[Patriotic] ​​You are Chinese, you can sit in the front row today

I want to tell four stories. As for the relevance of these stories to readers, that's up to everyone's opinion.
The first story takes place in the city of Sacramento in the United States in the 19th century. It was the center of the gold rush and where Chinese people lived. There is a big river there called the Sacramento River, and there are bridges on the river. One day, a consul from the Qing government, a military attaché, was crossing the bridge. Behind him there were two Americans also crossing the bridge. The two of them had fun watching this Chinese official wearing the colorful official uniforms of the Qing Dynasty with long braids on the back of his head. They made bets on whether the Chinese diplomat could swim. So the two of them threw the official into the Sacramento River with all their might. He couldn't swim and drowned. Then nothing happens and nothing happens, it's like it never happened. At that time, Chinese people did not identify with "China".
The second story happened in 1900. The Eight-Nation Allied Forces had only 20,000 soldiers, but they defeated the Chinese army and occupied Beijing. The Queen Mother fled to Xi'an. As a result, China paid compensation 450 million taels of silver. This number is based on the demographic statistics of the Ministry of Household Affairs of China at that time, which means that Chinese people, regardless of gender, old or young, will be compensated one tael of silver per person. The money was converted into the currencies of each of the eight countries. Among the eight countries, the United States' "losses" (contributions) were relatively small. It only received 7.3% of the compensation, which was approximately 33 million taels out of 450 million taels, which was estimated to be 24.5 million U.S. dollars. The U.S. dollar was very valuable at that time. Today it costs half a million to buy a house in the United States; at that time, it only cost a few hundred dollars. In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for only $7.2 million. Congress thought it was too expensive at the time and almost vetoed it. Four hundred and fifty million taels of silver can buy 46.4 Alaskas. The Geng money was paid starting in 1902 and was fully paid 38 years later in 1940. During this period, the annual interest rate was 4%, and a total of nearly one billion taels was paid. Before 1900, China had just paid Japan 200 million taels of silver, worth 20 Alaskas, for the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1891. The third story is familiar to everyone. Half a century after the invasion of the Eight-Power Allied Forces in 1900, by 1950, our country's population was still 450 million, but the US army was pushed back from the Yalu River to the "38th Parallel". This was one of the greatest foreign wars that China had won since 1840, and it was fought on foreign soil against the most powerful country in the world. It was the most obvious sign of the rise of the Chinese nation. In order for others to treat their own nation equally and for a sense of dignity, this was the reason why the scientific and technological elites at that time returned to the motherland. The fourth and last story I want to tell. There was a Kuomintang general who retreated from the mainland to Taiwan. Because he was a general of the defeated army, he was not reused. In the 1960s, he resigned and went to South Africa to start a small business to make a living. At that time, South Africa still followed the policy of apartheid. Yellow people are people of color and must sit in the back seats on buses, while the front seats belong to white people. On October 17, 1964, this gentleman took a bus. After getting on the bus, he habitually walked to the back of the bus. The driver said to him, you can sit in the front seat instead of going to the back. The old man was very surprised and said: "I am Chinese." The driver said: "I know, I can see it." The old man said: "Then, shouldn't I sit in the back?" The driver said: "Didn't you read today's newspaper? China exploded an atomic bomb yesterday. The nation that can build the atomic bomb is of course a superior nation. From today on, all Chinese people can sit in the front seat." The old man was stunned. After a while, he said with tears in his eyes: "I don't want to sit in this car anymore. I get off and walk." Red China earned him a front row seat and the dignity of a nation as a whole, but it made his hope of returning to his hometown slim. At least that was how he understood it at that time.Yes, identifying with the motherland is not a simple and easy thing. It is mixed with countless personal grudges, loves and hates, grievances and disappointments. Yes, home may not be beautiful, but it is our own home.