Eighty Years of Modern China

Eighty Years of Modern China, edited by Professor Chen Xulu, is a concise and accessible history of modern China. It covers the eighty years from the Opium War to the May Fourth Movement. With clear arguments and a wealth of historical detail, the book offers a systematic account of how China gradually became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. It highlights the inspiring struggles waged by China's advanced people against imperialism and feudalism in an effort to save their country. Modern China was swept up in unprecedented changes, with class and national conflicts growing exceptionally complex and acute, expressed through frequent political and armed struggles. The main thread is the Chinese people's struggle against imperialism and feudalism, which drove society forward. Another thread is the effort to learn from foreign countries, especially the West, through the pursuit of new scientific knowledge, the exploration of new theories, and social reform.