Chapter 1. From Characters to Books: Shang and Zhou Dynasties -- Chapter 2. From “Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought” to “Burn Books and Bury Alive Confucian Scholars”: Warring States to Qin Dynasty -- Chapter 3. A Time of Cultural Diversity: Han, Wei and the Northern and Southern Dynasties -- Chapter 4. Imperial Examination, Schools and Woodblock Printing: Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties -- Chapter 5. The Golden Age of Books in Print: Song Dynasty -- Chapter 6. Confliction and Fusion: Liao, Jin, Xia and Yuan Dynasties -- Chapter 7. Book Industry in the Period of Great Prosperity: Early Ming to Mid-Qing Dynasty -- Chapter 8. Book Industry in Social Change: From Late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China.

This book presents a study of the history of ancient Chinese books, not only highlighting specific aspects of the ontology of book history, such as printing and publishing, but also analyzing the internal and external causes of the development of book undertakings from a macro-perspective. Placing the development of and changes in the history of books in the context of social development, it investigates its interaction with politics, economy, society, education, and religion, especially with the big culture, and constructs a book-centered history of ancient Chinese culture.