Table of Contents Introduction Basic Facts about China 1 Chapter One The Qin and Han Dynasties 8 1.1 The Qin and the Unification of China 8 1.2 The Collapse of the Qin Dynasty 12 1.3 The Rise of the Han and Its Governance 14 Chapter Two The Opening of the Silk Road 19 2.1 The Rise of the Xiongnu (Huns��ū) on the Northern Steppe 19 2.2 Zhang Qian and the Opening of the Silk Road 22 Chapter Three The Fall of the Han Dynasty and the Fragmentation of China 26 3.1 The Fall of the Han Dynasty and the Rise of the Three Kingdoms 27 3.2 The Brief Unification under the Jin Dynasty 30 3.3 The Northern and Southern Dynasties 32 Chapter Four The Sui and Tang Dynasties 37 4.1 The Sui Dynasty 37 4.2 The Tang Dynasty 39 4.3 The Four Pillars of the Tang Dynasty 41 4.4 Outstanding Rulers of the Tang Dynasty 44 4.5 Cultural Achievements of the Tang Dynasty 46 Chapter Five Cultural Exchanges along the Silk Road 51 5.1 Silk-making in Ancient China 51 5.2 The Silk Road 53 5.3 The First Wave of Cultural Exchanges along the Silk Road 53 Chapter Six The Spread of Chinese Inventions to the World 59 6.1 Silk-making 59 6.2 Papermaking 60 6.3 Printing 62 6.4 Gunpowder 64 6.5 The Compass 65 Chapter Seven The Fall of the Tang and the Rise of the Song, Liao, Western Xia, and Jin 67 7.1 The Fall of the Tang Dynasty 67 7.2 The Five Dynasties and Partial Unification of China��Northern Song 69 7.3 The Rise of the Liao, Western Xia, Jin, and Southern Song 70 7.4 Complicated Relations 74 Chapter Eight The Glory of the Maritime Silk Road 75 8.1 Early Development of the Maritime Silk Road 75 8.2 Glory of the Maritime Silk Road 77 8.3 Guangzhou and Quanzhou 83 Chapter Nine The Rise of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties 86 9.1 From Genghis Khan to Kublai Khan 86 9.2 The Rise of the Ming Dynasty 89 9.3 Further Development of the Silk Road 91 Chapter Ten Admiral Zheng He and His Seven Voyages 93 10.1 Zheng He 94 10.2 Seven Voyages of the Ming Dynasty 95 10.3 The Achievements and Global Reception of Zheng He 99 Chapter Eleven The First Encounter Between China and the West��Jesuits in the Ming and Qing Dynasties 102 11.1 The Qing Dynasty 102 11.2 Jesuits in China 104 11.3 The Jesuits as a Cultural Bridge Connecting the East and the West 108