The Treaty of Nerchinsk

Let's continue our previous episode's theme of Russia. The nationalist narrative of recent Chinese history often emphasizes the so-called "Century of Humiliation" from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, during which Western imperial powers as well as Japan foisted many "unequal treaties" upon China. But the same narrative often notes one exception: the one modern treaty that Qing Dynasty China entered into that the Chinese do not regard as "unequal." It was the Treaty of Nerchinsk concl...