人類文明簡史：從中國看世界(上下兩冊)

Prehistory

ca. 4000 BCE

01 Out of Primal Chaos

The prehistory 15–4.5 billion years ago

If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?

The English physicist Stephen Hawking (1942– ) has been confined to a wheelchair since the age of twenty as a result of a motor neuron disease related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which left him with a paralysed body; at forty-three he contracted pneumonia and had to have a tracheotomy, which removed his ability to speak altogether. However, he never lost heart but spared no efforts in pursuing his research and in the end became the most distinguished theoretical physicist in the contemporary world. His renowned work, A Brief History of Time: from the Big Bang to Black Holes, published in 1988, established him as the highest authority on cosmology.

According to the findings of Hawking and other scientists, from the outer space, originally in the state of a vacuum, appeared at an unknown time a gravitational singularity in what is called “the cosmic egg”. (Hawking thinks that within the limits of the space-time in which the singularity exists, all scientific laws and predictability cease to be effective.) This singularity exploded about 15 billion years ago with a Big Bang and formed the universe.

The universe expanded rapidly, largely because of the presence of “dark energy”, after the explosion, occupying a space from zero to immensity, its diameter spanning a light year. The matter produced by the explosion gradually cooled down to form nebulae, which in time evolved into the galaxies.

There are numerous nebulae and galaxies in the universe. One of the galaxies is called the Milky Way. It came into existence 10 billion years ago. Within the Milky Way are numerous stars and planets. The former are still in a state of combustion, giving out light and heat while the latter have cooled down and give out neither light nor heat.

The galaxies revolve in the universe on fixed orbits; stars revolve in the galaxies on fixed orbits as well. Planets, as dependencies of the stars, revolve round the star to which each belongs. They are attracted to each other by universal gravitation, which keeps them at a safe distance apart all the time.

The Sun is a small star in the Milky Way. Its precursor was a nebula. About 5 billion years ago, this nebula collapsed and contracted owing to the explosion of a supernova nearby. In the contracted nebula, the centre was occupied by the sun, with planets revolving round it on oblong-shaped orbits. The larger planets are eight in number: Mercury is the star closest to the sun; the others in order are Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

The Earth, besides revolving round the Sun, also rotates on its axis. This is a formless axis on which the Earth self-rotates, its two ends being the North and South Poles, perpendicular to the equatorial plane and forming an angle of 66.5 degrees with the Earth’s orbital plane. The Earth’s rotation gives rise to day and night; owing to the slanting position of the axis, the Earth’s revolution (taking 365.24 days to complete one cycle round the Sun) gives rise to the four seasons. It can be imagined that once the angle of the Earth’s axis changes, global climatic changes will follow. This has happened before.

The Moon is a satellite of the Earth, revolving round the Earth, taking 29.53 days for one cycle.

It had taken about 0.5 billion (500 million) years from the explosion of the supernova to the formation of the Earth. We will take a close look at the evolution of the Earth in the past 4.5 billion years in the following chapter.

史前篇

約公元前 4000年之前

01 混沌初開 150–45 億年前的歷史

霍金，英國人，生於 1942 年。20 歲時，因肌肉萎縮而全身癱瘓， 要終生坐輪椅；43 歲時，又因肺炎要做穿氣管手術，以致從此不能說話。可是他沒有氣餒，仍然努力不懈，潛心研究，終於成為近世最傑出的理論物理學家。1988 年，他寫成《時間簡史》一書，奠定了他作為宇宙學最高權威的地位。

根據霍金等科學家的研究結果，本來處於真空狀態的太空不知何時出現了一個人們稱為「宇宙蛋」的奇點。(霍金認為，奇點存在於特定的時空中，在其範圍內所有科學定律和預見性都失效。)這個奇點在大約150 億年前發生大爆炸，形成宇宙。

大爆炸使宇宙迅速膨脹，其所佔空間從無到有，直徑兩端的距離一下子就擴展到一光年，此後更因為「暗能量」的大量湧現而不斷膨脹。大爆炸所產生的物質後來逐漸冷卻，形成星雲，進而演化為星系。

宇宙內有無數的星雲和星系，其中一個星系叫銀河系，它形成於一百億年前。銀河系內又有無數的恆星和行星。恆星仍然處於燃燒狀態，所以又發熱又發光；行星經已冷卻，所以既不發熱也不發光。

