The book consists of four sections: late Prehistoric China, the so-called Jade Age, which produced finely carved jade, stone, and pottery objects; the Early Bronze Age, which included cultures from both north and south, such as the Fuhao, Sanxingdui, and Xin'gan discoveries; the Chu Culture, a splendid period revealed through its silk, lacquer, jade, musical instruments, paintings, calligraphy, and ritual bronzes like those from the Zenghou Yi tomb; and Imperial China, represented by objects beginning with the first emperor and ending with the Five Dynasties, which include the Qin terra-cotta army, jade suits, Qingzhou Buddhist sculptures, and the Famensi gold and silver objects. Xiaoneng Yang offers a general introduction to the history and achievements of Chinese archaeology and prefaces each of the four periods with a lucid, brief discussion of the cultures that flourished, while each archaeological discovery is described in an introduction preceding each group of splendid objects.