Introduction

At present we are witnessing a gigantic process of political, economic, and social development launched after ages of stagnation by a nation of nearly a billion inhabitants. One of the major factors that prepared the ground for radical change in China was its collision with the West. While China had never been absorbed into the various European colonial empires, its situation as a “semi-colony” became increasingly obvious to everyone following the Opium War. Foreign powers extorted a series of “unequal” treaties, concessions, and exterritorial rights from the Chinese government. In addition to this, and in plain discrimination against all Chinese, various supervisory powers over purely Chinese institutions such as the postal service had to be granted to foreigners. All this could not but help offending Chinese patriotic sentiments. In the end, the long years of war against Japan as well as the civil wars had so shaken China’s stability that a totally new beginning in all spheres of life became necessary.