I would posit that there is no civilization so utterly foreign to Americans than China.

Often, American impressions of China are informed by preconceptions, myth, and fear of the other.

For the average American, the sum of all knowledge about China is derived from Chinese restaurants and a vague recollection of the Tiananmen Square incident.

Something…something…tank man.

Oh… and also that the Chinese are dirty communists, that they steal our jobs, sell us crappy products, and are going to take over the world.

Little, if any, effort is made to explore the nuance of Chinese motivations–which involve an extensive, complex and multi-faceted past.

With more than 4,000 years of recorded history, any reasonable study of China is an admittedly monumental task.

But with anything, all it takes is some effort and a good place to start.

And just starting is as important as anything–because, as President Joe Biden said, “we are in a competition with China to win the 21st century.”

If anyone is going to talk the US down from its planned mass murder-suicide campaign, we are going to have to know what we are talking about.

So in this week’s episode of Liberty Weekly, I decided to start at the beginning of US/China relations–roughly 1840. 

I invite you to join me.