ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the reader to some of the fundamental facts about China and its history. Topics mentioned include China’s philosophic tradition based on Confucianism, its venerable literary tradition, China’s pioneering role in a variety of technological and scientific discoveries, and its bureaucratic system of government, which for many centuries was the most efficient of any empire in the world. The chapter also provides an overview of China’s geography and the non-Chinese minorities who live in the PRC. Finally, Chapter One mentions the impact Western Europe had on China beginning in the eighteenth century, which turned into a challenge that threatened the very basis of Chinese life.
