La Chine Classique

China is opening its doors to us : prestigious texts have been translated, tours of Chinese theater troupes are initiating us in Chinese legends and, with regard to history, feng shui  has arrived in Europe. But what do we really know about the civilization into which they were born ? The Chinese civilization may well be the one most profoundly influenced by the idea – one might almost say obsession – with change, impermanence, and with palpitations to which the Wise listen not in a passive state,but in an actively attentive one. The Tang dynasty (618-907) succeeded in both embracing a cultural legacy alreadyseveral thousands of years old, and in leaving its magnificent and exquisite mark on a civilization for whichit was an important milestone. It is the multiplicity of this perpetually living world that this book attempts torecreate and render comprehensible to us. Ancient China is extraordinarily alive beneath its modern garb. Not to realize this would be like traveling blindfolded to places where there is so much to see. Philosopher and sinologist, Ivan Kamenarovic is a lecturer at Université de Paris IV- Sorbonne and a member of the Centre de Recherches sur l’Extrême-Orient of Paris-Sorbonne. He has written several works and, in this book, presents a clear and accessible synthesis of the wealth and diversity of the Chinese way of life and philosophy, from the early Han dynasties up to the time of the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907), akey period of Chinese classicism.