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Online Chinese Dictionary Have a word or character to look-up? Use our free and extensive online dictionary . Read more…
Ancient stone writings Stone steles form the most permanent of records. Over the centuries they have been used as memorials, reference libraries, calligraphy samples and poems. Visitors to China will have seen these revered inscriptions in all sorts of locations: mountains, houses, parks and museums documenting the lives and feelings of people over the centuries. They are a powerful and permanent expression of the continuity of Chinese history. Read more…
A survey of Chinese literature As both the book and printing were invented in China it is not surprising that Chinese literature has a long and distinguished history. There are a number of very famous novels from before the time of Shakespeare including The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Water Margin. Read more…
Chinese Tortures China since early Imperial times has had a system of brutal punishments for crime. Torture was routinely used to extract a confession and there was no defense attorney to help you. For high treason a particularly gruesome and painful death was devised - death by a thousand cuts. Even today China uses the death penalty more frequently than the rest of the world put together. Read more…
Japan and China History of the often difficult relations between China and Japan. The Japanese occupation of China 1937-45 and continued U.S. support for Japan has led to continuing frictions between governments and peoples. Read more…
War between Britain and China The import of opium from India had a devastating effect on China. Although opium had been grown and used in China for centuries the import of huge quantities of the British controlled trade into Guangdong proved far more addictive. The two 'Opium Wars ' between Britain, France and China 1839-1860 mark China's forced change in direction after thousands of year of dynastic rule. Defeat by a far away foreign power created turmoil in China and triggered the 'century of humiliation' from which China only emerged in 1949. Read more…