Introduction

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Dedication v
3. Contents vii
4. Preface viii
5. Acknowledgments ix
6. Chronology xi
7. Introduction 1
8. Overture 10
9. Part 1: The Historical First Emperor of China
10. Chapter One: Sima Qian and His Tragic Hero 15
11. Chapter Two: The Confucians’ Villain and His Rehabilitation 29
12. Chapter Three: The Class Representative and the Nation Builder 57
13. Part 2: Unearthed Voices from the Qin Conquest
14. Chapter Four: Voices of the Qin State 85
15. Chapter Five: Voices of the People 109
16. Part 3: Great Characters and Events
17. Chapter Six: The Assassin and the Evil Eunuch 131
18. Chapter Seven: Burning the Books and Killing the Scholars 157
19. Part 4: The First Emperor in the Cultural Imagination
20. Chapter Eight: Tales of the First Emperor 189
21. Chapter Nine: The First Emperor on Screen 218
22. Chapter Ten: Imagining the First Emperor’s Tomb 240
23. Glossary of East Asian Characters 271
24. Notes 281
25. Works Cited 305
26. Index 321