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Prior to the 1800's, and before foreign influence, China was a powerful country, and had been ruled by many different dynasties starting with the Hsia dynasty in the second millenium B.C. to the Ching dynasty ending in 1911. (A Short History of China, pp. 12, 166.) Although dynasties had changed and several dynasties had been foreign, the Manchus (Ching dynasty) were the last foreign people to rule over China. The Manchus kept their own language and ethnic …

…most--- the largest being the 2nd International Relief Column at 20,000 at Peking, invaded China and beat down the Boxer rebellion. (The Boxer Rebellion 1900.) At the beginning of World War I Europe had more important matters upon which to concentrate. The result was that their focus was on the war and away from China. After 200 years of decline, China made a new beginning, starting on a long, hard road to catch up to the twentieth century.