FILMOGRAPHY CHINA
The videos contained in the list are either produced in China or are about China. The filmography videos about culture, history, arts, religion, literature, politics, etc. For further information on a title please use our online catalog or feel free to contact Cindy Badilla-Melendez, the Media Resources Librarian or call (651) 962-5464.
1421: The Year China Discovered America: G322 .F68 2004 DVD
Did a daring Chinese admiral sailing the world's largest wooden armada reach America 71 years before Columbus? This program examines the mystery surrounding the sailing exploits of the legendary Admiral Zheng He and his 30-year command of a Ming fleet.
Ancient Chinese Inventions: T27.C5 A5 2002 DVD
This 4 part program recounts the dramatic story of the rise and fall of an empire, an empire that at its prime spawned incredible inventions that sparked the dawn of our modern world. The story of the genius of this astonishing civilizations told by traveling back in time to witness China's inventions and how they were used.
Pt. 1. The Chinese developed intricate crossbows far ahead of their time, fleets of paddle boats, curving iron plows, wheelbarrows, folding umbrellas, conveyor belts, restaurants, golf, chess, kites, hot air balloons, and parachutes.
Pt.2. Impressive achievements included a device for indicating the direction and force of an earthquake, odometers, the compass, gimbals, intricate differential gears, double action piston bellows, continuous flamethrowers, and rudders, bulkheads, and fore and aft sails to enable a ship to sail against the wind.
Pt.3. After experiments with sundials, water and candle clocks, the Chinese developed the worlds first accurate clock involving an escapement device. Their mathematicians calculated pi; their astronomers recognized the egg yolk shape of the earth and developed an accurate system for measuring the movement of the stars.
Pt.4. Chinese inventions and discoveries include gunpowder, bombs, shrapnel, underground and sea mines, aerial bombs and muskets (fire lances), rockets, cannon, immunization, paper, printing with movable type, modem books and bookstores, civil service exams and playing cards.
Asian Values Devalued: HC441 .A85 2003 DVD
As the tiger economics of East Asia turned from boom to bust in the 1990s, the general public was amazed, yet many economists nodded their heads knowingly. This program focuses on the plights of Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, where nepotism, cronyism, corruption, suppression, and the exploitation of cheap foreign labor brought about a financial crisis of enormous proportions.
Becoming American: The Chinese Experience: E184.C5 B436 2003 DVD
Traces the history and experiences of Chinese Americans; also includes personal journeys of AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho, market research pioneer Shirley Young, author Gish Jen, physicist Samuel Ting, and architect Maya Lin.
Buddhism in China: BQ4095 .B82 1983
Surveys the development of Buddhism in China from its introduction in the first century until the 20th century. Basic ideas of Chinese Buddhism and their influence on the character and life of the Chinese are discussed.
China: DS712 .C45 2003 DVD
With an eye on the future, more Chinese are reaching out to the people and culture of the West. They have opened their nation to the gaze of visitors as more Westerners are touring this remarkable republic for themselves. This video visits the national capital of Beijing, a powerhouse tempered by parks and the magnificent Forbidden City. Make a stop in Suzhou, the Venice of the Far East, and Hangzou and the West Lake, where Chinese newlyweds spend their honeymoons. Marvel at the physical and historical expanse of The Great Wall, built by human muscle and stretching nearly four thousand miles over mountains and desert. At X’ian, see the famed Clay Army of terra cotta warriors that guarded the tomb of China's first emperor. Visit Guilin, a picturesque river valley known for its artistic inspiration. Make stops in Guangzhou and Shenzhen before visiting Shanghai, a magical megalopolis known as the world's most energetic city. Finally, travel to Hong Kong, one of the most thrilling urban centers with the most beautiful skyline on Earth.
China: HC426 .E44 1996 v.1
Examines China's transformation from communism to capitalism, from poverty to prosperity. Includes interviews with a former state worker who has created a multimillion-dollar textile empire, the leader of Beijing's Commodities Exchange, and Shanghai's most successful Avon cosmetics saleswoman.
China Blue: HD6250.C62 C4 2005 DVD
Following a pair of denim jeans from birth to sale, China Blue links the power of the U.S. consumer market to the daily lives of a Chinese factory owner and two teenaged female factory workers. Filmed both in the factory and in the workers' faraway village, this documentary provides a rare, human glimpse at China's rapid transformation into a free market society.
China Boom: Nurturing the Socialist Marketplace: HC427.92 .C45 1996
Describes how elements of the market economy are being adopted in China.
China From the Inside: DS779.2 .C45 2007 DVD
A series of four documentaries that survey China through Chinese eyes to see how history has shaped them, and where the present is taking them. Deals with the governance of China; talks about the past and future for Chinese women; looks at China's environmental challenges; explores China's conflict between personal freedom and governance.
