Chinese influence on the material and spiritual life of the modern world is becoming increasingly noticeable, but residents of other countries still know almost nothing about China and its culture. Starting from this indisputable fact, Cambridge sinologist Rule Sterks offers all of us living outside the ecumene of the Celestial Empire a concise but thorough outline of the history of Chinese thought: political, social, philosophical, religious, environmental and so on. He masterfully masters his material, painting us a holistic and, most importantly, living picture of the Chinese worldview. Sterks's beautifully written work provides insight into what it means to experience the world as a Chinese and to live in it as a Chinese. In 2020, the author won the annual British Hessel-Tiltman Prize, awarded for the best non-fiction book on history published in English. “Chinese thought is entirely oriented towards man and the practice of his life. The main questions that have occupied the best minds in China are not who and what we are, but how we should live our lives, how we are related to other people, how we should organize society and ensure the well-being of those who live with us and for whom we answer." "The best way to characterize Chinese thought is to identify everything that is not in it."