May 4th, 1919: the Birthday of Modern China

For more than 2,000 years China was ruled by emperors. These men who commanded the country possessed absolute authority and governed by divine right. During this time, cycles of political struggle and war facilitated the rise and fall of dynasty after dynasty. Of course, no empire lasts forever, and in the autumn of 1911, the last Chinese dynasty (the Great Qing) was toppled by a coalition of revolutionaries.