Reading about Chinese history. China became a republic in 1912, the "Boxer Rebellion" of 1901 had already weakened the monarchy. Sun-Yat-Sen (1866-1925), a Chinese Nationalist fluent in English, was the provisional first president of the new rebublic, taking office on 01.01.1912.
Chiang-Kai-Shek (1888-1975), a member of the newly educated military elite, will become Mao's (1893-1976) main rival.
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Reading about Confucianism. It's going to be interesting to see within the coming years, if this old tradition will still be relevant today in China (or even somehow worldwide).