Featuring the history of modern China during the period from 1840 when the first Opium War started, to 1915, 3 years after the fall of the Qing dynasty and the founding of the Republic of China. How did the Chinese civilization address the challenges posed by the seemingly overpowering Western civilization? What drove the progression of the Chinese society? What were the intertwining driving forces that triggered the comprehensive transformation China and how did they affect the course of Chinese civilization? In response to these questions, the book re-examines the history of modern China and explores the inner logic of political evolution and the laws of social development, with a view to learning from history.