《從黎明到衰落：西方文化生活五百年》是西方文明史大師巴爾贊(Jacques Barzun)晚年的明志之作，也是一生智慧之作，以其百科全書式的知識，博雅融通的識見，道盡西方五百年文化生活起跌宕轉折的精彩事蹟。書中既展現西方文化的性格，也體現作者的性情和對文明前景的一份憂心。要進入文明史領域，有如跌入一張文明之網，通常範圍龐大，網絡錯雜。法國史家吉佐(Francois Guizot)說：「文明史是範圍最廣的歷史，它無所不包」，布勞岱爾(Braudel)則指出；「文明是所有故事中最漫長的篇章」。這說明文明涉及複雜龐大的政治、經濟、社會、文化、思想、軍事、物質、器物，甚至個人的情感與生活等面向，涵蓋綿長的歷史時間與廣漠的地理空間。
因此文明史的書寫（如教科書）往往顯得厚重繁複，不易近人。巴爾贊此書雖卷帙浩繁，但避去了不易近人這一難處。其題材的取捨、解史的觀點、敘述的方式，皆興味獨到，有別於一般文明史教科書或通史的書寫。誠如他所說本書是為喜歡閱讀藝術、思想、風俗、道德、宗教及社會背景者讀者而寫。其書透徹、易曉、措辭優美，沒有晦澀的術語，沒有教科書式的嚴肅，以述說故事、細數掌故的口吻，娓娓道來西方社會觀念、思潮的演變以及文化遺產的創生和積累的進程，勾勒諸多思想家、文學家、藝術家、宗教改革者、政治革命家的性格、稟性、才具以及如何創造文化典範，改寫社會規則的精彩歷程和影響效應。循著五百年的藝術、科學、宗教、哲學、社會思想的輪廓，藉此展示這段時期西方人如何為世界帶來了一套思想和建制，並提煉出自文藝復興以至二十世紀西方思想轉折的精華，展現五百年來西方文明生活多彩豐饒、波瀾壯闊的景觀。
巴爾贊撰寫此書，有其初衷和隱憂，最終指向西方文明究竟會走到什麼地步？過去的文明盛景還留幾許？繁華是否落盡？由此問題出發，追溯文明史的書寫大抵有幾個關注面向：文明衰敗論、文明支配論、文明衝突論。如湯恩比（Toynbee）的《歷史研究》(A Study of History)，史賓格勒(Spengler)的《西方的沒落》(The Decline of the West)，視文明為一個有機體，有其起源、生長、衰敗和解體的歷程，兩人關注的是西方文明如何由盛而衰的過程。弗格森(Ferguson)的《文明》(Civilization: The West and the Rest)以及伊安˙摩里士(Morris)的《西方憑什麼》 (Why the West Rules—For Now)關注的是西方文明何以支配全世界？其關鍵要素是什麼？新興的東方/中國是否開啟新的時代？西方現在還有優勢嗎？杭亭頓(Huntington)的《文明衝突與世界秩序的重建》(The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order)關注的是不同文明之間的衝突如何對世界和平造成威脅，而建立起立基於不同文明的新國際秩序則可能是避免戰爭最好方法。文明的衝突同時也挑戰了西方的主宰地位，質疑推翻了原來被視為放諸四海而皆準的西方價值和理念。巴爾贊此書大抵承續湯恩比、史賓格勒的擔憂，一方面彩繪璀燦的西方文明發展圖像，另一方面則點出西方文明逐步陷入停滯、衰落的困頓局面。文明的下一步該如何走，當代文明是進化還是退化，西方之外的其它文明在當代如何發展，與西方形成什麼關係？這些課題，巴爾贊此書部份觸及，有些則留下追問思索的空間。
史家柯靈烏(Collingwood)曾說：「過去仍活在今日」。對過去歷史和先人智慧的尊重，就是我面對文明，面對當代處境如何自處的態度。本課程希望透過巴克贊這本文明史的經典，達到幾個目標：（一）培育人文(cultivating humanity)，養成博雅公民，使具備成為世界公民應有的文明素養以及文化敏感能力；（二）培養文明思辨能力，思索文明變遷過程中出現哪些重要概念、思想、制度、想像力和關鍵事件？哪些重大轉折或斷裂？為何如此發生，以及影響效應如何；（三）瞭解西方文明遺產的價值、文化性格和精神特質、各種文化生活樣態以及交織於背後的各種力量衝突和相應的社會變遷、知識變遷過程；（四）進一步思考西方文明興盛的條件和衰敗的可能性或致因以及與其它文明的關係。
"From Dawn to Decline: Five Hundred Years of Western Cultural Life" is the work of Jacques Barzun, a master of the history of Western civilization in his later years. It is also a work of wisdom in his life. All the wonderful stories of the ups and downs of cultural life in the West for five hundred years. The book not only displays the character of Western culture, but also reflects the author's temperament and concern for the future of civilization. To enter the field of civilization history is like falling into a web of civilization, which is usually vast and complex. French historian Francois Guizot said: "The history of civilization is the history with the broadest scope and is all-encompassing." Braudel pointed out that "Civilization is the longest chapter of all stories." This shows that civilization involves complex and huge aspects of politics, economy, society, culture, thought, military, materials, artifacts, and even personal emotions and life, covering a long historical time and a vast geographical space.