星系按照一定的軌道在宇宙內運轉，恆星也按照一定的軌道在星系內運轉。行星作為恆星的附庸則繞着所屬恆星運轉。萬有引力讓它們互相牽引，彼此之間長期保持穩定的距離。

太陽是銀河系中一顆小恆星。它的前身是一團星雲。大約五十億年前，這團星雲因附近一顆超新星爆發而塌縮。星雲收縮後，中間形成太陽，外圍形成行星，比較大的有八個，它們循着橢圓形的軌道環繞太陽旋轉。最接近太陽的行星是水星，其他依次是金星、地球、火星、木星、土星、天王星和海王星。

地球除了環繞太陽旋轉外，還繞着地軸自轉。地軸是一條有質無形的地球自轉軸，它的兩端是南極和北極，和赤道面相垂直，和地球的軌道面相交成 66.5 度角。地球自轉造成晝夜；因為地軸傾斜的緣故，公轉(繞着太陽旋轉，一周需時 365.24 日)造成四季。可以想像，一旦地軸的傾斜度出現變化，世界各地的氣候就會有所改變。這情況以前就曾發生過。

月亮是地球的衞星，它繞着地球運行，一周需時 29.53 日。

從超新星的爆發到地球的形成，中間經過大約五億年。我們將會在下一章細看地球在過去 45 億年演化的情況。

Prehistory

ca. 4000 BCE

01 Out of Primal Chaos

The prehistory 15–4.5 billion years ago

If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?

The English physicist Stephen Hawking (1942– ) has been confined to a wheelchair since the age of twenty as a result of a motor neuron disease related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which left him with a paralysed body; at forty-three he contracted pneumonia and had to have a tracheotomy, which removed his ability to speak altogeth...

這是一本主要為勤奮好學和慎思明辨的中學生而寫的書，也顧及一般有上進心的成年人的需要，旨在協助他們於短時間內掌握人類的歷史進程和擴闊個人的國際視野。

這不是一本按照既定課程編寫的教科書，也不是一本以趣味性為招徠的消閒書籍。這是一本比較全面地和系統地介紹人類文明進程的歷史書。它以中國為經、世界其他地區為緯，並配以大量地圖，嘗試把人類錯綜複雜的歷史整合起來，構成一幅比較完整的圖畫，讓讀者看到我們的先祖是怎樣走過來的。

筆者知道，這是一項艱巨的工程。要跨越的時空實在是太大了，要概括的資料實在是太多了，因此，這本書難免不會給予讀者一個紛亂和零碎的感覺。這不是一本易寫的書，也不是一本易讀的書。但願對歷史感興趣的讀者會把它放在案頭，不時翻閱。

筆者希望這本書能令讀者明白，任何一個地方的歷史都不是孤立地發展起來的。它無時無刻不在影響著其他地區，同時也受到其他地方歷史的影響。自古以來，人類一直都在互動：不但人與人之間時有聯繫，種族與種族之間也是往還不斷的。

這些年來，筆者一直都在注視著書店的書架，渴望找到一本比較中肯地概括幾個主要文化的普及版世界歷史書籍，但所見的都是從西方角度寫成的「世界歷史」。它們無一例外，都給予北非、西南亞、南亞、東南亞和東亞極少篇幅，甚至把它們完全忽視了。本書嘗試比較合理地處理這個問題，但為了矯正過去百多年來的偏見，本書會特別著重中國。

香港的中學課程一向都把中國歷史和世界歷史截然劃分為兩個互不統屬的科目。本世紀初，筆者曾經多次會見當地的校長和教師，鼓勵他們嘗試把中史和世史合併為一科。校長的反應一般不錯，但教師大都面有難色。教中史的說，他沒有修過世史；教世史的說，他對中史認識不深。

在香港，歷史從來不是一門受歡迎的科目，近年更受到教育界無意的忽視或有意的踐踏，以致選修歷史的學生越來越少，港人對歷史的認識也越來越薄弱。這是很可悲的。不知過去，難言將來：在上位者，領導無方；在下位者，無所適從。問題會因此而起：小者錯失良機，大者造成災難。唐太宗說得好：「以銅為鏡，可以正衣冠；以古為鏡，可以知興替；以人為鏡，可以明得失。」我們怎能不多讀一點歷史？

筆者本科修讀的是地理，不是歷史。雖然任職中學時教過中史，最近又和陳慕華合作，出版了拔萃男書院的校史，但始終是歷史科的門外漢。也許正因為是門外漢，才有一股儍勁，不自量力，扛起這項沒有多少人願意做的工作。可幸中文版面世後，讀者的反應一般不錯。

