Even in history, India was conquered by the British - China got wrecked but not colonized. They fought bravely and desperately against all comers rather than rolling over.
2 out of the last 3 dynasties of China were ruled by foreign conquerors. Let that sink in. TWO out of the last THREE. Even before the Mongols came along, the northern half of China was ruled by foreign conquerors for almost 700 years. In fact, the Jin dynasty that the Mongols conquered was already ruled by foreign conquerors (called the Jurchens) who themselves had replaced another dynasty of foreign conquerors (called the Khitans) to become the rulers of the northern half of China. Keep in mind that the northern half of China is the more important half, as it contains the original heartland of China while the south was originally a frontier land. The Khitans and Jurchens alone brutally enslaved the Chinese for more than 300 years.
Even the Tang dynasty, considered the golden age of China, originated from foreign-ruled dynasties. After the fall of the Han dynasty, the northern half of China was repeatedly conquered by various foreign invaders for almost 300 years during a time of total chaos and suffering. The foreign "barbarians" came in wave after wave, replacing previous conquerors and running a train of destruction on the enslaved Chinese population. Eventually, one of the northern barbarian-ruled dynasties conquered the rest of China and then transitioned into the Tang dynasty. The rulers of Tang were ethnic Xianbei who larped as Han Chinese.
In the middle of the multi-ethnic Tang dynasty, an Indo-European general named An Lushan started a civil war that has been called the second deadliest conflict in history after WWII. Some scholars claim that 36 million people died, or 1/6 of the world's population. Regardless, about 2/3 of China's entire population was killed or displaced. An Lushan tried to conquer all of China and even Indo-Europeans, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Arabs got involved, massacring the defenseless population of China. This is the war in which 30,000 civilians were eaten during a prolonged siege. By the time the siege ended, only 400 civilians remained. The Tang dynasty never recovered from this war and declined.
Once the Tang dynasty collapsed, the northern half of China was again conquered by foreigners. The Khitans and Jurchens enslaved, oppressed and exploited the Chinese for more than 300 years. The Jurchens were especially brutal. In the Jingkang Incident, they captured the Song dynasty capital and massacred, raped and enslaved the entire population, including the royal family of China. The emperor himself and 14,000 elites were forced to march all the way to the Jurchen capital, where they all became slaves or sex slaves. The Jurchens ruled the northern half of China with an iron fist, but they were eventually replaced by the Mongols, who conquered all of China. The Mongols enforced a rigid caste system in which the "southern Chinese" were placed at the absolute bottom, below the "northern Chinese." The northern Chinese elites were not ethnically Chinese; they were the descendants of the foreign invaders who had repeatedly conquered the northern half of China for centuries.
The Mongol Yuan dynasty was eventually ousted by Chinese peasants. The first emperor of the Ming dynasty was originally a homeless bum. After all that time being dominated by foreigners, the actual Chinese finally ruled all of China... but not for long. Northern foreigners called the Manchus conquered all of China and established the Qing dynasty, which is the last dynasty in the history of China. 25 million people died during the Manchu conquest of China. The Manchus were extremely cruel to the enslaved Chinese population. They brutally imposed a national hairstyle called the "queue," which was essentially a circumcision of the head that symbolized Chinese enslavement to the Manchus, and carried out a decade of gruesome massacres against all the Chinese who resisted it. For almost 300 years until the end of the Qing dynasty, it was illegal to not have a queue upon punishment of death. The Manchus even had the most brutal and oppressive literary inquisitions in the history of China. Entire villages were executed to punish individuals who so much as uttered a single word of criticism about the Manchus. "Death by a thousand cuts" was especially popular during the Qing dynasty. Manchu rule of China finally ended in 1912, but it's been well documented that for years afterward many Chinese were still terrified to cut their queue for fear of possible retribution by their former Manchu masters.
Ironically, the modern "Han Chinese" are actually proud of their historical enslavement to the Manchus. Uncle Changs brag that the Han Chinese played an important role in the Manchu conquest of China and aided the Manchus in their massacres of millions of innocent Han Chinese. The shameless Han Chinese even boast that the Manchus were benevolent masters and worship Manchu emperors such as Kang Xi.
Take a look at a topographic map of China and see how flat and open the heartland is. China is begging to be invaded. Historically, China was the most invaded region in the world and the Chinese were the most subjugated people in the world. Despite outnumbering all their enemies, the Chinese were massacred a myriad of times by a multitude of different foreign ethnicities. Even the Tibetans laid waste to China and sacked its capital.
China has the most tumultuous and tragic history in the world. Don't be fooled by Chinese nationalists and propagandists who try to whitewash and glorify Chinese history.
