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Preface
In recent years, China's reform and opening-up movement, as well as her rapid development, have increasingly drawn attention from foreign countries hoping for a deeper peek into what has always been a mysterious land for them. At the same time, China needs to reveal herself to the international community as much as possible, so as to integrate herself smoothly with the rest of the world.
However, rarely do we see books on China's evolution by local authors becoming popular with foreign readers, and there are even fewer widely-read books that cover Chinese history, culture, current situation and challenges. This is why I readily agreed when Mrs. Zhang Haiou, Deputy Chief Editor of New World Press, asked me to compile a book about Chinese history. I knew I would meet with many difficulties, but it would be worthwhile.
The idea for this book came from Mr. Lin Liangqi, former Deputy Chief Editor of China International Publishing Group. He has worked on media and cultural exchanges between China and the world, and is well experienced in this field. He proposed that the basic content of this book be centered on China in the past and present China. In his proposal, China's past would focus on the changes that have taken place in the country, her population and territory as well as her contributions to politics, economy and culture. Present China would mainly reflect China's independence, changing processes in foreign affairs, national unification-especially China's reform and opening-up-and the achievements related to her modernization. He also incorporated the suggestion of a senior journalist to name the book China Through the Ages-from Confucius to Deng, hoping to connect China's 5,000-year history with the two world-famous figures.
