1. The Concept of the Asiatic Mode of Production. 1. Definition of Mode of Production. 2. Marx on the Asiatic Mode of Production. 3. A Methodological Approach to History. 4. Slavery, Feudalism and the Asiatic Mode of Production -- 2. The Asiatic Mode of Production and the Marxist Theory of History. 1. The Asiatic Mode of Production and Stagnation. 2. The Asiatic Mode of Production and Eurocentrism -- 3. The Myth of the Shang. 1. Feudalism or Slavery? 2. The Status of Zhongren. 3. Conclusion -- 4. Economy and Society in the Western Zhou. 1. The Level of Productive Forces. 2. The Nature of the Fengjian System. 3. Agriculture in the Western Zhou. 4. The Status of the Labour Force -- 5. The Great Transition in the Making: The Eastern Zhou. 1. The Dissolution of the Fengjian System. 2. The Advance of Technology -- 6. The Dynamism of Ancient China. 1. The Form of Landownership in the Chun Qiu Period. 2. The Establishment of Private Landownership in China -- 7. Conclusion.