One strand of reform that called for China to adopt European military technology and education systems was called self-strengthening, and it probably would have been a great idea considering how well that worked for Japan. But it never happened in China. Well, at least not until recently. Instead, China experienced the disastrous anti-Western Boxer Rebellion of 1900, which helped spur some young liberals, including one named Sun Yat-sen, to plot the overthrow of the dynasty. Oh, it's already time for the open letter? An Open Letter to Sun Yat-sen. Oh, but first let's see what's in the secret compartment today. Oh, more champagne poppers.