British historian, author of “Civilizations. Us and the rest of the world ”, analyzes the obstacles that slowed down the development of the Middle Kingdom.
Interview by Laetitia Strauch-Bonart Published on
Le Point : In “Civilizations”, you write that, “from the XVIe century, small states in western Eurasia began to dominate the rest of the world ”. You attribute this divergence to the development of six “queen applications”: competition, scientific method, rule of law, modern medicine, consumerism and professional ethics. Why has it not happened in China? Niall Ferguson : The emperors succeeded, to a large extent, in isolating Chinese society from foreign influences. If explorer Zheng He had continued his maritime expeditions, the story would have been different. China is technologically ahead of the West in the VIe in the XVIe century. But the imperial system and the influence of the mandarins hampered the p … dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP –
Niall Ferguson, British historian, author of “Civilizations” (Saint-Simon, 2014) and “Apocalypses” (Saint-Simon, 2021).–
– Modified
Copied link
Copy link
–
