一本小书，用一个简单清晰的逻辑框架，力求厘清长期以来人们争论不休的一系列大问题，包括西方世界何以兴起、中华帝国何以衰落、世界霸权何以更替，以及英国工业革命何以发生、"李约瑟之谜"何以解开、中西方文化何以不同、"资本主义萌芽"何以虚假、洋务运动何以能够走通、甲午战争何以逆转国运、新文化运动何以严重跑偏，等等。古今多少事，都付笑谈中。A little book, using a simple and clear logical framework, strives to clarify a series of major issues that have been debated for a long time, including why the Western World rises, why the Chinese Empire declined, why world hegemony changed, and why the British Industrial Revolution happened, how "the Needham Puzzle" unraveled, why Chinese and Western cultures are different, why " the seeds of capitalism" are untruth, why Westernization Movement can get through, how the War of 1894-1895 reversed the National Luck, why the New Culture Movement deviated seriously, and so on. How many things in ancient and modern times have been laughed at?