century of humiliation

1. historicalgovernmentThe period of wars against the Qing dynasty and the succeeding Republic of China by Western countries and the Japanese Empire, lasting from 1839 to 1945 or 1949.

   Anyone not familiar with allusions to figures from ancient China’s history, or even the tumultuous events of the Century of Humiliation (from 1839 to 1949 and commemorated by a marble obelisk in T’ien-an-men Square) would find Mao's writings abstruse or even bizarre.

   2012, G. L. Lamborn, “Neither Karl nor Antoine”, in Arms of Little Value: The Challenge of Insurgency and Global Instability in the Twenty-First Century, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 112

plural centuries of humiliation

1. broadlyAny period of decline in geopolitical status or reputation.

   The Soy Right has led this country into the American Century of Humiliation

   2025 January 21, @gracecthdralprk, X (post), archived from the original on 25 Sep 2026

   2 more examples

   It's no secret that we're living in what future historians are likely to call the American Century of Humiliation.

   2026, Amber DaSilva, “NASCAR Must Make America Hot Again By Returning Cigarette Ads To Race Cars”, in Jalopnik

   Following 12 months of buffeting and befuddlement, some commentators are now predicting a coming century of humiliation for Europe.

   2026, Alexis Self, “Europe’s century of humiliation is just beginning. What will it take to reassert itself?”, in Monocle