Reorienting China : The Landscape of Chinese Civilization. This item is unavailable.Reorienting China : The Landscape of Chinese Civilization

This book is an unusual excursion into Chinese cultural history. In a sweeping narrative spanning over five thousand years, Professor Cho-yun Hsu moves beyond accounts that focus solely on the internal evolution of Chinese culture. He revisits early Chinese civilization, integrating recent archaeological discoveries to reshape our understanding of its development. Employing a big history perspective, Hsu reconstructs the dynamic interplay of diverse ethnic groups and cultures within and beyond China, highlighting the constant friction and fusion that shaped its trajectory.This insightful work reveals why Chinese civilization has endured despite numerous internal and external hardships and turmoils. It offers a nuanced and thought-provoking perspective on China’s past and its relevance to the present.

Cho-yun Hsu is an internationally recognized authority on ancient Chinese history and comparative civilizations. He was Professor Emeritus of History and Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh, and elected Academician of Academia Sinica in Taiwan. As one of the founding members of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, Hsu was instrumental in supporting and encouraging global research in Chinese Studies. In 2024, he was awarded the prestigious Tang Prize for his exceptional contributions to the field of Sinology. He has authored or coauthored numerous publications, including American Life: A Chinese Historian’s Perspective (2021), The Transcendental and the Mundane: Chinese Cultural Values in Everyday Life (2021), China: A New Cultural History (2012), Western Chou Civilization (1988), Han Agriculture: The Formation of the Early Chinese Agrarian Economy (1980), and Ancient China in Transition: An Analysis of Social Mobility (1965).

David Ownby was a Professor of History at the Université de Montréal. His research focus is intellectual life in contemporary China, and his recent publications include Rethinking China’s Rise by Xu Jilin (as editor and translator), Voices from the Chinese Century (co-edited with Timothy Cheek and Joshua A. Fogel), The Transcendental and the Mundane by Cho-yun Hsu, and Globalization after the Pandemic by Qin Hui (both as translator).