With China poised to become a major global power in the 21st century, it is fitting to examine the factors which have contributed to the rise, once again, of this multifaceted country and notable civilisation. While the issue of belief systems, from the Han Dynasty to the current period, are the main areas of focus, an attempt has been made to examine the totality of human endeavours that characterise this evolution. Out of this has emerged a transdisciplinary compendium of separate but related chapters on economic and social life, political institutions and practices, and the interrelationships between these and culture, particularly the philosophy underpinning Confucianism.