On February 18, 1943, Soong May-ling became the first Chinese national to address Congress in Washington, D.C. — only the beginning of a six-week tour to win American support for China's cause.
In 1724, the Yongzheng Emperor proscribed Christianity. But what he really wanted is what rulers always want: people who will serve their state but not threaten its order. Jesuit advisers working in China's capital at that time, after all, had proved useful to the empire.
An Lushan's rebellion was one of the bloodiest conflicts in world history. He may have envisaged a bright new era when he crowned himself emperor, but his reign was short, and brought an end to China's golden age.
Yue Fei was a 12th-century Song dynasty general who was betrayed by the minister Qin Hui. Throughout history, his reputation has changed — from symbol of ethnic nationalism to hero of the people — but his status still looms large.
With hardline conservatives breathing down his neck in Beijing, Deng Xiaoping made an unannounced trip south in January 1992 to visit his reform-minded friends, a calculated move without any guarantee of success. But his gambit paid off in a big way.
Echoes of Maoism in the storming of Capitol Hill.
The New Fourth Army Incident, in which Communist troops were routed at the hands of the Nationalist Army, has been a source of contention ever since it happened. But what is clear is that it set the stage for further internecine conflict, even as China stared down a common enemy.
Any event as monumental as the fall of the Ming dynasty has many causes. Yet in the winter of 1643, it may have been bubonic plague that knocked the last supports out from under the dynasty, leaving it open to attack from within and without.
Xuanye (1654–1722), better known as the Kangxi Emperor, is widely considered one of imperial China’s most successful rulers. But in a valedictory speech given five years before his death, he revealed his fears and vulnerabilities with a candor that seems almost impossible for the politicians who lead the world today.