The author of Cultural Flow Between China and
Outside World Throughout History, Shen Fuwei, is a recognized authority
on cultural history. His books covers the major events and developments
throughout the several thousand years ofcultural relations between China
and the outsideworld " from remote antiquity to 1949. He uses vivid
description, ancient legends, archaeological data and Chinese and foreign
literature all carefully chosen and verified. The book consists of
ten chapters, divided into two parts: the six chapters in Part One cover
the historical cultural exchange and amalgamation of China and Western
Regions; thefour chapters in Part Two detail the introduction of modern
sciences and the reform of Chinese traditional culture.
The main
focus of the book includes threes aspects: first, an introduction of the
historic "bridges"and passages of the East West cultural
exchange;second, an explanation of the scope and scale of such exchanges;
and, third, an analysis of the interaction of Chinese and foreign
cultures and a look atthe future of Chinese culture.
The book
contains many colored as well asblackandwhite pictures, in addition to
two sketchmaps showing "East-West Communication in theYear 200" and "The
Westward Spread of China's Five Great Inventions," as well as an index
at the end of the book for readers' reference.
It should be noted that the painted pottery cultures discov-ered in
areas of Gansu and Xinjiang dated one to three thousand years after the
Yangshao culture of Central China. Since 1957,when the ancient cultural
site of Majiayao-Wajiaping was discov-ered in Lintao of Gansu Province,
many similar colourfully-painted pottery objects were found from
subsequent finds of the Majiayao and Banshanmachang cultures in Gansu,
which dated between 3000 to 2000 B.C. In fact, despite the decline of
painted pottery in Central China since the era of Longshan culture,
itcontinued to flourish in Gansu and became more variegated incolour
after Majiayao culture; and painted pottery was found tohave existed in
Gansu as late as during the Spring and Autumnand Warring States
periods——long after it had vanished in Central China.
Yangshao painted
pottery culture had entered Xinjiang, viaShaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia,
during the prehistoric periodfrom 5000 to 1000 B.C.; and cultural
linkage between Xinjiang and the inland China had already begun during
the early Neolithic Age. A culture marked by fine stone-ware had
spread throughout the whole Xinjiang area, and merged itself into thefine
stone-ware culture, which extended across Gansu, Qinghai,Ningxia, Inner
Mongolia and Northeast China. This corrobor-ated the course of cultural
dissemination and national migra-tion over this vast territory. Then,
at about 1000 B.C., a chiefly agricultural and partly pastoral economy
emerged in some areas of Xinjiang. At such sites of agricultural economy,
culturalrelics composed of ground stone tools and painted pottery
were unearthed. These were scattered over the major oases in Barkol,Hami,
Turpan and Tarim Basin, including Yanqi, Kuqa, Xinhe,Xayar, Pishan,
Hotan, Qiemo and Lop Nut areas, and Ili Rivervalley.
