Thoughts on Reading A Brief History of Mankind

"A Brief History of Mankind" condenses the history of hundreds of millions of years of mankind and the history of the world for more than 5,000 years into a book with only over 400 pages. It is interesting and beneficial to read, which is probably the reason why it can sell well all over the world.

I still remember that the thinnest of the five general history of China I have read is thicker than it. -I don't pay much attention to world history, but I am immersed in the glory of the 5,000-year history of the Chinese nation. After reading A Brief History of Mankind, you will find that the outside world is equally wonderful. Moreover, according to the age, the crossed thoughts will generate new knowledge and ideas about the history of China, just like a casual saying in the book: "Knowledge is new".

A Brief History of Mankind was written by Israeli yuval-Herali in 20 14. He was born in 1976. He is a brilliant young man.

The title of A Brief History of Mankind looks like a history book, but its content is different from the convention-it does not simply list historical facts on the time axis, but interprets the ins and outs of some world events from different fields, angles and positions-economy, politics, ecology, culture, science, psychology, etc., and interprets the changes and processes of world history from them. Reading is a bit like a philosophical book, and its philosophical narrative is deeply inspiring. In experiencing the artistic conception of "people are like dust", people can't help thinking about the present and future of the human world.

Among them, the most touching passage is: the origin of capitalism and the prosperity of imperialism.

I didn't feel much about the significance of Columbus's discovery of the New World before, but I got a new understanding after reading it. ——

1492, the Italian Columbus raised funds for his sea adventure-although there was capital investment in Europe at this time, the scale was very small, because people generally could not see the prospects and benefits of investment. He lobbied in many countries and finally persuaded the Queen of Spain to invest, on the condition that the share of the exploration proceeds was 19: Columbus 10%.

1June 492+10/October 12 in the early morning (this is a memorable day, similar to1July 20, 969, Armstrong and Aldrin set foot on the moon for the first time. ) Columbus discovered islands outside the American continent. Unfortunately, until his death, he thought it was just a piece of land in East Asia, but it was actually a new continent that the world had never heard of-two of the seven continents in the world-North and South America, accounting for a quarter of the world's land area.

Since then, sugarcane plantations have appeared in America, slave trade has appeared in Africa, and colonies and trade have appeared all over the world. It can be said that the discovery of the new continent made the world's first real empire-Spain; It is the discovery of the new continent that makes capitalism popular and popular all over the world. It can also be said that the discovery of the new continent pushed the world into the long river of modern history.

If we compare Columbus's voyage to the West with Zheng He's voyage to the West at the same time, we can better understand the meaning of capital and empire.

1405- 1433 years, with the support of Emperor Yongle, Zheng He made seven voyages to the Western Ocean, both in voyage and scale-at most, there were nearly 30,000 people and more than 200 ships, while when Columbus discovered the New World, there were only three boats and more than 90 people. Zheng He's voyage to the West was carried out at the instigation of Emperor Yongle, with the purpose of promoting the country in distant places, having good exchanges with other countries, or visiting relatives and friends.

On the other hand, Columbus made an expedition and conquered voyage for the benefit; The former is unclear and lacks motivation, and gradually disappears; The latter has a clear purpose and strong motivation, followed by different forms of capital investment-political, economic, scientific and technological, cultural and other measures, with the aim of being more conducive to squeezing profits and ruling the conquered peoples, which makes the jurisdiction of the Spanish state wider and wider, thus forming the embryonic form of the empire-the so-called empire, which is a unified and flexible political order of many ethnic groups in the territory.

Similar to the above, it is a major feature of this book to explain the historical background from different angles through a historical fact and seamlessly connect historical changes.

For example, from the prevalence and prosperity of imperialism to explain the far-reaching impact on the industrial revolution; The rapid development of capitalism in the modern world shows great progress in science and technology; The future development of mankind is to inspire readers' thinking and outlook from the psychological appeal of human nature.

When describing the prosperity of today's world, the author talked about the topic of happiness in detail. Gaining profits is the happiness of capital, expanding or influencing the scope of rule is the happiness of empire, and obtaining material and spiritual satisfaction is the happiness of individuals.

No matter who they are, they will try their best to take corresponding measures when they are unhappy. Take capital as an example. Under the background that nuclear weapons can destroy the earth thousands of times, war is undoubtedly a double death, and there is no profit at all. The happiness of capital can only be found in other ways. What's the other way? In addition to major discoveries and breakthroughs in science and technology, the most likely and extensive source of profit is space like the New World. However, since I set foot on other planets for more than 50 years, the progress seems to be less than expected, and the reason is nothing more than the unusual appearance of the Internet.

It is the intangible Internet that has completely changed the existing wealth status. Take a realistic example: thieves in public places are almost extinct now, because people rarely use cash, and stealing is impossible; Even if there is virtual currency in the mobile phone, it is not worth the loss to be stolen because of the encryption restrictions of the mobile phone and the strict measures of the bank. According to this principle, generally speaking, it is meaningless for a country to go to war to conquer and plunder wealth, and it is also doomed to lose money. Therefore, the happiness of the empire holding the capital can only rely on the same virtualization influence. The world pattern that may eventually form is likely to be a global empire, that is, worldwide interconnection is the general trend. This is also a necessary condition for exploring space-strong enough investment and people's will.

Let's think about the forward-looking vision of the world's "madman" Musk. His space migration plan has gone through hundreds of years. Who can say that it is impossible? By then, the unknown alien planet will become another home for mankind. Just like the unknown American continent 500 years ago.

After reading A Brief History of Mankind, it is helpful for readers to observe and understand the current world situation from a global perspective.

Reading "A Brief History of Mankind" is conducive to a new profound understanding when reviewing the history of China from a global perspective.

Reading "A Brief History of Mankind" is also beneficial to look at some problems between man and nature with a broad vision. For example, ecological balance, resource depletion and the meaning of life.

All in all, this book is worth reading.