'China: The Novel' begins in 1839, at the dawn of the First Opium War, and follows Chinese history through Mao's Cultural Revolution and up to the present day. Rutherfurd chronicles the rising and falling fortunes of members of Chinese, British, and American families, as they negotiate the tides of history. Along the way, he provides a portrait of Chinese history and society, its ancient traditions and great upheavals, and China's emergence as a rising global power. .