China, a country so big. Bigger than Brazil.

With a history so long. Longer than 5000 years.

A population so large, the largest in the world.

And a language so hard. With a distance so far.

Why do we need to know about China?

The history of China is as rich and strange as that of any country on earth, and its destiny as a nation is now entwined with all others in the search for scarce resources, the exchange of goods, and the expansion of knowledge.

Yet for a long time China was a completely unknown quantity to those living in the West, and even today seems set apart by differences of language, custom, and attitude.