More than 20 languages are spoken as a first language by 50 million or more people.

Which language has entered common usage in the greatest number of countries?

The world’s second- and third-most populous countries share a linguistic diversity.

What are the three most linguistically-diverse countries today?

What happened when China was eclipsed by the rise of neighboring Japan?

What were the 1970s like in China, when even mainstream Western politicians came to call on Mao in Beijing?

How did China react to Japan’s economic boom in the 1980s — and its financial meltdown in the 1990s?

Are the Beijing Olympics a pinnacle of China’s rise — or a pitfall?

How does the emergence of China look through the prism of a Westerner’s life?

South Korea performs as well as Nordic economies on avoiding child poverty.