"By the first centuries, A.D., the Chinese had some knowledge of the winds and currents of the Pacific, though they thought the waters of the four oceans around them empties into a great whirlwind or abyss from which no traveler could return." (Chapter 1: The Yi People, page 31)

"From the second century B.C., with the rise of the Han dynasty, Confucianism became the moral code for the upper classes of Chinese society and the foundation of the emerging feudal bureaucracy." (Chapter 2: Confucians and Curiosities, page 33)

"Profits from maritime commerce are very great. If properly managed, they can amount to millions [of strings of coins]. Is this not better than taxing the people?" (Chapter 2: Confucians and Curiosities, page 41)

"The Ming army showed no mercy, butchering an estimated sixty thousand Miao and Yao tribesmen during the Yunnan campaign, as well as countless Mongols. As was the custom since the...