Understanding a country's history is a vital way of understanding its people. In Unequal Treaties and China, author Wang Jianlang looks at how history has affected the nation and how those unequal treaties from foreign powers have shaped China's policies even up until the modern day. From the first Opium War (1839-1842) and until the birth of New China in 1949, China was forced to sign multiple unequal treaties by foreign imperialist and invading powers. In these treaties, China conceded many of its sovereign rights in terms of territory and commerce. Ever since the time of the first unequal treaty (the Treaty of Nanjing), the people of China have struggled to invalidate these unequal treaties. Unequal Treaties and China provides a comprehensive overview of China's history of fighting against these unequal treaties.