The Eurasian Core and Its Edges: Dialogues with Wang Gungwu on the History of the World

by Ooi Kee Beng

With China's transformation into a republic after two millennia as an empire as the starting point, Ooi Kee Beng prompts renowned historian Wang Gungwu through a series of interviews to discuss China, Europe, Southeast Asia and India. What emerges is an exciting and original World History that is neither Eurocentric nor Sinocentric. If anything, it is an appreciation of the dominant role that Central Asia played in the history of most of mankind over the last several thousand years.

The irrepressible power of the Eurasian core over the centuries explains much of the development of civilizations founded at the fringes - at its edges to the west, the east and the south. Most significantly, what is recognized as The Global Age today, is seen as the latest result of these conflicts between core and edge leading at the Atlantic fringe to human mastery of the sea in military and mercantile terms. In effect, human history, which had for centuries been configured by continental dynamics, has only quite recently established a new dimension to counteract these. In summary, Wang Gungwu argues convincingly that "The Global is Maritime".

Genres: History

254 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Dr Ooi Kee Beng was born and raised in Penang, Malaysia. He is the Deputy Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, editor of the Penang Monthly, and Visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Public and Social Administration at Hong Kong City University. He was also Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at National University of Singapore (2009–11). A prolific writer, his books include the award-winning The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and His Time (2006); In Lieu of Ideology: An Intellectual Biography of Goh Keng Swee (2010); Between UMNO and a Hard Place (2010) and The Eurasian Core and Its Edges: Dialogues with Wang Gungwu on the History of the World (2015).

Reviews

[Tsai Wei-chieh · Rating 4 out of 5]

張廣達院士在演講時提到了這本書，所以找來很快地翻閱一下。作者最推崇的中國歷史王朝乃是清朝，認為它是歐亞核心接管農耕國家偉業的一部分。（第23頁）作者相當強調海陸力量的互補在形塑世界霸權中的重要性。作者對於歐亞大陸（特別是中亞）的核心地位與歷史的強調，彰顯了其視野的廣闊。雖然細節永遠存在可以推敲之處，不過他能自圓其說也是一種功力。另外，對談的體裁也讓這本書讀起來省力很多。

[Nils · Rating 5 out of 5]

The central thesis of these dialogs between Wang Gungwu and Ooi Kee Beng is “never get involved in a land war in Asia (because the Mongols will win)!”

China’s developmental path is simply nothing like what the countries in the west went through — China has had a civil service in unquestioning support of the state for millennia, and (crucially) for much longer than it has had a national consciousness — and that therefore the experiences of how economy and politics worked in the west really are not relevant for anticipating China’s path.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb chat about the flow of history from a distinguished Southeast Asian historian. Very stimulating.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book! Everyone should read this book to get a perspective of the sweep of history from a different angle.

[Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10