The once all-powerful French Emperor Napoleon had a famous saying about China. A common quote is: "China is a sleeping lion. Once it awakens, it will shock the world." This may be Napoleon's most popular saying. one. So in history, did Napoleon really say what he said, or has the story changed? And on what occasion was it said?

Various contemporary media, whether newspapers or online articles, have many research studies on this passage, and there are also romantic versions. Among them, the most informative and reliable Chinese material is "The Stagnant Empire" written by the late French contemporary historian and statesman Perefit. If you start with the most original first-hand information, you can find that Napoleon's remarks about China are basically from the memoirs "Voice from St. Helena" by his personal doctor O'Meara. However, there is no reference to "sleeping lion" in the original text, which is left to the understanding of later generations.