With poetic flair， the author recounts stories about ancient China and five Westerners. The moment they stepped on Chinese land， China changed them， and they also changed China. The five foreigners were Italian merchant and explorer Marco Polo （1254-1324）， Italian Jesuit priest and scholar Matteo Ricci （1552-1610）， British statesman George Macartney（1737-1806）， British royal navy officer Augustus Frederick Lindley （1840-1873） and French naval officer and novelist Pierre Loti （1850-1923）.
　　This book is a revision of Paper Paradise， a collection of cultural essays published in 2011. Author Zhu Yong compared the relationship between Chinese civilization and Mediterranean civilizations， just like the poles of Yin and Yang， two starkly contrasting places， as two opposite but interconnected forces that promote the development of humanity.
　　In the preface to Paper Paradise， Zhu shared his motivation and feelings in writing this book. He realized that examining the life stories of Westerners involved in Chinese history and reviewing images of China from Western perspectives would provide a broader global vision through which to investigate Chinese history. Painting a clearer picture of the past demands evidence from cross-cultural clues in addition to domestic records. Such work is difficult and requires overcoming the gap between Eastern and Western histories.
　　The book aims to explore Chinese history， mainly the history of the Forbidden City， from the perspective of Westerners. In Zhu’s opinion， examining the Forbidden City from a Western perspective can expand the dimensions of observation of the imperial palace because not only does it represent China—it is also connected to the world.
　　In the preface to the revised edition， he pointed out that the histories of East and West influenced and interacted fiercely with each other and expressed belief that the Forbidden City offers a unique case with which to review this relationship and clear up history.


　　He also noted that considerable amounts of historical evidence collected from photography and investigation of Western narrative documents will awaken unique memories of Chinese history.
　　The revised edition includes more than 100 precious pictures from domestic and foreign museums including many newly discovered rare photos which greatly enhance the historicity.
　　Author Zhu Yong is a veteran writer and documentary director who holds a Ph.D. in Art， a member of the Beijing Writers Association and the head of the film and TV department at Palace Museum Academy， a research institute affiliated with the Palace Museum. He has served as a resident artist at the University of California， Berkeley.
　　Zhu has been devoted to studying Chinese culture for many years. Feng Jicai， a famous contemporary Chinese writer， said that Zhu is deeply obsessed with the culture of yesterday， regarding it as part of his spiritual world， which is deeply rooted in the dignity of history， life of the people， characteristics of the nation， ideas of beauty and impressions of emotions.