Includes bibliographical references (pages A25-A52) and index.

Conquest and Consolidation. The late Ming -- The Manchu conquest -- Kangxi's consolidation -- Yongzheng's authority -- Chinese society and the reign of Qianlong -- China and the eighteenth-century world . -- Fragmentation and Reform. The first clash with the West -- The crisis within -- Restoration through reform -- New tensions in the late Qing -- The end of the dynasty. -- Envisioning State and Society. The new republic -- A road is made -- The fractured alliance -- The Guomindang in power -- Communist survival. -- War and Revolution. World War II -- The fall of the Guomindang state -- The birth of the People's Republic -- Planning the new society -- Deepening the revolution -- Cultural revolution. -- War and Revolution. Reopening the doors -- Redefining revolution -- Levels of power -- Testing the limits -- Century's end -- Breakthrough?

Pt. I. Conquest and Consolidation. The late Ming: The glory of the Ming ; Town and farm ; Corruption and hardship ; The Ming collapse -- The Manchu conquest: The rise of the Qing ; Conquering the Ming ; Adapting to China ; Class and resistance -- Kangxi's consolidation: The war of the Three Feudatories, 1673-1681 ; Taiwan and maritime China ; Wooing the intellectuals ; Defining the borders ; A mixed legacy -- Yongzheng's authority: Economic structures ; The question of taxes ; The center and channels of power ; Moral authority -- Chinese society and the reign of Qianlong: "Like the sun at midday" ; Eighteenth-century Confucianism ; The dream of the Red Chamber ; Qianlong's later years -- China and the eighteenth-century world: Managing the foreigners ; Aliens and Chinese law ; Opium ; Western images of China. -- pt. II. Fragmentation and Reform. The first clash with the West: The response of China's scholars ; China's political response ; Britain's military response ; The new treaty system -- The crisis within: Social dislocation north and south ; The Taiping ; Foreign pressures ; The Nian rebellion ; Muslim revolts -- Restoration through reform: Confucian reform ; Defining foreign policy ; The missionary presence ; Overseas Chinese -- New tensions in the late Qing: Self-strengthening and the Japanese war ; The reform movement of 1898 ; Three sides of nationalism ; Emerging forces -- The end of the dynasty: The Qing constitution ; New railways, new army ; Nationalists and socialists ; Qing fall. -- pt. III. Envisioning State and Society. The new republic. Experiment in democracy ; The rule of Yuan Shikai ; Militarists in China and Chinese in France -- "A road Is made": The warning voice of social Darwinism ; Marxist stirrings ; The facets of May Fourth ; The Comintern and the birth of the CCP -- The fractured alliance: The initial agreement ; Launching the Northern Expedition ; Shanghai spring ; Wuhan summer, Canton winter -- The Guomindang in power: Guomindang government ; Culture and ideology ; China and the United States ; China and Japan -- Communist survival: The Chinese poor ; Mao Zedong and the rural Soviets ; The Long March ; Crisis at Xi'an. -- pt. IV. War and Revolution. World War II: The loss of East China ; China divided ; Chongqing and Yan'an, 1938-1941 ; Chongqing and Yan'an in the widening war ; War's end -- The fall of the Guomindang state: The Japanese surrender and the Marshall mission ; Land reform and the Manchurian base ; The losing battle with inflation ; Defeat of the Guomindang armies -- The birth of the People's Republic: Countryside and town, 1949-1950 ; The structure of the new government ; The Korean War ; Mass party, mass campaigns -- Planning the new society: The first five-year plan ; Foreign policy and the national minorities ; Army reform ; The hundred flowers -- Deepening the revolution: The great leap forward ; The Sino-Soviet rift ; Political investigation and "socialist education" -- Cultural Revolution: The cult of Mao and the critics ; Launching the Cultural Revolution ; Party retrenchment and the death of Lin Biao. -- pt. V. Re-entering the World. Reopening the doors. The United States and the Nixon visit ; Attacking Confucius and Lin Biao ; Defining the economy, 1974-1975 ; 1976 : the Old Guard dies -- Redefining revolution: The four modernizations ; The fifth modernization ; Taiwan and the Special Economic Zones ; "Truth from facts" -- Levels of power: One billion people ; Governing China in the 1980s ; The problems of prosperity, 1983-1984 ; Rebuilding the law -- Testing the limits: Democracy's chorus ; Broadening the base ; Social strains ; The breaking point. -- Century's end. Returning to growth ; Zones and games ; Little dragons ; Into the sea ; Deng's passing -- Breakthrough? . The range of options ; The Hu/Wen years ; The economic challenges ; Global preoccupations ; Cultural parameters.