A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHINA

Explores "the development of a rich and complex civilization where the use of paper, writing, money, and gunpowder were widespread in ancient times and where silk, ceramics, tea, metal implements, and other products were produced and exported around the globe. [The book] examines the special conditions that allowed a single culture to unify an entire continent spanning 10 billion square kilometers under the rule of a single man--and the ... artistic, literary, and architectural heritage that Chinese culture has bequeathed to the world"