十九世纪初，清王朝迅速衰败。英国在这一时期向中国大量输入鸦片，清政府力图查禁鸦片。英国为保护鸦片贸易，于1840年对中国发动侵略战争，清政府最后同英国政府签订了丧权辱国的《南京条约》。鸦片战争之后，英、美、法、俄、日等国家不断强迫清政府签订各种不平等条约，中国逐渐沦为半殖民地半封建社会。1911年孙中山领导的辛亥革命，推翻了清王朝的统治，同时也结束了2000多年的封建君主制，建立了中华民国。



Early in the 19th century,the Qing Dynasty declined rapidly. Britain smuggled large quantities of opium into China and the Qing government imposed a ban on the drug. In an effort to protect its opium trade, Britain launched a war of aggression against China in 1840. The Qing government finally signed the Treaty of Nanking with the British government, which was a national betrayal and humiliation. Many countries, including Britain,the United States, France, Russia and Japan, forced the Qing government to sign various unequal treaties after the Opium War. China was gradually relegated to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal country. The Revolution of 1911 led by Dr.Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty ,ended over 2,000 years of feudal monarchy and established the Republic of China.