China in the Red: HC427.95 .C45 2003
The economic reforms that have brought China economic prosperity now threaten the livelihood of many Chinese workers. The Chinese Communist Party can no longer afford to subsidize the factories, and millions of workers are being laid off, with no social safety net to catch them. Filmed over the course of three years, Frontline tells the stories of 10 Chinese individuals-- factory workers, rural villagers, and a millionaire entrepreneur, caught up in China's dramatic, ongoing effort to modernize its economy.
China Rises: HC427.95 .C45 2006 DVD
China has made an amazing economic, social and political transformation, but it continues to struggle with an enormous population, stressed environment, and unequal distribution of wealth and opportunity.
China: Through Mao's Eyes: DS778.M3 C4 2006 DVD
The video counterpart to Philip Short's monumental book Mao: A Life, this four-part series guides viewers through the dynamic, innovative, and brutal accomplishments of the revolutionary Chinese leader. Featuring rarely-seen footage from a trove of film and video materials kept secret for decades by Chinese authorities, the series also presents interviews--granted exclusively to the film makers--with the last surviving members of Mao's inner circle. For students of Mao's era, this series may well represent the most powerful learning tool available.
China's Lost Girls: DS779.43 .C45 2004 DVD
Host Lisa Ling examines the consequences of China's two-decade-old, one-child policy, as it is commonly called. To curb the country's exploding population, China limits most families to one child, or in certain circumstances, two children. Due to cultural, social and economic factors, traditional preference leans toward boys, so girls are often hidden, aborted or abandoned. As a result, tens of thousands of girls end up in orphanages across China.
China's Mega Dam: TC558.C52 C4 2006 DVD
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China is the largest public works project in the history of mankind. Its size, scale and potential are unprecedented in engineering history. Join Discovery Channel cameras - granted exclusive access to the site - as they document the dramatic effect this massive construction project will have on the surrounding countryside. Temples, villages, cities and some two million people stand to be displaced by the hydroelectric monster. With the dam already producing electricity and beginning to take on water, economic and flood control benefits are becoming clear. Still, opponents point toward the loss of precious archaeological sites and environmental stress on the region.
China's Prosperity: Behind the Scenes of Progress: HC427.95 C45 2004 DVD
China may be the world's next superpower, but its wild economic growth doesn't tell the whole story. This program reveals the widening gap between Chinese urban and rural lifestyles and the escalating pressure for government action to increase educational and career opportunities in remote areas. Interviews with city dwellers whose affluence surprises even them--and with villagers struggling for basic necessities--combine with data-mapped GDP analysis to create an accurate economic portrait of the country. Abstaining from political judgment, the video raises questions about competing in the global marketplace without adequate domestic support systems.
Chinese Communist Party: The New Leap Forward: DS779.26 .C45 2003
This documentary examines the changes in the policies of the Chinese Communist Party which incorporate capitalistic elements.
The Chinese Revolution: DS777.75 .C475 1993
Documents the political history of China from the Revolution in 1949 to the massacre in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
The Concrete Revolution: Notes on New China Approaching the Year of the Monkey: DS779.4 .C66 2006 DVD
Examines the tremendous moral and human cost of creating a "New China" for the 2008 Olympics. Blending social commentary, frank interviews and evocative imagery, the viewer is led to ponder who really benefits from the endless construction taking place in Beijing. As traditional communities are bulldozed to make way for modern high-rise apartment buildings and ancient traditions are cast aside at the expense of approximately one million poor laborers from villages who barely get paid, the film asks how far will China go to sacrifice its traditional way of life for this new Western version? Thought-provoking and controversial, The Concrete Revolution offers a rare, first-hand survey of China in the 21st century.
Confucianism & Taoism: B127.C65 C6 1998
Discover the life of the man known as Confucius, and examine how his philosophy and social doctrine have impacted Chinese culture. Learn about Lao-Tzu, the founder of Taoism, and enter the world once shrouded in secrecy as the philosophy and rituals of Taoism are explained.
The Dalai Lama and the Rituals of Reincarnation: BQ7610 .D35 2003 DVD
The complex process of identifying a reincarnated Dalai Lama is explained. The history of the institution of the Dalai Lama up to today's Dalai Lama XIV is also covered.
Dragon Ascends: Creating China's Future: DS721 .D73 2003 DVD
In little more than two decades, China made a leap of industrialization comparable to what took the U.S. a century. This program uses the experiences of entrepreneur Guo Guangchang--called one of China's 100 Richest Business People by Forbes--as a springboard to explore that nation's prospects as the awakened dragon ascends. A grassroots shift toward democratic structures, a new definition of education that promotes individual thought and responsibility, the wealth disparity between the coastal economies and interior provinces, and whether a modernized and prosperous China is ever likely to adopt liberal political and social structures are addressed.
