Chinese Civilization And Bureaucracy

Born in Hungary, trained in Chinese studies in Germany, Etienne Balazs was, until his sudden and premature death in 1963, a professor at the Sorbonne and an intellectual leader among European specialists on China. In this book, a selection of Dr. Balazs’ essays are presented for the first time in English. Arthur F. Wright, professor of history at Yale, and John K. Fairbank, professor of history at Harvard, have written a joint Preface and Mr. Wright has written an Introduction. Scholars and interested laymen will find a rich feast here in essays ranging over two thousand years of China’s social, economic, political, and intellectual history. A wealth of data supports the various theories Dr. Balazs develops, in a graceful translation by Hope N. Wright. Because Etienne Balazs regarded the Chinese past not as a curiosity but as a repository of relevant human experience, his essays are significant for anyone interested in the past and future of civilization. "If a reader should disagree with some of the brilliant points, he would still find them challenging and refreshing."—Journal of Asian Studies.

This ook redefines the bureaucracy of Ancient Chinese society during the Western Zhou period. The analysis is based on inscriptions of royal edicts from the period carved into bronze vessels. The inscriptions clarify the political and social construction of the Western Zhou and the ways in which it exercised its authority.

This is a comprehensive and fully documented study of Chinese bureaucracy during the Han period, when many of the basic lines of Chinese government practice were laid down. It is also more detailed and wider in scope than similar works on other periods of Chinese history. The book covers the time from 202 BC to AD 9 and from AD 25 to 189, analysing and describing the central and local administrations, the army, official salaries, civil service recruitment and power in government. Professor Bielenstein translates all Chinese official titles and includes alphabetical lists of these titles with their English and Chinese equivalents. Thus his book will serve both as a description for the names of offices at every level of government. The book will be of interest to all scholars of Chinese history, as well as to experts in other fields of institutional history, government and political science.

In a time where the USA seems frantic to maintain their world domination by funding a crusade for democracy, it is easy to paint China as an enemy that needs to be kept in check. But is world domination the right goal? What about world peace and harmony for all people? The greatest challenges facing humanity now are global in nature, crossing countries and cultures. The world doesn’t need another religious or ideological battle such as democracy vs communism. It needs all the citizens of our world, but in particular our world leaders and advisors, to truly lead in building empathy and mutual trust, promoting cooperation over competition for the benefit of all humanity. As such, a greater understanding of China is no longer optional in our global village. It is necessary if we want to tackle global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, or face critical world issues such as climate change, world peace, and collaborative governance. As China returns to its original path and reinstates itself as one of the key world leaders, it demands to be treated with respect and as an equal. China is not our enemy. Their Confucian roots are strongly grounded in building harmonious human relationships, and we in the West must build our empathy and knowledge so we can see more shades of grey in this complicated world. We all share this planet and its future destiny together, and confrontational Western thinking will only lead to war. This macroscopic view of Chinese civilization and cultural development will help Western educated readers better interpret world events through a broader and deeper understanding of: ∙ Chinese ways of thinking and behaving ∙ China’s historical trajectory and trends ∙ Current developments and the context behind and around them The authors suggest that we need to view the Chinese way as complementary instead of focusing on the differences. We should spend our energy and resources improving our world instead of minimizing others to maintain superiority. Each of us can change the world for the better. Let’s replace “us versus them” thinking with more “we” and more trust, as mutual understanding and tolerance will enable all of us as humans on Earth to live in greater harmony with each other, and with ourselves.