As Confucius said, To see the future, one must grasp the past. China has emerged amazingly in the last three decades as an economic powerhouse set to play a major global political role, its future posing one of the great questions for the twenty-first century as it grapples with enormous internal challenges. Understanding how that transformation came about and what China constitutes today means understanding its epic journey since 1850 and recognizing how the past influences the present. Welcome to a Big Picture edition of Total Picture Radio. China has been a reoccurring theme here - for good reason. There's little you can discuss - be it the environment, the economy, monetary policy, oil, trade, or manufacturing -- where China does not play a dominant role in the conversation. Joining us today from London is Jonathan Fenby, a former editor of the Observer and South China Morning Post, he is editor in chief of the information website, Trusted Sources. Jonathan knows China. His brilliant new book is titled "Modern China. The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850 to the Present" published by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins. Add this one to your summer reading list, and the next time "China" comes up in a conversation, you'll be able to take the lead. Questions Peter Clayton asked Jonathan Fenby In your book, you quote Confucius: To see the future, one must grasp the past. And when you look at China's past - the amount of violence is on an epic scale, is it not? And how has that violent past influenced today's China? Modern China - the China we're dealing with in business and politics has only been around for the past 30 years. Can you give us some context? You wrote a commentary for the Guardian on the 19th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Was this anniversary observed in China? Although China is part of the WTO, it seems to operate on its own set of rules. How much of the current run-up of global oil prices is due to the growth of China as a modern industrial society? You wrote a commentary on the recent G8 meeting in Japan. What is your perspective? The environmental impact of China's growth on the entire globe is well known. Does the government care? How important are the Olympics to China? As you know a number of global corporations have established important manufacturing and research facilities in China -- do you think there's a risk of them being taken over by the government? If I worked for an Intel or GE and was offered a ex-pat assignment in China, what advice would you give me? What do you think is the most misunderstood fact in the West of modern China?