In southeast Asia, there is an interesting state - the People's Republic of China. This state has thousands of years of history, although officially, its current chronology dates back to 1949. In terms of population, it is the first in the world; it is home to about one and a half billion people. You can talk a lot and for a long time about a state, citing various statistics and figures, but it will not be interesting.
It is much more interesting to look at how this state existed, and why, despite all the efforts of its enemies, not only could it not survive, but also became the world leader in economics and capital investment over the past 2-3 decades. And although China's GDP is about 2 times less than that of the United States, it should be noted that most of the US GDP is not production, but financial transactions. And if you also remember that the Fed has already twice postponed the maturity of dollar debt obligations, and this event can happen at any time, China has every chance to become the next hegemon after the United States on our small planet.
The most amazing thing is that even 100-150 years ago, no one could even imagine this. Yes, the forecasts of the time claimed that the US economy would outpace the economy of any other country, and this came true. Yes, at that time it was believed that the new united Germany would still make Europe "remember all the saints" and this came true. Many said that the colonial system of Great Britain would collapse in the near future - and this also came true.
But no one could have guessed that the country, which has been in the opium fog for more than a century, has experienced the intervention of the next "peacekeeping contingents" several times during this time in less than 50 years will defeat all the enemies around it; in less than 100 years will come out on top in some industrial indicators; and in less than 120 years it will become the second (and soon the first) economy in the world.
What is the reason for this success? Is it really possible in such a short time to make a leap from deep feudalism to modern times? Let's try to figure it out; maybe China just got lucky with the leaders? This point of view has a right to exist, because in the entire history of China, not so much really great, but just good, leaders can be enumerated on the fingers of one hand.
The first great leader of China was Qin Shi Huang. Actually, it was from him that China began its existence as a single state. After all, it is only in our imagination that all Chinese are the same, speak the same language and eat rice noodles. In fact, this is far from the case. Yes, they have a Mongoloid race, but that's where the similarities end. Before the first emperor, China consisted of seven warring kingdoms with different cultures, languages and scripts; and, naturally, with a different state structure.
Qin Shi Huang Ti not only conquered these kingdoms, he made a lot of reforms aimed at uniting these peoples into one state, giving them a single language and a single system of laws. In fact, when the first standards commission was created in Europe, they based their actions on the work of this emperor.
Another epoch-making person for China was Mao Zedong. Under his leadership, China was able to break free from the blockade of Western "benefactors", rid the majority of its population from drug addiction inherited from the Opium Wars, defeat the Japanese invaders, create a powerful industry and make China a nuclear power. When you realize that almost all of this was inspired by one person, it becomes a little uncomfortable. Lead a billion people and lead them from total poverty to prosperity. And this fantastic result was achieved in less than half a century. Here, inevitably, jokingly ask the question: was Mao a man?
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The third leader, with whom the Chinese were lucky, was with them quite recently. And so far, his role seems to be not great, but this man was able to implement what even Mao himself could not do. In less than 10 years, Jiang Zemin was able to resolve the contradiction between socialism and capitalism, forcing one and a half billion people (every fifth inhabitant of the Earth) to live and work according to the laws of a system that combines the seemingly incongruous: the interests of the people and the interests of capital.
Or maybe it's not about the leaders. After all, in the end, a leader is just a person who best reflects the most cherished desires of the people by his actions? After all, real success is achieved only by those politicians whose actions lead to the fulfillment of popular desires.
The Chinese people are unique people. His attitude to work and his value system are very interesting and original. Historically, the Chinese society is very closed and complicated, so we know a little about it and for a representative of Western civilization every manifestation of "Chinese civilization" is a wonder.
China is home to a myriad of inventions and discoveries. Compass, gunpowder, printing press, rockets. And a lot more. At the time when our distant ancestors sat in the forest and prayed to the wheel, China already had a system of state standards, they fought with millions of armies, and cut the seas on battleships with compasses. Another interesting point is that the first remnants of fermented drinks on the walls of vessels, dating back to the ninth millennium BC, were found in China. That is, it turns out that in fact, in China, they were the first to make alcoholic beverages!
Be that as it may, today China is the same as thousands of years ago - a huge, closed and highly developed superpower, which makes its policy without regard to the actions of its neighbors. Having successfully defeated some enemies and outlived others, China in our difficult time - the time at the turn of the millennium, has chosen the right direction in politics and is firmly following it. This state will present more than one surprise to the world community. And who knows, perhaps in a couple of generations, the words of the ancient anecdote will come true and the study of the Chinese language will become mandatory for everyone?
