Introduction: Opening the European and Chinese Experiences -- The Social and the Individual: Thoughts from Kong Zi and Socrates -- Reflections on Gender Relations: Views from Ban Zhao and Christine de Pisan -- Patterns of Urban and Commercial Development: The Capital Cities Paris and Hangzhou -- Popular Protest and Rural Activism: The Utopian Visions of Thomas Müntzer and Hong Xiuquan -- Industrial Capitalism and the Nation-State: Otto von Bismarck and Sun Zhongshan -- Religion in Society: Huiyuan and Saint Augustine on Human Suffering -- Synthesis of Classical and Religious Traditions: The Lixue of Zhu Xi and the Scholasticism of Thomas Aquinas -- Philosophical and Environmental Perspectives in Nature Art: Claude Monet and Qi Baishi -- Conclusions and Epilogue: The Chinese and European Experiences in Contemporary Contexts

Dialogues Across Civilizations generates reflection on themes central to the study of world history as well as European and Asian history, drawing upon a rich literature of cross-societal studies and placing historical individuals and events in proximity to one another.