China enjoys a long and magnificent history and a splendid and colorful traditional culture. The book presents the brightest crystals of Chinese eulture and history, which occupy only a fraction of the whole, with the purpose of providing our readers with a general but initial understanding of Chinese civilization.

The book, divided into 12 chapters from the time of the Remote Antiquity to the Republic of China, shows the readers the vital events taking place during the past thousands of years in Chinese history.

China enjoys a long and magnificent history and a splendid and colorful traditional culture. The book presents the brightest crystals of Chinese eulture and history, which occupy only a fraction of the whole, with the purpose of providing our readers with a general but initial understanding of Chinese civilization.

As early as the middle 16th century BC China entered the earliest recorded written history and developed the earliest art of writing - inscriptions on oracle bones, and made grand bronze ware and pottery of excellent workmanship. In the following years, Chinese civilization has surprised the whole world with her great inventions and innovations one after the other and rich cultural heritage.

The book, divided into 12 chapters from the time of the Remote Antiquity to the Republic of China, shows the readers the vital events taking place during the past thousands of years in Chinese history.

Chapter One: Legends and Historical Facts from Remote Antiquity

Part One: Pangu, Fuxi and Nuwa

Part Two: Information about Ancient China Gleaned from Archeological Finds

Part Three: Chinese Remote Antiquity in Ancient Documents

Part Four: The Common Ancestors of the Chinese Nation - Yandi and Huangdi

Chapter Two: Countries in Embryonic Form: The Xia and Shang Dynasties

Part One: The Xia Dynasty: First Country with Written Records in China

Part Two: The Shang Dynasty: A Period of Great Prosperity in a Slave Society

Chapter Three: The Period When Oriental Civilization Rose above the

Horizon: The Zhou Dynasty

Part One: The Western Zhou Dynasty

Part Two: The Spring and Autumn Period

Part Three: The Warring States Period

Part Four: The Culture of the Zhou Dynasty

Chapter Four: The First Great Unification of China: The Qin Dynasty

Part One: Systems of the Qin Dynasty

Part Two: The Tyrannical Rule of the First Emperor

Part Three: Peasant Uprisings in the Late Qin Dynasty

Chapter Five: The Development of a Great National Unity: The Han Dynasty

Part One: The Western Han Dynasty

Part Two: The Eastern Han Dynasty

Part Three: The Culture of the Qin and Han Dynasties

Chapter Six: The Trend of Reconciliation during a Period of Disunity: The Three Kingdoms, Jin, the Northern and Southern Dynasties

Part One: The Period of the Three Kingdoms

Part Two: The Eastern and Western Jin Dynasties and the Sixteen Kingdoms of Five Ethnic Groups

Part Three: The Period of the Northern Dynasty

Part Four: The Southern Dynasty

Part Five: The Culture in the Period ofWei, Jin and Northern & Southern Dynasties

Chapter Seven: Extreme Prosperity in the Chinese Empire: Sui, Tang, and the Five Dynasties

Part One: A Short-lived Union: The Sui Dynasty

Part Two: The Prosperity of Zhenguan

Part Three: Enthronement of Wu Zetian and Prosperity of the Kaiyuan Years

Part Four: The Rebellion of An and Shi and the Upcoming Collapse of the Tang Dynasty

Part Five: Culture in the Sui and Tang Dynasties

Part Six: Five Dynasties and Ten States

Chapter Eight: A Civil-led Empire: The Northern and Southern Song Dynasties

Part One: The Northern Song Dynasty

Part Two: The Southern Song Dynasty

Part Three: The Economy and Culture of the Song Dynasty

Chapter Nine: An Empire on Horseback: The Yuan Dynasty

Part One: "Yellow Perils" Spread All Over Eurasia

Part Two: The Political Situation of the Yuan Dynasty

Part Three: The Economy and Culture in the Yuan Dynasty

Chapter Ten: An Empire Stuck in Absolutism: The Ming Dynasty

Part One: Political Governance of the Ming Dynasty

Part Two: The Economy and Culture of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter Eleven: The Last Empire: The Qing Dynasty

Part One: The Political Situation Just After the Establishment of the Qing Dynasty

Part Two: The Economic Development of the Qing Dynasty

Part Three: The Culture of the Qing Dynasty

Chapter Twelve: Rebirth Under the Baptism of Blood and Fire: The Republic of China

Part One: The Early Period of the Republic of China

Part Two: Ten Years of Civil War

Part Three: The War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-1945)

Part Four: The War of Liberation

Part Five: The Economy of the Republic of China

Part Six: The Culture in the Era of the Republic of China