I'm looking to quantify what I've been hearing, how much more advanced were the Chinese compared to Middle Eastern and European empires and civilizations throughout history?
As in, how advanced were the Romans/Greeks/Egyptians at their height compared to the Chinese during the same time period.
Hope this wasn't confusing.
Dr. Ian Morris, a classically trained historian turned history popularizer, discusses the difficulty of comparing such disparate regions but tries to do it anyway in his Why the West Rules For Now.
See this comment which summarizes some of his points.
You have to realize what you're asking is something very difficult to quantify. How do you measure 'advanced'? Do you want to know about the nature of government, military arms and strategies, social orders, music, literature? A more specific question would grant you a better answer