We are often told that the twenty-first century is bound to become China's century. Never before has Chinese culture been so physically, digitally, economically or aesthetically present in everyday life in the Western world. But how much do we really know about its origins and key beliefs, especially compared to the many histories of Western philosophy? How did the ancient Chinese think about the world? In this enlightening book, Roel Sterckx, one of the foremost experts in Chinese thought, takes us through centuries of Chinese history, from Confucius to Daoism to the Legalists. With evocative examples from philosophy, literature and everyday life, he shows us how the ancient Chinese have shaped the thinking of a civilization that is now influencing our own.

Author Biography

Roel Sterckx is Joseph Needham Professor of Chinese History, Science and Civilization at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Clare College. He is a sinologist specializing in the cultural history, religion and thought of pre-imperial and early imperial China as well as the classical and literary Chinese language.