Through compelling biographies of a wide range of historical figures, this engaging text presents a panorama of modern Chinese history that illustrates the great social and political changes that have occurred over the past 500 years. Through the lives of both the famous and the obscure, the contributors explore such enduring themes of the flexibility of the definition of 'Chinese' in an era of imperialism and revolution, the tremendous transformations in gender relations, and the wide gap between the lives of urban and rural Chinese. Richly researched, these biographies are written in an acce