To Rule All Under Heaven

The first ever comprehensive history in English of China’s Warring States period, an era that saw epic battles, the birth of profound philosophies, groundbreaking innovations, and shaped much of East Asian culture as we know it today.

The Warring States period saw the emergence of Confucianism and Daoism, the composition of seminal texts such as The Art of War by Master Sun and the Book of Changes, and the codification of Chinese script into its current form. It also saw the initial building of the Great Wall and the canal system that would become the Grand Canal, as well as the invention of the crossbow—which would not be invented in Europe for another 1,500 years—and the origin of acupuncture and feng shui.

The Persian Wars and the conquests of Alexander the Great are well known to people in Europe and America; however, far fewer English-language books have attempted to cover this same and equally important period in East Asia. To Rule All under Heaven corrects this imbalance by recounting a detailed history that is replete with dramatic stories and characters. The result is a thorough and entertaining account of one of the most fertile and significant periods in world history.