Sunny Y. Auyang

I was attracted to this book as a curiosity. I close it impressed by the author's erudition and unique approach to historiography. Sunny Y. Auyang is a physicist who has turned her attention to history. She takes a scientific approach to the comparative analysis of these two empires and it yields deep results. For all the grandeur of Rome, she reminds us that it was a society immured in slavery. In discussing the Han, she shows that the lofty idealism of the Confucionists provided a mask for rapacious greed that thwarted the more egalitarian policies of the legalists. These are just a couple of the astonishing insights contained within these covers. No matter how much one believes that they understand either of these societies, there are revelations here that challenge one's accepted ideas.… (más)