Origin
The hoax was created at the height of imperialism during late 19th Century. In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease for the New Territories, extending the Hong Kong colony that had been ceded in 1841. Britain also sent a fleet into the Gulf of Chihli and forced the Chinese to lease Weihaiwei. Germany seized the Chinese port of Kiaochow and used it for a military base. The French took the coastal city of Kwang-Chou-Wan. Also, in the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan defeated China. Xenophobia in China was widespread.
Read more about this topic: Great Wall Of China Hoax
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