This book tells the story of China through 96 short biographies. This book includes a colourful array of very different men and women: emperors and empresses, concubines, officials and political figures, rebels, exiles, philosophers, writers and poets, artists, musicians, scientists, military leaders and committed pacifists. This is a perfect introduction to China's long history for the modern reader, seen through the eyes of the men and women who helped shape the civilization's past.