Enemies of civilization : attitudes toward foreigners in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China / Mu-chou Poo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pu, Muzhou.

Series:

SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Noncitizens--Iraq--History--To 1500.

Noncitizens.

Noncitizens--Egypt--History--To 1500.

Noncitizens--China--History--To 1500.

History.

Iraq--Foreign relations--Foreign countries.

Iraq.

International relations.

Foreign countries.

Egypt--Relations.

Egypt.

Relations.

China--Relations.

China.

Iraq--Civilization--To 634.

Civilization.

Egypt--Civilization--To 332 B.C.

China--Civilization--To 221 B.C.

China--Civilization--221 B.C.-960 A.D.

Physical Description:

xviii, 211 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2005]

Summary:

"Enemies of Civilization is a work of comparative history and cultural consciousness that discusses how "others" were perceived in there ancient civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China. Each civilization was the dominant culture in its part of the world, and each developed a mind-set that regarded itself as culturally superior to its neighbors. Mu-chou Poo compares these societies' attitudes toward other cultures and finds differences and similarities that reveal the self-perceptions of each society. Notably, this work shows that in contrast to modern racism bases on biophysical features, such prejudice did not exist in these ancient societies. It was culture rather than biophysical nature that was the most important criterion for distinguishing "us from "them. By examining how societies conceive their prejudices, this book breaks new ground in the study of ancient history and opens new ways to look at human society, both ancient and modern.

Contents:

The Question about The Others 1

Ethnic Theories and Ancient History 7

Choice of Subjects 9

About the Comparative Study of History 12

Structure, Scope, and Sources 18

2 In Search of Cultural Identity 23

Geography 23

Language 29

Looking for Foreigners 34

3 Representations 37

Designations of Self and Others 38

Textual and Graphic Evidence 48

4 Relations and Attitudes 68

Enemies 68

Demons 80

Friends and Allies 84

From Apprehension to Appreciation 93

5 Foreigners Within 101

Social Positions 101

Foreign Goods and Languages 114

6 The Transformation of the Barbarians 121

To Assimilate or Not to Assimilate 121

Between Ideology and Reality 142

The Illusive Others 146

Official Ideology and Private Sentiments 151

The Comparative Gaze 151

The Problem of Great Civilizations 154.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-208) and index.

ISBN:

079146363X

0791463648

OCLC:

54816991