▲Penguin Global History
by J.M Roberts and O.A. Vestald
Translated by Chen Heng, Huang Gongxia, etc
Published by Oriental Publishing Center
In the 1970s, the International Commission on the History of Human Science and Culture, led by UNESCO, curated and published a seven-volume history of human civilization, which describes the interaction between nation-states and cultures in human history and its achievements. This is a general history written by experts from various disciplines around the world. In contrast, in 1976, Oxford historian John Morris Roberts single-handedly launched a history of the world, which sold more than a million copies worldwide to make it a classic. This sales volume was the "first man" after H.G. Wells, the author of the Compendium of World History. Robert died after completing the revision of the fourth edition of The History of the World. Recently, after a comprehensive revision and partial addition by Professor O.A. Vestad, the Oriental Publishing Center launched a four-volume, eight-volume Chinese translation entitled Penguin Global History.
The Preface to the Sixth Edition of Penguin Global History mentions that what the author wants to show is "understanding how groups interact with each other and between individuals, and how such interactions become webs of meaning and importance that always lead to multiple outcomes." Thus, the Penguin Global History describes the "universal, major, essential" factors that have influenced the world from prehistoric times to the present, while discussing their connection processes.
The author follows the currently acceptable political history periodization in Eastern and Western academic circles. For example, the first volume of the Chinese translation of Penguin Global History, titled "Classical Era", contains three volumes and shows the evolution and development of civilization in Eurasia from prehistoric times to around 500 AD. The second volume, "The Differentiation of Civilizations," deals primarily with the unfolding diversity of Eurasia before 1500. The author believes that there was no unified civilization in this period, but there was a great deal of material technology and ideological exchange and collision; because of the invention of technology, the rise of universities, the loosening of the church, and other factors, Europe became roughly the center of new civilization in 1500. The third volume, "The Age of Great Acceleration," deals with how the convergence and unity of the world, after 1500, has been strengthened, thus connecting the globe into pluralism. During this period, although there were political changes, imperial wars, and military expansion, they were only tributaries; "global economic integration" was the mainstream. The fourth volume, "New Age," focuses on the 20th century, which Hobsbawm calls the "short century." The authors argue that "acceleration" is the key word in this period, especially since 1945, such as technological innovation, rapid changes in ideas and lifestyles.
Ultimately, the authors discuss the process of human interconnection over a long period of time, on a large scale, and in a broad perspective, and argue that three trends are particularly noteworthy: "The increasing acceleration of change, the increasing unity of human experience, and the increasing ability of humans to control the environment." This acceleration and unity did not cause the author to abandon the slowness and pluralism of talking about history.
Overall, the balance of the various parts became a feature of the four-volume, eight-volume work—except for the Chinese translation of Penguin Global History, which has only 264 pages, and the remaining three volumes are under 380 pages. Both authors have their own expertise, but they do not allow their expertise to go unchecked in the book. Roberts was known for his study of the history of Europe, especially France, and published "the French Revolution", "History of Europe", etc., which are "widely praised for their outstanding factual precision and solid judgment". From 1953 to 1954, he traveled to Princeton and Yale Universities in the United States, expanding his research horizon beyond European history. Vestad is professor of the history of international relations at the London School of Economics, best known for his research on cold war history, most recently publishing Uneasy Empires: China and the World Since 1750. The "Cold War" after 1950 still occupies little space in the revised Edition of Penguin Global History.
The respective expertise of the two authors of the latest Chinese translation is conducive to explaining their differences in views. As an expert in modern history, Roberts believes that the origin of the "Great Acceleration" needs to be traced back to the classical era, while the expert in the history of modern international relations, Vestad, believes that the origin of the "Great Acceleration" lies in the geographical discovery. In Roberts's view, the classical era laid the foundation for two great spirits of Western culture: the rational spirit of the Greeks and the self-reflective spirit of Judaism. The first volume devotes almost a volume to the rise and influence of Greco-Roman and Christianity. Vestad's modern consciousness allows Penguin Global History to present some of the latest scientific research. For example, Vestad added a text about Homo sapiens based on recent research on genetic maps and archaeology, arguing that Neanderthals evolved from Africa "developed in parallel with the Homo sapiens to which we belong."
When it comes to historical research, it is important to explore the reasons for the occurrence of historical phenomena and their influences. The Global History of the Penguins deals more with the impact of climate, population and technology on the course of the world. Climate played an important role in the survival and evolution of organisms in prehistoric times and even today. Climate, for example, has both a limiting and a stimulating effect on the Mediterranean coast. As for population, for example, the author speaks of the most important influence on Europe in 1000 AD from the north. Speaking of the importance of technology, for example, the author explains that revolutions were relatively rare between 1848 and 1871, in large part because advances in technology made it "easier for the government to suppress revolutions." Technological updates have also created new spatio-temporal experiences and social interactions.
Of course, when it is difficult to explain some phenomena in detail, the authors will also admit their limitations. The author uses words like "probably," "maybe," and "probably" to indicate the limits of explanation. For example, why Africa's influence declined in ancient times is "we can't say, but most likely because of climate change." For example, when it comes to the demise of the Maya civilization, "it is not easy to explain the cause of this collapse." The author's description of the vast picture of history, while rejecting simple explanations, is also found in Roberts' commentary on the BBC history series Victory of the West. He acknowledges that multiple interpretations are in fact an invitation to the reader to think together and reach their own conclusions.
In recent years, there have been many works that talk about global history or world history in a thematic and cross-ethnic way. These writings will still fall into the trap of the nation-state. Comparatively speaking, the Penguin Global History attempts to avoid this tendency, so it spends several chapters in the first and second volumes to add text about Chinese history, which is another feature of its comparison with similar works. The author understands China in the context of world history and draws some new perspectives. For example, the author argues that the continuity of Chinese civilization is "the key to China's historical identity." For example, the author argues: "The Xinhai Revolution is fundamentally more emblematic of a new era than the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution." ”
Penguin Global History has no footnotes or endnotes, and its beautiful Chinese translation ensures a smooth reading experience. Footnotes and endnotes are useful for indicating the provenance of the information or opinion, but can disrupt the course of the narrative. The author does not use annotations, and also believes in the reader's self-annotation. However, the Penguin Global History is written in English and is intended primarily for English-speaking readers. The few "translator's notes" or "editor's notes" in the translations in the book are added with full consideration Chinese the context of the reader.
To sum up, "Penguin Global History" is transmitting history to the public, a history of human interlacing and interaction. Mr. Lu Simian said that the ancient people "so Zhen Comprehensive Ancient and Recent, generally into a book", largely because there is no final version of the general history. This does not mean that with a definitive version, such as the Outline of World History, which markets globally or Stavrianos' General History of the World, there can be no more general history. Modern historians "Zhen Zong Ancient and Recent" is based on events that modern historians believe are worthy of attention, tracing the human interaction in historical time or space, so as to transmit a sense of history to the public. The author's point is that humans have the ability to make rational choices and can also withstand stress from unexpected situations or nature. "Most of my problems are basically solvable or remediable." Therefore, "Penguin Global History" also shows itself the trend of human culture moving forward.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we should "pay attention to safety and read more history". The Global History of Enterprise is a general history book worth reading about the interconnectedness of the world.
(The author is an associate professor of European and American history in the Department of History, Xiamen University)
Author: Lai Guodong
Editor: Zhou Yiqian
Editor-in-Charge: Zhu Zifen
*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.