Dreams of China Broken - China and the World on the Eve of the 19th Century

Author: Zou Mulun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: In 1840, for China and the Chinese people, it should have been a belated era. If the long-sealed old world was destined to be connected or opened up sooner or later, then China had arrived at an unfavorable time to meet the troublemaking Westerners. In 1840, the Chinese people's ideal of "being content without desires and finding sufficiency in the world" was shattered. The Chinese way of life that embraced poverty and sought tranquility, as well as the nation's peaceful and detached temperament, were shaken by the Westerners. Thus, when viewing the world from China, the world appeared to have moved forward, developed, or even progressed. It seemed neither better nor worse—it had simply developed. When viewing China from overseas, China was not necessarily lagging behind or regressing; it was merely stagnant. The interweaving of development and stagnation formed the tragic Sino-Western conflict of modern times. Until today, when the Chinese nation has already emerged from the of, people suddenly look back and wonder: was the blood-and-fire war of a century ago a blessing or a curse for the Chinese nation? Setting aside the inevitable mutual exclusion that arises when two civilizations meet, let us consider only the perspective of commercial trade. In today's era of global transportation, everything that the Chinese people once strongly rejected has become a reality. After a century of struggle, the Westerners finally achieved their goals, and the Chinese could not resist the tide of the times. The difference is that China finally won self-respect from the confrontation. However, this was the result of the Chinese people conforming to the trend, not the achievement of resisting the trend. Moreover, such a result was never something unattainable for the ancient China. Was it worth paying such a heavy price for this result?