Modern liver surgical techniques can be dated back to the early twentieth century. But in the 1960s, hepatectomy was still a daunting procedure that carried a high risk of death in China. In those days, few surgeons had the skills and courage to perform it and the surgical outcome was hardly predictable. Nowadays, liver resection has become a safe, plannable procedure. All of these revolutions and developments would not have been possible without the advent of antibiotics, the application of blood transfusion, the improvement of anesthetic techniques, and the joint efforts of generations of surgeons. Thanks to a better understanding of the anatomy and biology of the liver, the mechanism of liver hyperplasia, and the improvement of the hemostatic equipment, liver surgery has been developing rapidly. The late 1980s witnessed the rapid progress of liver transplantation, which enabled liver surgeons and anesthesiologists to push the field of liver surgery forward. What was once considered technically impossible has already become true. Many surgeries that were previously difficult have become conventional. Besides, the advent of minimally invasive surgery has replaced the need for long incisions, and keyhole surgeries are the new paradigm. Laparoscopic or robotic surgeries have been performed as conventional surgeries at healthcare centers throughout the world.