INTRODUCTION

The history of ancient Chinese civilization has always fascinated people of the West—perhaps in recent times more than ever. This historical narrative by Professor Edward H. Schafer succeeds in delivering on the promise of its subject: Ancient China is a fascinating volume.

The period covered extends from the Bronze-Age Shang Dynasty (c. 1500-1000 B. C.) through the early medieval T'ang Dynasty (618-907 A. D.). During this whole era, China remained the most civilized and most influential country in East Asia. At some periods, particularly under the T'ang Dynasty, it equaled and surpassed contemporary Western civilizations, especially in its standard of living and in the arts. These periods of greatness are chronicled here with the insight of a writer who has personally criticized their literature and analyzed their icons.

Because of his interest in ecology. Professor Schafer has also emphasized and vividly recreated the daily life of people high and low on the Chinese cultural ladder—tellin*g about their food, clothing, housing and means of transportation, and describing the cosmological or religious significance of these details, as well as their relevance to social or economic status. (Examples: merchants could not wear silk; whenever possible, a man's gate was in the south wall of his compound.)

As a result of this approach the book is like a guided tour of a celebrated arboretum conducted by a humanist-botanist, who leads the visitors in via several paths, comments eruditely on the major collections of trees and flowers on a hill or by a lake, and pauses here and there to explain an interesting label or to tell a delightful story about how a rare plant was brought from a foreign land. In the case of such a complete and individual tour, what one can do usefully to introduce the book is perhaps no more than to point out certain signboards in the arboretum.

First, a comment on the term "dynasty." In Chinese history, the word refers to a house that ruled "all under heaven" for a given period. The word dynasty is usually modified by the name of a smaller state from which the founder arose. Thus the dynasty that ruled China from 206 B. C. to 220 A. D. was called Han because the founder, Liu Pang, had been king of Han (in modern Shensi) before he declared himself emperor.

Second, a word of explanation about imperial names and designations. The Han ruler Wu Ti, or "Martial Emperor" (140-87 B. C.) is now called Liu Ch'e because this was his personal name. That practice was not acceptable in imperial China, when the use of the ruler's given name was taboo, but some modern writers prefer to be more direct in naming the rulers than to continue the ancient Chinese tradition.

Finally, a note about words ending in "-ism," such as Confucianism and Taoism (which are necessary evils in general discussions about the Chinese and, I am afraid, most other civilizations): one should remember that the word Taoism does not necessarily refer to a formal religion; it may refer simply to Taoist philosophy or the Taoist way of life or to all three of these combined.

Let me stop here. The proof of the arboretum is in the visiting. Let the tour begin.