Reddit mentions of Understanding China through Comics: Volume 1: The Yellow Emperor through the Han Dynasty (ca. 2697 BC - 220 AD)

> Underdogs using superior strategy to overcome an oppressor (business, culture, military)

For military strategy nothing beats the Three Kingdoms Romance, but it can get quite confusing and dry as it has a huge number of cast and can get quite repetitive.

Maybe you should try The Water Margin first. It's a tale of a band of 108 robbers forced to rebel against the central government. Somewhat like Robin Hood and his merry band, but much more violent. Many people say that the Sydney Shapiro's translation is the best.

> Low-tech Invention Stories

Check out The Genius of China. It's a distillation of the work of a famous expert on Chinese science, Joseph Needham.

To get a start on general Chinese history, you can also check out Understanding China Through Comics. Maybe it's less boring and easier to get started with comics?

I'd strongly recommend the "Understanding China through Comics" series. Currently only vols. 1 and 2 are out, but vol. 3 should be coming out in the next month or so.

It does a good job of presenting the most important figures in a dynastic overview, as well as touching on aspects of social and economic history, in an easy to read comic format.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-China-through-Comics-Jing/dp/0983830819/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369408144&sr=8-1&keywords=understanding+china+comics

After going through this overview, you will probably be better set to tackle thicker books. To which I'd recommend, though not quite as strongly, the Cambridge Illustrated History of China.

http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Illustrated-History-China/dp/0521124336/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369408241&sr=1-1&keywords=cambridge+illustrated+history

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-China-through-Comics-Emperor/dp/0983830819