內子張曼儀是書稿的第一位讀者，也是英文版的譯者。她經常給予鼓勵，並跟多位老朋友一起，給筆者提供了不少寶貴的意見，謹此致謝。本書早年先由新加坡世界科技出版公司出中文版。現又蒙香港城市大學出版社接納，推出中英文雙語版，譯者和筆者都深感榮幸。

馮以浤識

2017年2月14日

這是一本主要為勤奮好學和慎思明辨的中學生而寫的書，也顧及一般有上進心的成年人的需要，旨在協助他們於短時間內掌握人類的歷史進程和擴闊個人的國際視野。

這不是一本按照既定課程編寫的教科書，也不是一本以趣味性為招徠的消閒書籍。這是一本比較全面地和系統地介紹人類文明進程的歷史書。它以中國為經、世界其他地區為緯，並配以大量地圖，嘗試把人類錯綜複雜的歷史整合起來，構成一幅比較完整的圖畫，讓讀者看到我們的先祖是怎樣走過來的。

筆者知道，這是一項艱巨的工程。要跨越的時空實在是太大了，要概括的資料實在是太多了，因...

(Contents of Volume I)
(上册目錄)

Prehistory
史前篇
01 Out of Primal Chaos
混沌初開
02 Evolution of the Universe
萬物衍生
03 The Stone Age
石器時代
04 Human Species and Languages
人種、語言和文字

The Ancient Period
古代篇
05 The Four Great Civilizations
四大文明
06 Africa and the Americas in the Early Times
早期的非洲和美洲
07 Hellenistic Civilization
希臘文明
08 Periods of the Spring-Autumn and the Warring States
春秋戰國
09 The Founding and Spread of Buddhism
佛教的創立和傳播
10 The Qin Dynast
秦朝
11 The Han Dynasty
漢朝
12 The Roman Empire
羅馬帝國
13 Jewish Civilization and the Founding and Spread of Christianity
猶太文明與基督教的創立和傳播
14 Science and Technology before the Common Era
公元前的科技
15 Literature and the Arts before the Common Era
公元前的文藝
16 The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and the Split of Christianity
羅馬帝國的衰亡和基督教的分裂
17 Wei-Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties: Split in the Country
魏晉南北朝：國家的分裂
18 Wei-Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties: National and Cultural Integration
魏晉南北朝：民族和文化的融和

The Middle Ages
中世紀篇
19 Sui-Tang and the Five Dynasties
隋唐五代
20 Korea and Japan in the Early Times
早期的朝鮮和日本
21 Southeast Asia in the Early Times
早期的東南亞
22 The Song Dynasty
宋朝
23 The Founding and Spread of Islam and the Rise of the Arab Empire
伊斯蘭教的創立和傳播與阿拉伯帝國的崛起
24 Europe in the Early and High Periods of the Middle Ages
中世紀前期和中期的歐洲
25 The Rise of Russia
俄國的崛起
26 The Mongol Empire encompassing Europe and Asia
橫跨歐亞的蒙古帝國
27 The Ming Dynasty
明朝
28 Europe in the Late Middle Ages
中世紀後期的歐洲
29 Cultural Developments before the Renaissance
文藝復興前的文化發展
30 The Renaissance in Europe
歐洲的文藝復興

The Early Modern Period
近代篇
31 The Protestant Reformation
基督教的改革
32 International Trade and Voyages of Discovery
國際貿易與航海大發現
33 Sea Hegemony and the Scramble for Colonies
海上霸權和殖民地爭奪戰
34 Africa and South Asia during the Colonial Period
殖民地時期的非洲和南亞
35 Southeast Asia and Australasia during the Colonial Period
殖民地時期的東南亞和大洋洲
36 The Early Qing Period
清朝前期
37 The Enlightenment in Europe
歐洲的啟蒙時期
38 The First Industrial Revolution
第一次工業革命
39 The American War of Independence
美國獨立戰爭
40 The French Revolution
法國大革命
41 The Meiji Restoration in Japan
日本明治維新
42 The Late Qing Period
清朝後期

(Contents of Volume I)
(上册目錄)

Prehistory
史前篇
01 Out of Primal Chaos
混沌初開
02 Evolution of the Universe
萬物衍生
03 The Stone Age
石器時代
04 Human Species and Languages
人種、語言和文字

The Ancient Period
古代篇
05 The Four Great Civilizations
四大文明
06 Africa and the Americas in the Early Times
早期的非洲和美洲
07 Hellenistic Civilization
希臘文明
08 Periods of the Spring-Autumn and the Warring States
春...