China - The History of Modern China

China, whose recorded history extends back several thousand years, was once the most advanced civilization on earth. But after centuries of self-imposed isolation, the so-called Middle Kingdom found itself lagging behind the world's industrialized countries. Defeated militarily by the Western powers and Japan during the second half of the 19th century, China went through a series of reforms and revoluations before the emergence of the People's Republic of China in 1949.