Foreword
by Stanley M. Burstein xi
Guide to Pronunciation of Chinese Pinyin xv
Introduction: Mirrors from the Deep Past xvii
Part I The Roman Republic and Pre-Imperial China
1. Nation Formation 1
1.1 The Old World of Civilization 3
1.2 The Advantage of Openness to Diversity 6
1.3 The Mosaic of China 9
1.4 Zhou Cities Among Pastoralists 11
1.5 The Mosaic of Italy 16
1.6 Latin Colonies and Hill Peoples 18
1.7 War, Policy, and the Melting Pot 21
2. State Building 26
2.1 Blood, Iron, Ideas, and State Building 26
2.2 Technology and the Economy 30
2.3 Tradition and Social Relations 34
2.4 Conflict and Merger of the Orders in Rome 38
2.5 Backlash of Closing Imperial Frontiers 40
2.6 How Democratic Was the Roman Republic? 43
2.7 Feudalistic Parceling of Sovereignty in China 48
2.8 A New Elite in a Socioeconomic Revolution 53
2.9 The Rule by Law and the Rule by Man 56
2.10 From Aristocracy to Monarchy 64
2.11 Slavery and Freedom 67
3. Empire Building 76
3.1 The Advantage of the Periphery 76
3.2 Qin in a System of States 79
3.3 From Balance of Power to Unification 83
3.4 The Punic Wars 85
3.5 An Empire of Liberty 93
3.6 Wars Just and Unjust 96
3.7 The Warrior State and the Warring States 101
3.8 Wars and War Conduct 105
4. Winning the Peace 115
4.1 The Empire Strikes Back 115
4.2 Decline of the Roman Republic 118
4.3 Last Flight of the Free Eagle 121
4.4 The Dawn of Imperial China 126
4.5 Regret of the Overextended Dragon 130
4.6 Rupture and Continuity 141
Part II The Roman and Early Chinese Empires
5. Courses of Empire 151
5.1 Pax Romana and Pax Sinica 151
5.2 Augustus and His Dynasty 155
5.3 Militarism in the Roman Peace 159
5.4 Roman Anarchy and Revival 163
5.5 United China Takes Root 165
5.6 Confucianism Ascending 168
5.7 The Han's Descent into Anarchy 176
5.8 Colored Glasses of Historiography 179
6. Arts of Government 187
6.1 Imperial Characters 187
6.2 The Ruler and the Ruled 190
6.3 The Imperator and the Huangdi 194
6.4 The Government and the Elite 197
6.5 The Emperor and the Government 202
6.6 State and Society 205
6.7 The Myth of "Big Government" 208
6.8 Taxation and the Economy 212
6.9 Law and Order 215
7. Strategies of Superpower 227
7.1 Eurasian Geopolitics 227
7.2 China's Loose Rein 233
7.3 Isolationism Ascendant 238
7.4 Rome's Empire Without End 241
7.5 Defense Resources Strained 245
7.6 Imperial Grand Strategies 248
7.7 Hegemonic Statecraft 252
7.8 Frontier Defenses 258
8. Decline and Fall 267
8.1 Glorious Sunset Clouds 267
8.2 Barbarians and Nomads 272
8.3 Social Coagulation 277
8.4 Political Corruption 280
8.5 Internal Discords and Civil Wars 284
8.6 End of the Han Dynasty 288
8.7 Revenge of the Xiongnu 291
8.8 Coming of the Huns 293
8.9 The Fall of Rome 297
8.10 Tomorrow Never Dies 303
Appendices
Appendix 1 Mutual Perceptions of Rome and Han China 311
Appendix 2 The Silk-Routes Commerce 314
Appendix 3 Long Wall Building 317
Timelines
Timeline 1 China and Rome in the World Context 321
Timeline 2 Events in China 324
Timeline 3 Events in Rome 329
Timeline 4 Emperors of the Qin, Han, and Jin Dynasties 332
Timeline 5 Roman Emperors 334
Maps
Map 1 First Century Empires on a Twenty-First Century Political Map 337
Map 2 Beginning of the Silk Routes in the First Century 338
Map 3 Terrain of Eastern China 339
Map 4 The Spring and Autumn Period, 722 BCE-479 BCE 340
Map 5 Terrain of Italy and Vicinity 341
Map 6 The Conquest of Italy, 509 BCE-218 BCE 342
Map 7 The Warring States Period, 453 BCE-221 BCE 343
Map 8 The Mediterranean During the Punic Wars, 264 BCE-202 BCE 344
Map 9 The Rise and Fall of Qin, 360 BCE-209 BCE 345
Map 10 Conquests of the Roman Republic, 264 BCE-44 BCE 346
Map 11 The Roman Empire 347
Map 12 The Han Dynasty 348
Map 13 Movements of Eurasian Peoples 349
Map 14 The Fall of the Roman Empire 350
Map 15 The Fall of the Han Dynasty 351
Map 16 Population Distribution of China: (a) 2 CE, (b) 280 CE 352
Map 17 Northern China in the Early Fourth Century 353
Map 18 Europe and North Africa in the Early Sixteenth Century 354
Bibliography 355
Index 377
About the Author 399