I suggest that the Western impact, at least in nineteenth-century China, was overstated (and misstated) by an earlier generation of American historians. An especially egregious example of this, I argue, was American treatment of the Opium War, the objective importance of which was not nearly so great as we–and an almost unanimous corps of Chinese historians–have imagined. Paul A. Cohen
About This Quote

Some of the most important quotes of all time that convey an important meaning. The Opium war was a significant event that took place between Britain and China. It is called the Opium war because Britain was importing and selling opium to pay for the purchase of tea and other imports, and this fueled the growing conflict between China and Britain. "The western impact" is the importance placed on this conflict by historians, but it wasn't as important as we have been taught.

Source: Discovering History In China: American Historical Writing On The Recent Chinese Past

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