China's history is an epic tapestry of courtly philosophies, warring factions and imperial intrigue. Yet, over 5000 years, one ancient element has so dramatically shaped the country's fate that it remains the key to unlocking China's story. That element is water. Here, Philip Ball takes us on a grand tour of China's defining element, from the rice terraces and towering karts of its battle-worn waterways, to the vast engineering projects that have struggled to contain water's wrath. What surfaces is the secret history of a people and a nation, drawn from its deep reverence for nature's most dynamic force.