Let's talk about The Story of Mankind, which is the work of the famous historian Long Fang. 192 1 came out and received rave reviews. The author sketched out the development and evolution of the whole human history. By telling important events and people, we can clearly see the evolution of history and understand the reasons for the formation of the modern world pattern.
Although this book focuses on the ancient East and modern Europe, with obvious emphasis on the development of western civilization, it is still a good teaching material for us to see the historical truth clearly.
From the appearance of human beings to the invention of the steam engine, from Sumerian cuneiform to Martin Luther's religious reform, from the democratic autonomy of ancient Greece to the surging French Revolution, the vicissitudes of history are vivid in Long Fang's works, showing a magnificent picture.
When you stand at the height of the long and tortuous process of civilization for thousands of years, you will find how short the life course of an individual is, such as the blink of an eye. And those conclusions that have stood the test of time and been precipitated by history are the real golden rule and the good words and guidelines that guide our behavior. And how lucky and glorious we are to be able to open the fog of history and see the truth of history.
How lucky we are, we were not born in the dark and ignorant Middle Ages, the French Revolution with frequent regime changes, and the old times with backward medical and health conditions.
However, we seem to be far away from the ancient sages with bright stars, from the leisurely and slow life, and from the moderation and moderation advocated by the ancient Greeks. That's a real pity.
As the book says: "In our history, few things are absolutely clear about good and bad. Simple black and white cannot build our world. "
For freedom, for the spiritual world, the book describes it like this: "Real freedom should be inner freedom. If we blindly pursue external things, our hearts will be easily restricted. A modest and simple life is conducive to the free and healthy development of the spirit. "
If "The Story of Man" is a rough description of human history, then "A Brief History of Man" reveals the causes and laws of the development of human society in a deep level, and is not limited to a strict description of history according to the time axis.
There are systematic historical facts hidden here, and some historical fragments or phenomena flow from the pen to explain some historical laws and life truths. When history is written to this point, it is to leave "history" and move towards "philosophy"-and this "philosophy" is not only "historical philosophy", but also contains many philosophies of life.
What impressed me most was the description of "fictional stories" in the book: "From birth to death, human beings are surrounded by various fictional stories and concepts, so that they can think in a specific way, act according to specific standards, want specific things and abide by specific norms. That's it, let millions of strangers follow this artificial rather than natural intuition and cooperate with each other. This artificial intuition is' culture'. "
Discussing "fictional stories" is the characteristic of Homo sapiens, and it is almost the cornerstone of the formation and development of modern society, which is different from the animal world.
At first glance, it seems inexplicable and exaggerated, but when you think about it carefully, it makes sense: only human beings will worship their ancestors, and only human beings will cooperate with thousands of strangers because of a certain belief. Everything in modern society-family, country, regime and money-is based on "fictional stories", which is also the most important reason why we left apes to become homo sapiens!
The answers to common questions in life are often jaw-dropping.
"The result of human evolution is not too happy, nor too painful. We will have a short pleasure, but it won't last forever. Sooner or later, the pleasure will fade and let us feel the pain again. "
"Money is the most common and effective mutual trust system in history."
"The driving force behind modern science and modern empire is a kind of dissatisfaction. I feel that there must be something important in the distance, waiting for them to explore and master. "
"The close combination of capital and politics has a far-reaching impact on the credit market. There is no market in this world that is completely unaffected by politics. "
As Bacon said: "Reading history makes people wise", we can always get the truth from history and exercise speculation, which is of great benefit to our lives.