2006 • E21 May 20, 2006 45m
For milennia, the Chinese empire and its emperor's rule by divine mandate of heaven seemed unshakable, the sole true civilization, Middle Kingdom means center of the universe, symbolically reflected in the Forbidden City. It all changed quite suddenly since a concubine rose to ruling regent for her husband and the crown prince of the Manchu (last, conquering) dynasty, a perversion of Confucian tradition. She failed to realize the arrival of greedy Europeans, mainly Britain, was the greatest threat since the Mongols. Long before, meticulous protocol overtook pragmatic ruling, eunuchs caught in a horror life dominated 'Byzantine' court intrigue. From the 19th century, three opium wars showed the conservative empire weak and outdated, easily overran and internally ready for the 20th century revolutions.
