The original name of this book is Modern History of China, which is a classic of modern history research in China, Jiang Tingfu. It was also a textbook of the history department of the university, with a wide influence. With a calm and objective attitude, Jiang Tingfu narrated the history of China from the Opium War to the Revolution of 1911, expressed his concern about the future of China and the destiny of the nation in academic form, and put forward many insights. Fei Zhengqing, an American sinologist, called Jiang Tingfu "the leader in the study of China’s modern history." This book is one of three pillars in this aspect(the other two are Guo Tingyi’s Outline of Modern China and Xu Zhongyue’s Modern History of China).