China's Qing Dynasty gave the fading glory of the Ming Dynasty a fresh and fabulous new start. From the early 1600s to the 1700s, a series of able leaders expanded and strengthened the realm, making China an economic and cultural powerhouse again. Important steps along the way are related in this straightforward narrative.

Hung Hing Ming studied English at China's most prestigious university in the early 1960s and went on to serve as an official interpreter and translator working with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He taught English at Zhongshan University (Dr. Sun Yat San University), Guangzhou, 1984-1991. He was a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley and at the University of Kansas 1984-1987, when he earned a Masters degree in linguistics, before returning to Zhongshan University. In 1991, Mr. Hung moved to Hong Kong where he worked for international law firms for 20 years. Drawing on classical Chinese histories, Mr. Hung is writing a series of biographies to introduce some of China's most important historical figures and cultural motifs to the American public.