John S. Major is Senior Editor of the Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc., formerly taught Chinese and Japanese history at Dartmouth College, and was the Director of the China Council of the Asia Society from 1984 to 1986. He is coauthor with Joseph Needham, et al. of The Hall of Heavenly Records and author of The Land and People of China.

• Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Preliminary Considerations 2. A General Introduction to Early Han Cosmology 3. Huainanzi Chapter 3: Tianwenxun The Treatise on the Patterns of HeavenTranslation and Commentary 4. Huainanzi Chapter 4: Dixingxun The Treatise on TopographyTranslation and Commentary 5. Huainanzi Chapter 5: Shicixun The Treatise on the Seasonal RulesTranslation and Commentary Appendix A. "A Chinese Eratosthenes of the Flat Earth: A Study of a Fragment of Cosmology in Huainanzi" by Christopher Cullen Appendix B. The Heavenly Stems, the Earthly Branches and the Sexagenary Cycle Technical and Textual Notes Reference Notes Bibliography Index

"It presents a careful, accurate, thoroughly annotated translation of a major section of one of the most important texts in the intellectual history of early imperial China, a translation which copes admirably with both the sinological difficulties and the astronomical technicalities of the text." — Mark Edward Lewis, University of Cambridge"Major's book is an outstanding contribution to the field of Chinese studies; while generously acknowledging his debt to many predecessors, Major's work will supersede many books and articles on the same subject. It is written with accuracy, insight, and elegance." — Charles Le Blanc, University of Montreal