The one who built China with blood and sweat, most brutally
A crumbling empire
For four thousand years, the emperors of China ruled over one of the most advanced societies in the world. The Chinese invented gunpowder, paper, and the compass. They created beautiful ceramics, jade statues, and paintings.
Europeans were eager to buy the luxury goods produced by the great Chinese society. In the 1700s, Spanish, British, and Dutch traders brought silver to China and exchanged it for silk, fine porcelain, and tea. Chinese emperors welcomed the income, but they were suspicious of foreign influence. They tried to limit foreign merchants to a single port city.
Looking west
By the 1800s, the Western world had gained a technological advantage over the Chinese. Europeans and Americans had invented the steam engine, built modern weapons, and mass-produced shoes and clothing.
By the mid-1800s, Western powers were returning to China with well-armed soldiers and were pressuring China to open its ports to Western traders. The traders bought luxury goods from the Chinese, and in return, they sold opium to the Chinese.
The Qing dynasty, the ruling family of China, lost two wars with European powers and one war with Japan. The Chinese people, distrusting their government, rebelled. Millions were killed in bloody civil wars. Millions more wasted their lives as opium addicts in opium dens.
The Qin emperors made some efforts to establish modern industries and schools. However, by the time Mao came out of the house, young Chinese people were impatient with the pace of change. They decided that there was only one way to pull China out of its turmoil. They decided to educate themselves in Western ways. China needed to bring in modern ideas and modern technology.
More importantly, China needs a modern, democratic government. To become a modern government, the people will have to overthrow their emperor.