Therefore, the writing of the history of civilization (such as textbooks) often appears to be thick, complicated and difficult to approach. Although Barzan's book is voluminous, it avoids the difficulty of being difficult to approach. The choice of subject matter, the viewpoint of historical interpretation, and the way of narration are all unique and different from ordinary civilization history textbooks or general history writing. As he said, this book is written for readers who like to read about art, thought, customs, morals, religion and social background. His book is thorough, easy to understand, and beautifully worded. There is no obscure terminology or textbook-like seriousness. It tells stories and recounts anecdotes, and eloquently explains the evolution of Western social concepts and trends as well as the creation and accumulation of cultural heritage. The process of the book outlines the character, temperament, talents of many thinkers, writers, artists, religious reformers, and political revolutionaries, as well as the wonderful process and influence of how to create cultural models and rewrite social rules. Following the outline of five hundred years of art, science, religion, philosophy, and social thought, it shows how Westerners brought a set of ideas and institutions to the world during this period, and refined Western thought from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The essence of the turning point shows the colorful, rich and magnificent landscape of Western civilization over the past five hundred years.
Barzun wrote this book with his original intentions and hidden worries. It ultimately points to where will Western civilization go? How much of the past civilizational splendor remains? Has prosperity come to an end? Starting from this issue, the writing of tracing the history of civilizations generally focuses on several aspects: the theory of civilizational decline, the theory of civilizational dominance, and the theory of conflict of civilizations. For example, Toynbee's "A Study of History" and Spengler's "The Decline of the West" regard civilization as an organism with its origin, The process of growth, decline and disintegration. The two people focused on the process of how Western civilization went from prosperity to decline. Ferguson's "Civilization: The West and the Rest" and Ian Morris's "Why the West Rules—For Now" focus on how Western civilization dominates the world. ? What are its key elements? Is the emerging East/China ushering in a new era? Does the West still have an advantage now? Huntington's "The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order" focuses on how conflicts between different civilizations pose a threat to world peace, and the establishment of a system based on different civilizations A new international order may be the best way to avoid war. The clash of civilizations also challenged the dominance of the West, questioning and overturning Western values and ideas that were originally considered universal. Barzan's book largely continues the concerns of Toynbee and Spengler. On the one hand, it paints a brilliant picture of the development of Western civilization, and on the other hand, it points out the difficult situation in which Western civilization has gradually fallen into stagnation and decline. What is the next step for civilization? Is contemporary civilization evolving or degenerating? How do other civilizations other than the West develop in the contemporary era? What is their relationship with the West? Some of these issues are touched upon in Balzan's book, while others leave room for further questioning.
The historian Collingwood once said: "The past still lives in the present." Respect for past history and the wisdom of our ancestors is my attitude towards civilization and how to deal with contemporary situations. This course hopes to achieve several goals through Bachchan, a classic in the history of civilization: (1) Cultivating humanity, cultivating liberal citizens, and equipping them with the civilized qualities and cultural sensitivity necessary to become a world citizen; (2) Cultivating Civilized thinking ability, thinking about what important concepts, ideas, systems, imaginations and key events emerged in the process of civilization changes? What were the big turns or breaks? Why does this happen and what the impact is; (3) Understand the value of Western civilization heritage, cultural character and spiritual traits, various cultural life patterns, and the various power conflicts intertwined behind them and the corresponding social changes and knowledge change processes; (4) ) to further think about the conditions for the prosperity of Western civilization, the possibility or causes of its decline, and its relationship with other civilizations.
巴爾贊(Barzun, Jacques)，《從黎明到衰落：西方文化生活五百年》（北京：中信出版社，2013）
Barzun, Jacques, "From Dawn to Decline: Five Hundred Years of Western Cultural Life" (Beijing: CITIC Press, 2013)
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| 課堂報告和出席課堂報告和出席 Class Reports and Attendance |
25 | 課程以講授和討論方式進行，每週安排同學負責閱讀材料之摘要報告，和閱讀心得，並提出問題。A4一頁，報告當天書面繳交。不定期點名，出席率列入平時成績計算 |
| 平時作業平時作業 Daily homework |
25 | 每位同學需就各週之指定教材，任選六篇撰寫閱讀心得，期中考前和期末考前各繳三篇，每篇A4一頁左右書面繳交 |
| 期中/期末考試期中/期末考試 Midterm/Final Exam |
50 | (各佔25%)申論題，不得攜書考試 |
