In order to better understand the geopolitics of China, we need to dive into the most painful historical memory of this proud all-time global power. Between 1839 and 1949 China found itself divided and ransacked by European powers, and Japan, which resulted in the fall of the 2000-year-old Chinese system of government, civil wars and then the rise of the communists. We look at this period through The Opium War (1997), Warlords (2007), 55 Days at Peking (1963), The Last Emperor (1987), Raise the Red Lantern (1991) and Farewell My Concubine (1993).