China: alluring and mysterious to the West -- China's tradition of collecting -- The greatest collection ever -- Foreigners in China's curios and antiquities shops -- American pioneers in China: yankee traders, missionaries and diplomats -- Taste-makers and early ceramics collectors -- International dealers in Chinese art -- The Boston orientalists and the Japanese connection -- Americans who began to collect Chinese porcelain -- The pace of American collecting increases -- The age of giants who collected -- The great public collections of Chinese art -- Forgeries, fakes, and the repatriation of art.