Understanding China through Comics, Volume 1 (Expanded Edition): The Yellow Emperor through the Han Dynasty (ca. 2697 BC - 220 AD)

In just three decades China has risen from being a Third World country to taking its place as the world's second largest economy. It has lifted over 600 million people out of poverty while half of the world - over three billion people - still live under the poverty line. The astronomical growth and the potential of China to become the next superpower has attracted wide attention.

These dramatic changes haven't necessarily come by choice. Internal and external pressures, both deeply rooted in history, have compelled China to metamorphose from being a static agricultural society into a diverse modern nation.

As a Beijing resident who has lived through the entire opening-up era that set the stage for today’s China, I’ve experienced the scale and thoroughness of economic and social change. From an historical perspective, such change is irreversible. The great sacrifices and efforts of the Chinese people, both through time and in current events, have not been in vain, despite all the negative implications associated with a country growing at, as some would say, an unsustainable speed.

Understanding China through Comics includes 4 volumes:
Volume 1: The Yellow Emperor through the Han Dynasty (ca. 2697 BC - 220 AD)
Volume 2: The Three Kingdoms through the Tang Dynasty (220 - 907)
Volume 3: The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms through the Yuan Dynasty under Mongol rule (907 - 1368)
Volume 4: The Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911)