Presents a comprehensive study of the development of Chinese civilization through to the early first century AD Han dynasty, and describes the early Bronze and Iron Age cultures, the emperor Shi Huang Di who built the Great Wall and commissioned the terra-cotta army, and much more.

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.