ABSTRACT
The history of China, ever portrayed in terms of its glorious culture and storied continuity, differs remarkably from general perceptions and common knowledge, being instead an interminable struggle between the forces of light and dark, culture and brutality, the civil and the martial. For five millennia China has tortuously suffered constant warfare, upheaval, and disintegration, untold millions repeatedly perishing whenever central authority waned and barbaric forces sundered the realm. Powerful generals forged personal domains then exploited the loyalty of troops enamored by promises of great rewards to contend for ultimate power. Milienarian leaders manipulated spiritual beliefs and wreaked havoc in purported quests to realize Utopian visions, frequently destroying everything before them, oblivious even to the humanitarian constraints of their own religious precepts. Nomadic peoples repeatedly mounted incursions from out of the steppes, pillaging and plundering the border regions except during brief respites consequent to their decimation by powerful dynastic Chinese armies. Various tribes successively dominated North China for many centuries after the Han, and a few peoples, such as the Mongols and Manchus, conquered all of it through massively destructive campaigns long thereafter. In short, virtually every year witnessed a major battle somewhere in China, significant conflicts erupted nearly every decade, and the nation was consumed by inescapable warfare at least once a century.
