Great State: China and the World

This is a history of China’s relationship with the world.  The book is written for the general reader and does not claim to be exhaustive. Rather, the author seeks to illustrate, through the telling of particular stories in Chinese history over the past eight centuries, how China sees itself as a state and how it sees its relationship to the rest of the world.  He argues that China’s historical self-perception holds important lessons about how China is likely to conduct its international relations as its global power increases.