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2 out of the last 3 dynasties of China were ruled by foreign conquerors. Let that sink in. TWO out of the last THREE. Even before the Mongols came along, the northern half of China was ruled by foreign conquerors for almost 700 years. In fact, the Jin dynasty that the Mongols conquered was already ruled by foreign conquerors (called the Jurchens) who themselves had replaced another dynasty of foreign conquerors (called the Khitans) to become the rulers of the northern half of China. Keep in mind that the northern half of China is the more important half, as it contains the original heartland of China while the south was originally a frontier land. The Khitans and Jurchens alone brutally enslaved the Chinese for more than 300 years. Even the Tang dynasty, considered the golden age of China, originated from foreign-ruled dynasties. After the fall of the Han dynasty, the northern half of China was repeatedly conquered by various foreign invaders for almost 300 years during a time of total chaos and suffering. The foreign "barbarians" came in wave after wave, replacing previous conquerors and running a train of destruction on the enslaved Chinese population. Eventually, one of the northern barbarian-ruled dynasties conquered the rest of China and then transitioned into the Tang dynasty. The rulers of Tang were ethnic Xianbei who larped as Han Chinese.
In the middle of the multi-ethnic Tang dynasty, an Indo-European general named An Lushan started a civil war that has been called the second deadliest conflict in history after WWII. Some scholars claim that 36 million people died, or 1/6 of the world's population. Regardless, about 2/3 of China's entire population was killed or displaced. An Lushan tried to conquer all of China and even Indo-Europeans, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Arabs got involved, massacring the defenseless population of China. This is the war in which 30,000 civilians were eaten during a prolonged siege. By the time the siege ended, only 400 civilians remained. The Tang dynasty never recovered from this war and declined.
Once the Tang dynasty collapsed, the northern half of China was again conquered by foreigners. The Khitans and Jurchens enslaved, oppressed and exploited the Chinese for more than 300 years. The Jurchens were especially brutal. In the Jingkang Incident, they captured the Song dynasty capital and massacred, raped and enslaved the entire population, including the royal family of China. The emperor himself and 14,000 elites were forced to march all the way to the Jurchen capital, where they all became slaves or sex slaves. The Jurchens ruled the northern half of China with an iron fist, but they were eventually replaced by the Mongols, who conquered all of China. The Mongols enforced a rigid caste system in which the "southern Chinese" were placed at the absolute bottom, below the "northern Chinese." The northern Chinese elites were not ethnically Chinese; they were the descendants of the foreign invaders who had repeatedly conquered the northern half of China for centuries.
The Mongol Yuan dynasty was eventually ousted by Chinese peasants. The first emperor of the Ming dynasty was originally a homeless bum. After all that time being dominated by foreigners, the actual Chinese finally ruled all of China... but not for long. Northern foreigners called the Manchus conquered all of China and established the Qing dynasty, which is the last dynasty in the history of China. 25 million people died during the Manchu conquest of China. The Manchus were extremely cruel to the enslaved Chinese population. They brutally imposed a national hairstyle called the "queue," which was essentially a circumcision of the head that symbolized Chinese enslavement to the Manchus, and carried out a decade of gruesome massacres against all the Chinese who resisted it. For almost 300 years until the end of the Qing dynasty, it was illegal to not have a queue upon punishment of death. The Manchus even had the most brutal and oppressive literary inquisitions in the history of China. Entire villages were executed to punish individuals who so much as uttered a single word of criticism about the Manchus. "Death by a thousand cuts" was especially popular during the Qing dynasty. Manchu rule of China finally ended in 1912, but it's been well documented that for years afterward many Chinese were still terrified to cut their queue for fear of possible retribution by their former Manchu masters. Ironically, the modern "Han Chinese" are actually proud of their historical enslavement to the Manchus. Uncle Changs brag that the Han Chinese played an important role in the Manchu conquest of China and aided the Manchus in their massacres of millions of innocent Han Chinese. The shameless Han Chinese even boast that the Manchus were benevolent masters and worship Manchu emperors such as Kang Xi.
Take a look at a topographic map of China and see how flat and open the heartland is. China is begging to be invaded. Historically, China was the most invaded region in the world and the Chinese were the most subjugated people in the world. Despite outnumbering all their enemies, the Chinese were massacred a myriad of times by a multitude of different foreign ethnicities. Even the Tibetans laid waste to China and sacked its capital.
China has the most tumultuous and tragic history in the world. Don't be fooled by Chinese nationalists and propagandists who try to whitewash and glorify Chinese history.
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