By Hunter Richmond
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Abstract
As the world becomes increasingly multipolar, the international stage can no longer turn a blind eye toward China. The People’s Republic of China is a rising superpower with the world’s number two economy, a modernized military, globalized aspirations, and the largest population. In just a generation, China has transformed form a poor, rural and agrarian society into a wealthy and urbanized manufacturing powerhouse. They have proven themselves to be worthy of international recognition for their advancements in science, technology, education, and global influence. This rapid growth supports the theory of global power shift from the West to the East—opening the door to an Asian-centric twenty-first century. To visualize the future of China, we must understand where they are coming from. Learning Chinese history equips us with the proper knowledge to foretell the destiny of the nation. Their revolutionary progression can be traced back to an event that flipped Chinese policy upside down. The Opium Wars (1839-1842, 1856-1860) sparked the development of the modern China by awakening a sleeping giant to compete with the Western world. Defeat and humiliation would stimulate a defensive mindset, fueling a sense of solidarity and nationalresolve to never fall prey again to foreign exploitation. In the context of the Opium Wars, the Chinese people were oppressed by a strong British military, multinational capitalist companies, and the destructive habit of the opium trade. Corrupted foreign influence poisoned Chinese policy and instilled a mentality to be on par with the West. As China fell victim to European imperialism, a once revered civilization found itself humiliated—setting the stage for modern China’s resurgence
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