"The defining moment in the development of a modern China is shown to be 4 May 1919 at the Tian'anmen gate in Beijing, where a new generation rejected Confucianism and traditional Chinese culture, and protested violently against the Paris Peace Conference. Chinese cities at that time still bore the imprints of their ancient past, with narrow lanes and sacred temples, but they were starting to change with the influx of foreign traders, teachers, and missionaries, all eager to shape China's ancient past into a modern present. People's lives changed, from the politicians and novelists adapting to the realities of a globalized world, to the men and women who worked, loved, and laughed in the parks and cafes of the new China."--BOOK JACKET.