An enquiry into the historical events that have shaped China and a consideration of how these factors may influence its future

China has experienced a volatile past; this paper will consider important aspects of Chinese history and what the implication of these events has been on modern day China. It will also analyse how China's development to date may affect its future in an attempt to predict how future events might unfold. Further to the historical analysis it will conduct empirical research in the form of semi-structured interviews to determine if data collected from a sample of Chinese nationals will support or refute the evidence found in the literature. Using a method based on the Scenario Planning model this dissertation will consider the findings from both sources. It will conclude that there are several serious and reoccurring problems, as identified by the research and that they pose a threat to the future of China and its prosperity. Whilst it becomes clear that many of these issues can be resolved it remained unclear whether China has the capacity to do so