A deep and rigorous, yet eminently accessible introduction to the political, social, and cultural development of imperial and modern Chinese civilization, this volume develops a number of important themes such as the ethnic diversity of the early empires, interaction with other civilizations, and the challenge of transforming a multi-ethnic empire into a modern nation-state that competing editions omit entirely or discuss only minimally. Includes a general introduction, chronology, bibliography, illustrations, maps, and an index.
