In 1921, when Rudolf Hommel joined Henry Chapman Mercer on his expedition into China, they found a land untouched by the arrival of machine technology. Grain was planted in holes dug with a long-handled conical stone; it was threshed by slashing the stalks against slatted wooden frames. River-mud bricks were pulled across the fields on sleds with rope handles, then used to build houses which had bamboo roofs and soil floors pounded smooth. The hand-woven cloth was dyed, wrung by hand, and draped on large bamboo scaffolds to dry.

Hommel limited his examination—wisely, in view of the wealth of examples that he found—to primary tools, those which met people's basic needs; he discussed the handicrafting of tools and methods of providing food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. The photographs and sketches are thoroughly documented, and the various processes are explained and, when necessary, located by region.

A review by Florence Ayscough in Books (September 12, 1937) referred to the original 1937 edition of China at Work as a "book which reveals the lives of millions who, in order to remain among the living, must daily hsiang fa tzu—evolve methods—with tools incredibly primitive, yet incredibly effective." Nearly unavailable since that limited first edition, the volume is now more than a historical study; it is a first-hand source book for a time that is now gone.

鲁道夫·P·霍梅尔，1885年生于德国慕尼黑，其父为慕尼黑大学东方语言学教授弗里茨·霍梅尔（Fritz Hommel，1854—1936）。鲁道夫·P·霍梅尔在慕尼黑接受早期教育，21岁时移居美国，辗转纽黑文和克利夫兰等地，之后到了新英格兰，在哈佛大学学习希腊语、拉丁语，以及其他古代典籍，后到伯利恒（Bethlehem）的里海大学（Lehigh University）学化学，并在该校任副教授。后来，他认识了宾夕法尼亚州多伊尔斯敦的亨利·查普曼·莫瑟，被莫瑟博士所吸引，终于双方在充满魅力的人类工具研究方面产生共鸣，为协助莫瑟博士进行工具调查，毅然舍弃了从前的地位。莫瑟博士主要收集美国土著工具，并决心进行中国民间手工艺调查，委托鲁道夫·P·霍梅尔担当此任。霍梅尔先后在中国住了8年，克服重重困难，完成了令人难以置信的调查工作。

本书1937年的版本由约翰·戴公司出版，由于其学术价值和广泛的影响，1969年美国麻省理工学院出版社重新出版了本书，此汉译本即依该版本翻译。

由于作者一直对莫瑟博士深怀敬意，所以，本书英文版的扉页上专门以当时已经辞世的莫瑟的名义将其献给莫瑟的舅舅。