Volume 1: Biographical sketch of the Hon. Charles Denby, LL. D. -- I. Appointed minister to China -- II. Arrival at Peking -- III. Foreign life at Peking -- IV. Peking -- V. The Imperial City -- VI. The civil service examinations -- VII. The work of the diplomats -- VIII. Banks and banking -- IX. The Imperial Customs Service -- X. Agriculture -- XI. Arts and language -- XII. Woman in China -- XIII. Religion and superstition -- XIV. Slavery -- XV. Disposal of the dead -- XVI. The civil law -- XVII. Christian mission work in China -- XVIII. The Empress Dowager.

Volume 2: I. The administration of the government -- II. The trade of China -- III. Progress of foreign trade in China -- IV. America's trade with China -- V. The Province of Sze-Chuen -- VI. Manchuria -- VII. Chinese riots -- VIII. The treatment of China by the foreign powers -- IX. The exclusion of the Chinese labourer -- X. The Japanese-Chinese War -- XI. Seizures of Chinese territory -- XII. The first Philippine Commission -- XIII. The Boxer uprising -- XIV. The capture and government of Tientsin -- XV. The United States Consular Service -- XVI. Progress on the Pacific shores -- XVII. The future of the great powers in the Far East --XVIII. The Russo-Japanese War.