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The year is 1912, a lecture to the Royal Asiatic Society. The speaker is Sir Claude MacDonald, former British Minister Plenipotentiary - ambassador - to Peking in 1900 during the famous Boxer Uprising. Sir Claude commanded the defence of the Legations - diplomatic quarter - when they were besieged by the peasant ‘Boxer' army, supported by Imperial Chinese troops. The siege lasted 55 days until it was lifted by a multinational relief force. The episode was described in the newspapers of the day as ‘the most exciting episode ever known to civilization'. (It was also the subject of the 1963 epic film, '55 Days at Peking', with Charlton Heston and David Niven.) Sir Claude wants to discuss China and the West ‘today' - that's 1912 for him, today for us. 1912 was the year of the foundation of the Republic of China; a new country, a rising power the world must accommodate. Sound familiar? Sir Claude starts by ‘taking you back to Peking' in 1900 and he does just that, to the Imperial Palace, where you hear the story from the Chinese side. It is not straightforward and will challenge your view of the past... And the present.

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Author: Mark Kitto