This book traces the origins of the government organization, examination, economy, military service and other systems of the Han, Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the systems concisely. This is a serious academic work, but it has the interest of a literary work, and the historical facts and allusions complement each other, without any suspicion of being boring. The authors comments on traditional Chinese politics are sharp but not harsh, and his views are unique but not biased. I believe that every reader can appreciate this work from their own perspective and find different wonderful points.