celebrity examples of China's unremitting self-improvement:

1. Lin Zexu

In 1839, when smoking was banned in Guangdong, Lin Zexu sent people to make unannounced visits, forcing foreign opium merchants to hand over opium, and the confiscated opium was destroyed in Humen on June 3, 1839. Destruction of Opium at Humen put Sino-British relations in a state of extreme tension and became an excuse for Britain's invasion of China during the First Opium War.

Although Lin Zexu resisted western invasion all his life, he was open to western culture, technology and trade, and advocated learning from the best and using it. According to the literature, he has at least a little knowledge of English and Portuguese, and devoted himself to translating western newspapers and books. Wei Yuan, a thinker in the late Qing Dynasty, compiled the documents translated by Lin Zexu and his aides into A Map of the Seas, which has inspired the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty and even the Meiji Restoration in Japan.

2. Zheng Chenggong

Zheng Chenggong (A.D. 1624 ~ 1662) was originally named Sen, whose name was Damu, and was given the surname Zhu by the Tang Dynasty. He was renamed successfully and was a native of Nan 'an in the late Ming Dynasty. In 1624 (the fourth year of tomorrow), Dutch colonialists invaded Taiwan Province in China, brutally exploited and oppressed Taiwan Province people, and constantly harassed Fujian and Guangdong coastal areas, arousing China people's great indignation. In 1655 (the 12th year of Qing Shunzhi), Zheng Chenggong banned merchant ships from trading in Taiwan Province in order to protest against the plundering of the Dutch colonists at sea, which dealt a powerful blow to the Dutch colonists economically.

3. Qi Jiguang

Qi Jiguang's father, Qi Jingtong, was fifty-six years old at this time. He was very happy when he was old, so he linked the natural scenery with the future of the newborn boy and named it Jiguang. He hoped that this son would inherit the achievements of his ancestors when he grew up. Sure enough, Qi Jiguang lived up to his father's expectations and became a generation of famous soldiers when he grew up. He fought resolutely to defend the lives and property of the people in southeast coastal provinces and the enemy.