China is considered the seat of one of the oldest civilizations. A country and cultural region, China has been credited with creating many major inventions such as gunpowder and paper. Its ancient roots can be traced more than six millennia. This is reflected by their writing system, which has been continually used since 1200 BC. China was once ruled by a long line of emperors. The last emperor was overthrown in 1912 and China became a republic. But China was weak and had many internal issues. As the government tried to fix these issues the Western powers and the Empire of the Rising Sun threatened to invade China and divide it amongst themselves. In 1949, the Nationalist government was exiled to Taiwan after communists led by Mao Zedong overthrew them.