"Waiting for the Barbarians is a mature historical work that makes an important point; it examines in book length form questions that are timely and important, and presents its information in eminently readable form. It is based on broad and intelligent reading, careful and exhaustive research, and much thoughtful reflection on the subject matter. The author writes about Chinese science with crystal clarity, and remarkable grace. Underlying principles, sequences of events, and significances are explained, with just the right balance of west and east. Waiting for the Barbarians conveys scientific information and the Chinese understanding of it, in clear and vigorous fashion, a style which well suits Hu’s argument that China was on its way to modernity." —R. Kent Guy, University of Washington
"This study offers a fresh and persuasive perspective on how early modern Chinese geopolitical understanding and spatial sensibilities emerged out of four related ‘imagined territories’ spanning the Axial Age to the early modern era. This is important to how we, especially in the West, have come to a new understanding of the importance of the dynamic evolution of the Chinese empire in the early modern era." —R. Bin Wong, UCLA
