs, including Simeon Stylites, who sat atop a pillar for 30 years, exposed to rain, sun, and snow, and rejoiced as worms ate his rotting flesh; the saints, including Augustine, the most influential philosopher of his age; Mohammed, the desert merchant who founded a religion that conquered one-third of the known world in two centuries; and the Italian poet Dante, whose sensibility marks the transition to the Renaissance. The Renaissance (Volume 5): In this volume, Will Durant examines the economic seeds -- the growth of industry, the rise of banking families, the conflicts of labor and capital -- for Italy's emergence as the first nation to feel the awakening of the modern mind. He follows the cultural flowering from Florence to Milan to Verona and eventually to Rome, allowing us to witness a colorful pageant of princes, queens, poets, painters, sculptors and architects. We see humanity moved boldly from a finite world to an infinite one. The Reformation (Volume 6): In Europe's tumultuous emergence from the Middle Ages, we encounter two rival popes fighting for control of a corrupt, cynical church; the Hundred Years' War and 13-year-old warrior Joan of Arc; Christopher Columbus' accidental discovery of the New World; and Martin Luther, who defied the pope and ultimately led Northern Europe into the age of individualism. The Age of Reason Begins (Volume 7): In one of Europe's most turbulent centuries, Philip II of Spain sees his "invincible" armada suffer defeat at the hands of England; Elizabeth I of England receives assistance from explorer Walter Raleigh and pirate Francis Drake; and new appeals for reason and science are exemplified in the ideas of Copernicus, Galileo and Descartes. The Age of Louis XIV (Volume 8): This installment is the biography of a period some consider the apex of modern European civilization. "Some centuries hence," Frederick the Great predicted to Voltaire, "they will translate the good authors of the time of Louis XIV as we translate those of the age of Pericles or Augustus." Those authors are lovingly treated here: Pascal and Fenelon, Racine and Boileau, Mme. de Sevigne and Mme. de La Fayette, and, above all, the philosopher-dramatist Moliere, exposing the vices and hypocrisies of the age. The Age of Voltaire (Volume 9): A biography of a great man and the period he embodied. We witness Voltaire's satiric work in the salons and the theater as well as his banishment to England. With him we view the complex relationships between nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie and peasantry in the France of Louis XV. We explore the music of Bach and the struggle between Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa of Austria. And finally we hear an imaginary discussion between Voltaire and Pope Benedict XIV on the significance and value of religion. Rousseau and Revolution (Volume 10): This volume ranges over a Europe in ferment, but centers on the passionate rebel-philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who contended with Voltaire for the mind of Europe. Rousseau condemned civilization as a disease, glorified the noble savage, proclaimed to the world with equal intensity his own love affairs and the natural rights of man, and became the patron saint of the French Revolution and social upheavals across the globe for two centuries. The Age of Napoleon (Volume 11): The final volume. Napoleon is the archetypical hero, whose restless, ambitious, and intelligent mind dominated his age and has never ceased to fascinate the world he helped fashion. Yet even Bonaparte is dwarfed by the age that took his name. For, the Durants have re-created the life, the history, the arts, the science, the politics, the philosophy, the manners and the morality, the very spirit of the turbulent epoch that began with the French Revolution, ended with the fall of the emperor and ushered in the modern world. Vols. 7-11 by Will and Ariel Durant. Includes bibliographies. 1. Our oriental heritage; being a history of civilization in Egypt and the Near East to the death of Alexander, and in India, China and Japan from the beginning of our own day; with an introduction on the nature and foundations of civilization.--2. The life of Greece; being a history of Greek civilization from the beginnings, and of civilization in the Near East from the death of Alexander, to the Roman conquest; with an introduction on the prehistoric culture of Crete.--3. Caesar and Christ, a history of Roman civilization and of Christianity from their beginnings to A.D. 325.--4. The age of Faith; a history of medieval civilization (Christian, Islamic, and Judaic) from Constantine to Dante, A.D. 325-1300.--5. The Renaissance; a history of civilization in Italy from 1304-1576 A.D.--6. The Reformation.--7. The Age of Reason begins, 1558-1648.--8. The age of Louis XIV, 1648-1715.--9. The age of Voltaire; a history of civlization in Western Europe from 1715 to 1756, with special emphasis on the conflict between religion and philosophy.--10. Rousseau and revolution; a history of civilization in France, England, and Germany from 1756, and in the remainder of Europe from 1715 to 1789.--11. The age of Napoleon; a history of European civilization from 1789 to 1815 v. 1. Our oriental heritage v. 2. The life of Greece v. 3. Caesar and Christ v. 4. The age of Faith v. 5. The Renaissance v. 6. The Reformation v. 7. The age of Reason begins, 1558-1648 v. 8. The age of Louis XIV, 1648-1715 v. 9. The age of Voltaire v. 10. Rousseau and revolution v. 11. The age of Napoleon.