4.1   Chinese Revolution

. Chinese Revolution (a) China in the Pre-War Period In its long history, Chinese civilization was more advanced than that of Europe. But by the end of the nineteenth century, its progress had halted. The Manchus, the ruling dynasty, had governed China since about . The entire administration system was in the hands of a bureaucracy of scholar-officials called mandarins who came from the landed gentry. The mass of peasant population was poverty- stricken, and suffered from high rents, high taxes, and shortage of land. There was a very little industry, though some railways and engineering works had been built.