Hundred Days' Reform in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894–1895, not long after the First (1839–1842) and Second (1856–1860) Opium Wars; this blow came as a major shock to the Chinese, because Japan had been regarded as a tributary state, was much smaller than China, and was regarded as inferior. China also fought France in the Sino-French War from 1884 to 1885. Moreover, the defeat of China by Japan led to a scramble for "privileges" in China by other foreign powers, notably by the German Empire and Russia, further awakening the conservatives. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, China engaged in technological modernization only,
Dying to Survive money for brain surgery. One day a man wearing thick layers of surgical masks comes to his shop. He asks Cheng to bring a cheap drug from India in return for a large sum of money. The Swiss drug Geliening is very expensive in China, due to patent protection, causing many patients to not be able to afford the treatments, but, a very inexpensive generic version of it is available in India. Desperate for money, Cheng agrees to risk smuggling the drug into China. As more CML patients buy drugs from him, Cheng becomes rich. His motivation starts to change