Everything under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power

摘要

As a journalist who has done his historical research, Howard W. French has produced a highly readable book that probes the Chinese concept of tian xia, roughly meaning China's "natural dominion over everything under heaven" (pp. 3-4), and particularly on its impact on the People's Republic of China (PRC) as it drives toward regional and international dominance. His focus on the cultural and racial nature of the traditional Chinese view of the world evolved from a different direction from that of other scholars and analysts. It comes from his years reporting from Africa for the Washington Post, service that produced a book on Africa's development as "China's second continent." Subsequent assignments with the New York Times brought him to Japan and China and a familiarity with the written Japanese and Chinese languages.