From the era of Yu the Great in time immemorial up until the Qing Dynasty of the 20th century, this volume covers thousands of years of Chinese history. Many regimes and dynasties emerged, expanded, and ultimately declined – at times causing enormous change in the territorial division and governance of this great Central and East Asian landmass.

China went through several phases of unification and part-unification as various rival groups and rulers constantly fought for greater land and resources. This book sheds light on these numerous shifts in power and territory in a largely chronological manner, giving readers a real sense of timescale and perspective when learning how the nation came about.

Focusing on how regimes administered and ruled their territory is also a key part of this volume. Through understanding the various changes and types of administration, it can be shown why certain practices evolved to eventually become the unified country that we know today. This attention to administrative roles serves to underpin the territorial changes that were so crucial in the formation of both ancient and modern China. We hope readers also have the opportunity to read the other three volumes that make up this map series.

About the Author
Li Xiaojie, Ph.D., born in 1965, is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Center for Historical Geographical Studies of Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Li received his Ph.D. in History from Fudan University in 1996. From 1988 to 1991, he worked as an assistant research fellow in the Palace Museum in Beijing. From 2001 to 2002, he was a visiting scholar at the Harvard-Yenching Institute in Boston, U.S.A. Selected publications of Professor Li include Political Geography in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Explanatory Notes on Maps for Records of Rivers, General History of the Administrative Divisions in China: Pre-Qin Period, etc.