The Greek and Roman civilizations, the world's great religions, life and political philosophies, the Renaissance, and the rise and fall of great powers, the American and Spanish Civil Wars, the two World Wars, all taught and remembered as intrinsic to mankind's history. Yet, China's great and enduring civilization its turbulent history, the rise and fall of its successive emperors, warlords and communist rulers is largely unknown by the non-Chinese world.This book is about an era in China's recent past which not only deserves to be known by the outside world, but should be taught in schools and universities since it shaped the life, attitude and future of a quarter of this planet's population aspiring to become the dominant economic power of this century.