Kun Qian, Ph.D (2009), Cornell University, is Assistant Professor of Chinese Literature and Film at the University of Pittsburgh. She has published critical essays and encyclopaedia entries on modern Chinese literature and cinema in both English and Chinese language.

• AcknowledgementsNote on Romanization and ScriptList of IllustrationsIntroduction Part One: The Imperial-Time-Order1. The Imperial-Time-Order: The Eternal Return of the Chinese Empire Part Two: Time, Unity, and Morality from the Late Qing to Mao’s China 2. Suspended Time: Grounding the Present in the Late Qing 3. Split Time: Enlightenment and its Discontent 4. Continuous Time: Heroes in the ‘Protracted War’ 5. Transitional Time: Defining the ‘People’ and the ‘Nation’ in Mao’s China Part Three: The Return of ‘Empire’ in the post-Mao Period6. Resurgent Time: The Return of ‘Empire’ in Post-socialist Representation 7. Love or Hate: The First Emperor on the Cinematic Screen 8. The Fascinating Empire: Emperors in Contemporary Novels 9. Tianxia Revisited: Empire and Family on the Television Screen 10. Becoming-Minority: Chinese Characteristics in Minority Historical Fiction ConclusionBibliographyIndex