3 Review(s)

This book begins, and perhaps should end, with an excerpt from the writings of the late eminent Chinese scholar, Fung Yu-lan (or Feng Youlan) (1895-1990), who wrote: "The ancient Chinese culture is an inherent factor determining the Chinese style.". If the latter enunciation of Fung Yu-lan stirs one's interest in Chinese culture for the typical reasons, such as, an interest in ancient periods of China; romanticism, which focuses on the exotic and mysterious, for example, Zen Buddhism and Taoism; or simply as the source of exotic objets d'art, then all the better. Because for a typical Westerner bound in Western conventionalism and parochialism, engendering an understanding of the policies and practices of the People's Republic of China (China) necessitates understanding a modern China in light of Chinese traditional culture (or philosophy), or a China in antiquity. The consequence of Chinese traditional culture affects many political economy concerns of modern China, ranging from socio-economic, political, to international trade and other concerns. Indeed, philosophical antecedents influence modern Chinese policies and practices.