Maps and Chronological Tables, Preface to the Turn of the Century Edition, Original Preface to the 1988 Edition, 1. Xi' an and the Loess Land, 2. The Second Sage and the First Emperor, 3. Soil, Wind, and Water, 4. Behind the Terracotta Army, 5. The First Empire: Establishing the Standard, 6. Literati Turned Warlords, 7. Prolonged Disunity, 8. When Historical Components Sprawled Far and Wide, 9. On the Road to Reunification, 10. The Second Empire: A Breakthrough That Failed to Materialize, 11. The Northern Song: A Daring Experiment, 12. West Lake and the Southern Song, 13. The Mongolian Interlude, 14. The Ming: An Introverted and Noncompetitive State, 15. The Late Ming, 16. The Role of the Manchus, 17. 1800: A Point for Reflection, 18. From the Opium War to the Self-Strengthening Movement, 19. The Hundred Days, the Republic, and May Fourth, 20. Contemporary China and Its Place in the World, 21. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao, Observations at the Closing of the Century, A Brief Note on Bibliography, Index
