ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the processes by which China has been drawn into close relations with the other nations of the world. It proceeds the immense importance of the religious and cultural aspect of China's relationship with the West. While China is a very large user of silver, and has been for many generations. Another more important element in the situation was China's sense of self-sufficiency and superiority. The early intercourse in the South was marked by cruelty and high-handedness, and the representatives of foreign nations had shown a marked ignorance of Chinese customs and thought. It was this failure in mutual understanding which precipitated the first war with Britain in 1840-42. The Chino-Japanese War gave an impetus to the aggressive designs of the Western Powers, it also aroused many Chinese to the need for more far-reaching reforms. The chapter also discusses some events such as the Boxer outbreak, and the Russo-Japanese War.
