China is an ancient civilization with a history of 5,000 years. Over the past 5,000 years, China has undergone repeated changes and wars again and again, and only then has it become the peaceful and prosperous era it is today.
And in the process of China's becoming stronger, countless invaders have left a deep imprint on the mainland. They burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil, causing the Chinese people to live in dire straits! For example, the Eight-Nation Coalition Army in 1900.
In 1900, the Eight Great Powers from all over the world. They landed at the mouth of Dagu in Tianjin and marched all the way west to break through the city of Beijing. They numbered only a few thousand, and tens of thousands of Manchu soldiers could not stop them, and Cixi was forced to flee overnight, leaving only the city of Beijing to be ravaged by these colonial invaders.
Later, the Manchu court actually signed the most humiliating treaty in Chinese history with these eight countries, the "Xinchou Treaty". After that, the Manchu government was officially reduced to the "court of foreigners".
Today, the Manchu dynasty has long since fallen. So, what happened to the "British Empire, the United States of America, the French Republic, the German Empire, the Japanese Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, the Russian Empire, and the Hungarian Empire" that invaded China? Two of them no longer exist!
United Kingdom
The British Empire, i.e., Great Britain, was known a long time ago as the Empire on which the sun never sets. The reason for this was that many countries around the world were colonies of Britain at that time. That is, wherever the British are in the daylight, the name is similar to "under the whole world, it is not the king's land". Of course, from this name, we can also see how powerful Britain was in its heyday.
However, after historical changes, Britain's international status is not as good as before. The decline of Britain began in the latter part of World War II. The advent of the electric age has led to rapid development in Germany and the United States. However, Britain, which has long occupied the throne of the world's largest power, does not want to make progress and does not grasp the potential of this industrial revolution.
Later, with the secession of British colonies one after another, Britain's strength fell off a cliff. Add to that the fact that in 2016, the UK lost the support of the European Union. Britain's foreign trade is no longer as convenient as it used to be, and economic growth has slowed significantly. In 2020, a sudden new crown epidemic swept the world, and the British economy was hit hard again. Today's Britain is in decline.
France
France, like England, is reeling on the path of decay. As the country with the heaviest crimes of the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of China, France is not as good as before. While France remains one of the most important countries in Europe, during World War II, they were invaded and became one of the hardest hit.
In recent years, there has been an increase in terrorist attacks and racial discrimination in France, and the trust of the people in France in the government has dropped significantly. Although it still has a certain influence in the world, compared with France in its former strong period, it has long lost its former glory.
Italy
In World War II, Italy was one of the countries that waged war. Although at the end of World War II, the domestic anti-fascist war was victorious, thrown into the arms of the Allies, and exempted the defeated countries from punishment, but the war still caused a lot of damage to Italy. Now Italy is also mired in an aging population, and the economy is slow.
In recent years, with the increase of China's national strength, Italy has also realized the mistakes made during its invasion of China, and has returned many cultural relics one after another.
United States
When the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded China, the United States did not play a leading role. At that time, the United States sent only two warships and more than 3,000 troops. During the entire invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the most the United States did was to play soy sauce with Britain, France and other powers, and take advantage of it by the way.
However, many people never imagined that Britain's younger brother at that time, the United States, which was inconspicuous among the European powers, surpassed Britain and became the most powerful country in the world after two world wars.
Today, the United States is overwhelming the world with its unrivaled technological and military industrial strength. From the beginning of World War II to the present, the United States has been the most powerful country in the world for 75 years.
However, the epidemic that broke out in 2020 almost beat the world's number one power to the ground. Coupled with the fierce racial conflicts in the United States, the disparity between the rich and the poor, and so on, all indicate that the United States is heading for recession.
Of course, even so, the strong foundation determines that the United States is still a military power in the world. However, it is undeniable that in the long run, as the United States declines, they will retain their position as the world's number one military power.
Japan
In China's history, Japan has always been a very weak island nation. However, in recent history, they have become powerful through the Meiji Restoration. Japan, which had become stronger, did not settle for itself, but played the role of an aggressor. Later, Japan was defeated in World War II and eventually became a vassal state of the United States. Even so, Japan grew stronger in just a few decades after the defeat of the war. For this island country that has been spying on China, we must always be vigilant.
Germany
If you compare 1900 and today, which of the eight countries has changed the most, the answer is Germany. When the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded China, Germany was still an empire. Now Germany has not only lost its emperor, but has also become a republic, and its territory has shrunk by as much as 40%.
And the main reason why Germany has become like this is that both world wars ended in defeat, and defeat naturally has to pay a price. Not only did Germany lose 40% of its territory, but it was almost reduced to the ruins of the war.
However, it has to be said that the Germans are indeed tenacious enough. On top of the ruins, the Germans, with their profound scientific and technological and industrial heritage, once again built Germany into a developed country. Today, Germany remains the strongest and most dynamic country in Europe.
The two countries that disappeared
Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary. Both countries were among the most powerful countries in the world at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, the Russian Empire covered an area of 22 million square kilometers, accounting for nearly half of Eurasia, and Austria-Hungary was once the second largest country in Europe after Russia.
With the development of the times, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed due to World War I, and the Russian Empire also changed dynasties. Now the country is named "Russian Federation", and the land area has shrunk by more than 5 million square kilometers. Regardless of the development of the current successor states of the two countries, from a historical point of view, the two countries at that time no longer exist today.
epilogue
The cycle of heavenly reason, retribution is unpleasant. It has been more than 120 years since the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded China and China. And when they invaded other countries, they were also attacked by war. As the saying goes, if you hurt the enemy, you will lose 800 yourself. The final outcome of these countries will only be to decline and perish.