I feel like I know next to nothing about Imperial China, so I would be interested in any facet or time period. What I'm looking for are really well-written books that are accessible to a non-historian.
Have a look at the book list which has its own section on Imperial China. Those are the books which have been recommended by the flaired users here, and makes for a pretty solid list of excellent sources.
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books/eastasia#wiki_imperial_china