ABSTRACT

Human civilisation stands at crossroads. There are urgent global challenges that need to be confronted, including destruction of the natural environment; climate change; inequality of income, wealth and life chances; industrial concentration and regulation of the financial system. Looming above all of these is the issue of how to avoid a ‘Clash of Civilisations’ and a New Peloponnesian War. Only by looking deep into the past can one better understand the possible direction that the long-term evolution of world civilisation might take. The relationship between China and the West will play a central role in the path that humanity follows in the decades and centuries ahead.

摘要

人类文明处于十字路口。迫切需要解决的全球挑战包括破坏自然环境；气候变化；收入，财富和生活机会的不平等；产业集中度和金融体系监管。在所有这些问题中，最主要的问题是如何避免“文明冲突”和新的伯罗奔尼撒战争。只有深入了解过去，才能更好地理解世界文明的长期演变可能采取的方向。中西方之间的关系将在人类走过的几十年和数百年的道路上发挥核心作用。