Originally published: 2006.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 112-113) and index.

Introduction -- The Chinese way -- The seeds of Chinese civilization -- The legendary emperors and the Xia Dynasty -- Shang Dynasty: war and grandeur -- Western Zhou: an age of peace and prosperity -- Eastern Zhou: chaos and solutions -- Qin: the first unified empire -- Early Han: a flowering of culture -- Epilogue: Wang Mang: heaven's mandate, gained and lost.