在今天的世界上，有很多而且是越来越多的人自视为中国人，他们的数量比欧洲和北美居民的总和还要多。作为一个国家、一类文化，中国何以发展繁衍得如此之大？它为什么没有像世界上其他许多帝国，如罗马帝国和奥斯曼帝国那样土崩瓦解？它的单一专制的政府为什么能够而且又是如何统治如此众多的国民的？

《剑桥插图中国史》探讨了中华文明形成的诸多基本问题，涵盖了中国历史上的艺术、文化、经济、社会、对妇女的态度、对外政策、移民以及政治等方方面面。尤其侧重考察了社会和文化的发展及其对普通人生活的影响。为了避免外国学者阐释中国历史的局限性，作者尽可能地参考了中国各界对许多重大历史事件和历史发展走向的阐释。

对于中国这一独特文明，本书既有宏观上的综合概述，又有微观上的如对它的历史连续性、断裂带所做的具体剖析。这是一本西方人了解中国历史及其社会文化的必读图书。

More populous than any other country on earth, China also occupies a unique place in our modern world for the continuity of its history and culture. In this sumptuously illustrated single-volume history, noted historian Patricia Ebrey traces the origins of Chinese culture from prehistoric times to the present. She follows its development from the rise of Confucianism, Buddhism, and the great imperial dynasties to the Mongol, Manchu, and Western intrusions and the modern communist state. Her scope is phenomenal--embracing Chinese arts, culture, economics, society and its treatment of women, foreign policy, emigration, and politics, including the key uprisings of 1919 and 1989 in Tiananmen Square. Both a comprehensive introduction to an extraordinary civilization, and an expert exploration of the continuities and disjunctures of Chinese history, Professor Ebrey's book has become an indispensable guide to China past and present. Patricia Ebrey is Professor of East Asian Studies and History and the author of Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook (1993).