French, Spanish and other editions are also being planned. It is our wish, then, that by opening the door to an English-language readership, this book can help to redress this imbalance.
This is partly due to language barriers but also to a historical mindset. The team behind this project has noted that great civilizations such as those from China, India and the Islamic world have played a rather muted role on the academic stage in the West. My colleagues and I believe great civilizations belong not only to their direct descendants but to all the people of the world, and we hope this book will be enjoyed by everyone with a general appreciation of Chinese culture as well as by university students in need of a thorough reference book for university-level general education courses. However, the main credit goes to the excellent authors and editors. I am grateful that I was able to spearhead this project. It has taken more than five years to prepare the second edition of this book, upon which this English version is based.
Our main aim throughout has been to allow young people to feast on the ancient wisdom of our forefathers by learning about the pantheon of Chinese civilization. The original Chinese edition of this book under the title Chinese Civilization: A Source Book《中國文化導讀》 was first published by City University of Hong Kong in 1999 and since then it has been used as the main reference book for students taking the Chinese Civilization courses.Ī much-refined second edition was published in 2002 and in January 2007 a simplified Chinese-character version was published in Beijing, opening the door for a wider audience to appreciate the treasures of Chinese culture.
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