A French sneak attack in 1884 led to a fundamental misunderstanding of Qing technological prowess. It’s time to reexamine the popular — but simplistic, if not outright wrong — idea that China’s military losses to Europe (and, later, Japan) owed to its inability to modernize.
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
