We spent the morning in the Chinese Military Museum, an immense five-story paean to Chinese military history and might. Although it’s barely mentioned in the guidebooks, and very little of the explanatory text was translated into English, I learned more about the Chinese psyche here than anywhere else we’ve visited.

In addition to the expected  display of tanks, machine guns, MIG fighter jets and AK-47s were several wings that chronicled the nation’s wars from ancient times to the present. Much of the ancient history involved centuries of conflict  between warlords vying for power and wealth. While the threats from within China were ongoing, the ultimate enemy was always from without the country, hence the building over several dynasties of the Great Wall. (While many countries would have loved to have built such an obvious and effective defense, only the Chinese and Hadrian pulled it off.)

In the 1800s China was invaded several times by the English and the French “imperialists” who forced the Chinese to agree to trade agreements. But the most devastating aggression came at the hands of the Japanese who invaded the country in 1937. The Chinese army and civilians suffered greatly by the hands of the Japanese who perpetrated among other atrocities the Rape of the city of Nanking in which 300,000 of Chinese civilians were raped, mutilated and murdered. The Japanese remained until they surrendered in 1945.

The ’50s and ’60s found the Chinese dedicating tremendous resources to both traditional and nuclear arms, which is not surprising– having suffered ruinous invasions by land, sea and air they were determined to not let it happen again, and it hasn’t.

And in the “it’s all a matter of perspective” department: one exhibit featured a compendium of 20th century world leaders in photo ops with Chinese premiers. Conspicuously absent was Richard Nixon or any U.S. president for that matter.

For those who need a reminder, in 1972 Nixon met with Mao in Beijing in what was seen as a successful rapprochement with a formidable Cold War enemy.