Not knowing the subject matter, this seems like an excellent introduction to the social and cultural history (as opposed to political history). It's both interesting and relatively easy reading. For me, this book included a lot of cultural "ah ha!" facts.

My biggest frustration is that it includes no hanzi, a serious flaw in my view. I'm tempted to pencil them in. ( )

Harvard University Press is to be lauded for starting a reasonably priced competitor series to the Cambridge History of China which at USD 160 targets libraries not individual readers. The first installment written by Stanford's Mark Edward Lewis presents the Qin and Han Empires. In ten easy to read chapters he offers a glimpse into Ancient China. Each chapter is self-contained and develops a theme. This strength is also the major flaw of this work.

First, the omission. Instead of competing with the Cambridge series, Lewis cedes the floor regarding the political history. He devotes a scant 15 pages to present a basic overview of a thousand year period. The beginning of the Eastern Han dynasty (202-87 BC) gets all of four paragraphs. The fall of the Han dynasty is wrapped up in the conclusion (sic!). Otherwise, Lewis directs readers to the Cambridge book which is self-defeating. A sound chapter on the political history is a must for such an undertaking. The absence of economic data is also puzzling. Comparing and placing Qin and Han China with other concurrent civilizations would have been interesting (the literature exists).

Secondly, the organization of the individual themes is unclear. He starts well with a funnel (1 Geography, 2 State, 3 Empire, 4 Cities, 5 Rural society) but then chapter 6 The Outer world interrupts the link between chapter 5 and chapter 7 Kinship. A better place for chapter 6 would be after chapter 2 or 3. Chapter 8 to 10 deal with religion, literature and law respectively. A hasty conclusion tries to include the many undiscussed topics (such as the demographic decline and shift, sadly presented without numbers).

Thirdly, the maps need reworking. The chosen graphic style makes it difficult to grasp the meaning of the maps. A better use of hierarchies and timescales could provide major improvements (O, Tufte!).

Overall, I have a mixed feeling about the book. It is a beautifully bound book at a suitable price written by a noted expert who develops interesting themes. If the series continues in this vein, it will, however, not displace the Cambridge series. ( )