东风回首尽成非 不道兴亡命也 岂人为

东风回首尽成非 不道兴亡命也 岂人为
东风回首尽成非 不道兴亡命也 岂人为

This concluding excerpt of a poem by the Qing Dynasty poet Nalan Xingde resonates with the present, or with any era, really: Looking at a prior dynasty or revolution, you see a different world. The rise and fall of empires is not man-made, but willed by fate.