500 years’ great change: China’s falling down and rise up

500 anos da grande mudança: a China cai e se levante

Abstract

500 years ago, the Western Europe began its great voyage around the earth and its grand rise in the world. By the end of the 19th Century, the West ruled the world economically, politically and culturally. Meanwhile, China began its history of sliding into backwardness after Zhenghe ended his voyage to the Western seas and found itself as the target for carving up by foreign powers by the mid-19th Century. However, 100 years later in the middle of the 20th Century, China once again stood up. China has no interest in pursuing supremacy, preferring instead to pursue co-operation and win-win situations; however, with the advancement of China’s “two centenary goals”, particularly the launch of the second centenary goal, the world will undergo major changes, the likes of which have never been seen in the past 500 years.

Key words: 500 years, falling down, rise up