In 1453 the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, finally fell to the Ottoman Turks and a great historical, religious, political, and commercial bastion was detached from the rest of European civilization. Eastern and central Europe would now be threatened by the Muslim Turks for the next two centuries. In many respects, this was the nadir of European civilization in early modern history. At this point, Europe’s greatness was a memory of the past and its future ascent was not yet visible. By contrast, in 1453 no nation in the world shined brighter than China. By standard criteria such as size, population, agriculture, commerce, wealth, sophistication, technology, military might, cuisine, learning, literature, and the fine arts, the Ming dynasty presided over the greatest nation in the world.

                                                                                                   ---The Great Encounter of China and the West

  不知道从什么时候我开始对这个世界及解释这个世界的理论抱有现在这样的愤世嫉俗和怀疑的态度，对我来说，无论怎样精彩绝伦的描述和推理，无论怎样插科打诨、嬉笑怒骂，都不及一句老话来得有力量，风水轮流转，而我要做的，除了对这个世界和它的创造者表示敬畏之外，要做的就是怀疑，然后找出我自己的证据。