A landmark account of China's environmental history--by an internationally pre-eminent China specialist This is the first environmental history of China during the three thousand years for which there are written records. It is also a treasure trove of literary, political, aesthetic, scientific, and religious sources, which allow the reader direct access to the views and feelings of the Chinese people toward their environment and their landscape. Elvin chronicles the spread of the Chinese style of farming that eliminated the habitat of the elephants that populated the country alongside much of its original wildlife; the destruction of most of the forests; the impact of war on the environmental transformation of the landscape; and the re-engineering of the countryside through water-control systems, some of gigantic size. He documents the histories of three contrasting localities within China to show how ecological dynamics defined the lives of the inhabitants. And he shows that China in the eighteenth century, on the eve of the modern era, was probably more environmentally degraded than northwestern Europe around this time. Indispensable for its new perspective on long-term Chinese history and its explanation of the roots of China's present-day environmental crisis, this book opens a door into the Chinese past.
This is an imaginative evocation and analysis—through the medium of translations (the author’s own) of once popular but now forgotten literature—of the variety of “stories” in terms of which the Chinese have interpreted their lives since the early years of the 19th century.
A satisfactory comprehensive history of the social and economic development of pre-modern China, the largest country in the world in terms of population, and with a documentary record covering three millennia, is still far from possible. The present work is only an attempt to disengage the major themes that seem to be of relevance to our understanding of China today. In particular, this volume studies three questions. Why did the Chinese Empire stay together when the Roman Empire, and every other empire of antiquity of the middle ages, ultimately collapsed? What were the causes of the medieval revolution which made the Chinese economy after about 1100 the most advanced in the world? And why did China after about 1350 fail to maintain her earlier pace of technological advance while still, in many respects, advancing economically? The three sections of the book deal with these problems in turn but the division of a subject matter is to some extent only one of convenience. These topics are so interrelated that, in the last analysis, none of them can be considered in isolation from the others.
Smash-mouth football was just another day at the office during the heyday of professional football in the 1960s and 1970s. Elvin Bethea began his pro career with the Houston Oilers of the AFL in 1968 when the upstart league was filled with colorful characters and brilliantly gifted players who had finally proven they were good enough to compete with the NFL. After the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970, one of the most exciting decades in pro football history was underway. Smash-Mouth the story of Bethea's journey from a life of rural poverty in Trenton, New Jersey, to his All-American college football career at North Carolina A&T, where segregation still ruled the South. Smash-Mouth takes Bethea from potential Olympic track stardom in 1968 to his legendary pro football career where he earned his reputation as one of the most feared and dangerous defensive linemen in NFL history. From classic playoff battles with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1978 and 1979 to off-the-field exploits with some of football's most eccentric characters, Smash-Mouth culminates in Bethea's greatest ultimate honor--his long overdue induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Along the way, Bethea's story is filled with candid assessments of the talents and personalities of some of the greatest names in 1970s football--Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath, O.J. Simpson, Archie Manning, Earl Campbell, Dan Fouts, Franco Harris, Bum Phillips, Dan Pastorini, Billy White Shoes Johnson, Chuck Noll, Hank Stram, Art Shell, Anthony Munoz, Kenny Houston, John Mackey, and many, many more.
Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 7 Part 1 is the first book in the final volume of this unique resource. The Chinese culture is the only culture in the world that has developed systematic logical definitions and reflections on its own and on the basis of a non-Indo-European language. Christoph Harbsmeier discusses the basic features of the classical Chinese language that made it a suitable medium for science in ancient China, discussing in detail a wide range of abstract concepts that are crucial for the development of scientific discourse. There is special emphasis on the conceptual history of logical terminology in ancient China, and on traditional Chinese views on their own language. Finally the book provides an overview of the development of logical reflection in ancient China, first in terms of the forms of arguments that were deployed in ancient Chinese texts, and then in terms of ancient Chinese theoretical concerns with logical matters.
Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 7 Part 1 is the first book in the final volume of this unique resource. The Chinese culture is the only culture in the world that has developed systematic logical definitions and reflections on its own and on the basis of a non-Indo-European language. Christoph Harbsmeier discusses the basic features of the classical Chinese language that made it a suitable medium for science in ancient China, discussing in detail a wide range of abstract concepts that are crucial for the development of scientific discourse. There is special emphasis on the conceptual history of logical terminology in ancient China, and on traditional Chinese views on their own language. Finally the book provides an overview of the development of logical reflection in ancient China, first in terms of the forms of arguments that were deployed in ancient Chinese texts, and then in terms of ancient Chinese theoretical concerns with logical matters.
Joseph Needham, who died in 1995, was the greatest British historian of China of the last 100 years. His Science and Civilisation in China series caused a seismic shift in western perceptions of China, revealed as perhaps the world's most scientifically and technically productive country in pre-modern times. But why did the scientific and industrial revolutions not happen in China? Joseph Needham reflects on possible answers to this question in the concluding volume of this series and provides fascinating insights into his great intellectual quest.
Joseph Needham, who died in 1995, was the greatest British historian of China of the last 100 years. His Science and Civilisation in China series caused a seismic shift in western perceptions of China, revealed as perhaps the world's most scientifically and technically productive country in pre-modern times. But why did the scientific and industrial revolutions not happen in China? Joseph Needham reflects on possible answers to this question in the concluding volume of this series and provides fascinating insights into his great intellectual quest.
Devotion to the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood lies at the heart of the spirituality of St Francis, and his vision was to inspire the Church's development over the succeeding centuries. Writing in this Franciscan tradition, Br Mark offers his own insights on the Eucharist and St Francis, insights that were first shared at an annual retreat of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. This book provides a unique series of meditations for Eucharistic devotion. Although each is a separate reflection on the Eucharist in the life of the Church, there is an implied centrality of the Sacrament in the life of any Catholic wishing to deepen the life of prayer. In this St Francis can be our model and our guide, as one of the original pioneers of extra-Eucharistic devotion. Just as in the thirteenth century his example helped to renew the life of the Church, confronted by many crises, so in our own day the Church, hedged about with conflict and compromise, and with declining vocations, is seeing a revival of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament as perhaps the first sign of renewal. He writes about spirituality as a lived experience of God, shared by all, whether they know it or not . Mark Elvin's book will hopefully deepen our awareness of God's presence in both the Eucharist and the world. + Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue, Bishop of Lancaster Br Mark (Fr Mark Elvins) is a Capuchin friar. Born in 1939 at Whitstable, Br Mark took an MA at London University, and a graduate diploma in spirituality at Dublin. He is the author of Cardinals and Heraldry, and of three other books published by Gracewing: Catholic Trivia, Gospel Chivalry and Towards a People's Liturgy.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.