China

Japan flexed its muscles and launched a full-scale invasion of China following an incident on July 7th, 1937.

The wars of 1839-42 and 1856-60 are a perfect case study of the divergence of opinion that the British Empire continues to generate.

Jonathan Fenby on the long history behind the rapid demise of one of the brightest lights in China’s political firmament.

Chairman Mao photographed attempting to swim the River Yangtze in July 1966.

The failings of China's 1911 Revolution heralded decades of civil conflict, occupation and suffering for the Chinese people.

Robert Bickers looks at an emerging archive of British photo albums that record both the drama of the 1911 revolution and the surprisingly untroubled daily lives of those who witnessed it.

Russel Tarr compares and contrasts the rise to power of two Communist leaders.

In the late 1890s Herbert Hoover, the future President of the United States, and his wife became embroiled in the violent uprising that broke out in China.

The historical roots of the dispute between China and Japan over control of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands reveal a great deal about the two countries’ current global standing, says Joyman Lee.

As China reclaims its central role in the world, Robert Bickers appeals to Britons and others in the West to take account of the legacy left by the country’s difficult 19th century.