Introduction

The evolution of the Western nations took place within the framework of the interstate rivalries of Europe, within a statessystem in which the balance of power was recognized and diplomacy was refined. The Chinese state has been resurrected after the collapse of the old Empire, which in its time recognized no peers and was superbly self-confident in its own civilization. Yet the new China has in some respects broken dramatically with its past. The national leaders, Kuomintang and Communist alike, have sought inspiration from the West,

and inevitably have been influenced by outside pressures and the interaction of world events.