It is impossible to understand China unless you understand Chinese Civilization. China is a product of it civilizational background. There are many Civilizations and they are crucial to understanding the world. How can we make sense of the Muslim world, or India, or Iran, or Russia, or Africa without understanding the Civilizations that inform and shape them. Yet the West is silent on Civilizations, even for the most part about its own. This provides a powerful clue to how the West sees the world and how it is struggling with the differences in its own midst. This was an online talk given to the Understanding China Conference in Guangzhou 20-22 November 2020.