The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty: A Restudy of the Opium War
A few days ago I read The Hungry Golden Age: The Gains and Losses of the Qianlong Era and found it extremely satisfying. It reminded me that I still had The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty: A Restudy of the Opium War, which I downloaded to my Kindle last year. So I naturally continued with it. Qianlong’s reign went from peak prosperity into decline. Fifty years later, under his grandson Daoguang, the collapse finally began. These two books actually reveal many commonalities, and of course they are also deep analyses of the late Qing, and even of China’s institutions and culture. They can fully corroborate each other. This is especially valuable now, when today’s textbooks have been altered beyond recognition. Historical narratives are completely controlled by the current rulers. The beginning of modern Chinese history that we learned, the Opium War, is an especially obvious example. After reading this book, I systematically reflected on the impressions I had previously acquired. It also filled many unreasonable gaps in textbooks and online historical narratives. In particular, its re-evaluation of historical figures and its research into policies and their changes are very valuable. Especially in today’s 2025, China has rejoined the world order, yet there is also a trend toward comprehensive decoupling. Right now, in mid-November, Sino-Japanese relations have again fallen to a freezing point. Official and public emotions are severe. From this, one can see many shadows of history. China is making progress, but its historical burdens remain heavy. Its degree of modernization is still far behind the West, especially in politics and institutions, and secondarily in culture. In contrast, the economic gap is becoming smaller and smaller.