ABSTRACT
Conventional wisdom within the field of sinology maintains that the Chinese, despite being an ancient people, were neither a nation nor possessed of nationalist sentiments for much of their history. Situated in the eastern part of the continent of Asia, the People's Republic of China is a continental country rich in natural resources but burdened by an oppressive population size and density. China's mineral resources include rich petroleum deposits with low sulfur content, huge quantities of coal deposits, widely distributed iron-ore deposits, and a variety of nonferrous metals. Contemporary Chinese scholars speculate that the dragon most probably began as the totem of First Sovereign Fu Xi's tribe, worshipped as its genesis and god. In China's ancient theory of tributary relations, the Middle Kingdom was the center of civilization. Despite the periodic peasant upheavals, Imperial China displayed an impressive stability and a stubborn conservatism.
