All cultures change - but some aspects change more rapidly than others. Drawing on extensive experience of various cultures, in this book David Lewis develops a model that differentiates between the rates of change in different aspects of a culture.Culture teaches us how to relate to other human beings, so David also explores aspects of what it means to be human. Some distinctively human features that are influenced by culture include the development of a sense of humour, a sensitivity to the voice of one's conscience and a capacity to look towards the future with hope. David C. Lewis is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Ethnology and Sociology at Yunnan University - which is one of the leading centres for the study of Cultural Anthropology in China. He has also taught at the Universities of Leeds and Cambridge in England and at universities in Russia and Germany. Since 1991 David has been an affiliated researcher of the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at the University of Cambridge.

His fieldwork experience is reflected in his writings on Japan, Russia, England and Central Asia. In 2009 the government of Yunnan awarded him the Caiyunjiang medal in recognition of his service to China. This book is dedicated to his wife and five children, who have shared with David in exploring other cultures.