At the turn of the 20th century, China was still ruled by a dowager empress, last of an ancient dynasty that refused to engage with the modern world. Half a century later it was the People’s Republic of China, headed by Mao Zedong, on track to become one of the most powerful nations on Earth. In this video we’ll delve into the complicated story of China’s tumultuous half-century and try to understand how it became what it is today.