Food Distribution in China: HF1416.6.C5 F6 1992
Discusses the characteristics of food retailing systems in the People's Republic of China.
Footprint of the Buddha: BQ336 .F66 1977
The program visits Sri Lanka and India to discover the type of Buddhism practiced throughout Southeast Asia. Includes talks with monks, school children, novices, and housewives who describe their own religious experiences and discuss the high moral standards demanded by Buddhism.
Forging the Future: China's Industrial Heritage: DS721 .F67 2004 DVD
This program draws on historical evidence and expert commentary to vividly illustrate China's early mastery of crucial industrial processes and to explain how they contributed to the wealth and progress of Chinese civilization.
From Mao towards Full Equality: HQ1767 .F76 2001 DVD
This program offers an in-depth appraisal of how China's women's movement slowly gathered momentum under Mao Zedong's and Deng Xiao Ping's rule during the latter half of the 20th century. Outstanding footage from propaganda and documentary sources and compelling interviews with women who participated in the events of those decades reveal the hard-won gains through Communist legal and social reforms, the efforts of Madame Song Qing Ling and leading feminist He Xiang-ning, and women's rights conventions. The mixed results of the Liberation and Independence campaign, the Heroes of the Nation initiative, and the Cultural Revolution are also critically examined.
The Genius That Was China: DS706 .G46 1990
Volume 1 provides an overview of the political and cultural history of China from 1000-1500. Volume 2 describes the relationship between Europe and China during the 15th-18th centuries. Volume 3 describes the relationship between Japan and China during the 19th and 20th centuries. Volume 4 shows that contemporary China has made an effort to master the modern and technological skills needed to survive in a global market.
Globalization is Good: HF1359 .G56 2005 DVD
Controversial writer Johan Norberg argues forcefully for one side of the globalization debate. In this program he examines three developing countries and how they fit into that debate, building a case for deregulation, the abolishment of subsidies and tariffs, and a long-term view of industrialization. He frankly defends the use of sweatshop labor, through which Taiwan has cultivated a vigorous, targeted manufacturing sector and transformed agrarian poverty into affluence. Praising Vietnam for following the same path and criticizing Kenya as an unfortunate example of isolationism, Norberg's assertions compose a powerful catalyst for classroom discussion.
The Great Wall of China: DS793.G67 G7 1997
The Great Wall of China is one of the most massive building achievements in history. Winding 6,000 kilometers through undulating mountains, it is said to be visible to the naked eye from space. This documentary attempts to reveal the true history of this engineering marvel.
Great World Religions: Buddhism: BQ4095 .B83 2003 DVD
Provides an overview of Buddhism and describes how Buddhism challenges some of the most important Western ideas about God, human life, and the self. Covers the Buddha's life and the development of Buddhism, explains his teachings, or Dharma, and explores the lives of well-known Buddhists such as the Dalai Lama.
Hong Kong Dresses Up: HC470.3 .H66 1983
Explores how free enterprise works in Hong Kong by examining the business success of entrepreneur S.T. King. Looks at his clothing company and the labor, marketing, and international trade conditions he must balance. Also addresses the question of Hong Kong's future status and business climate when Great Britain's lease expires in 1997.
The Immortal Emperor: Shihuangdi: DS747.9.C47 I4 2004 DVD
It's 221 B.C. and the veil of history is lifted to reveal life in the Qin Dynasty, under China's first emperor, Shihuangdi. Noted historians, archaeologists, and other experts extrapolate from discoveries made in the ruler's tomb, as they examine the political, intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and religious structure of Chinese society of the first dynasty.
The Long Search: BL80.2 .L64 2001 DVD
v. 3. Buddhism : The program visits Sri Lanka and India to discover the type of Buddhism practiced throughout Southeast Asia. Includes talks with monks, school children, novices, and housewives who describe their own religious experiences and discuss the high moral standards demanded by Buddhism.
v. 11. Taoism : A question of balance:T he program examines the different types of religious beliefs that make up the spiritual life of Taiwan, including a Confucian respect for the past, the cosmic pattern of the Tao that manifests itself through the oracles, and the worship of local gods who dispense justice and favors.
Madame Chiang Kai-shek: A Legendary Life: DS778.C55 M3 2004 DVD
Soong Mei-ling, better known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek, the most powerful first lady of China, died in October 2003, at the age of 106. From the heights of influence and fame during the Second World War, to her years of quiet reclusion in New York, Soong Mei-ling ever elegant and determined, ever controversial - had witnessed modern Chinese history. Public Television Service of Taiwan has devoted two years to producing the first insightful documentary on her fascinating life, with in-depth reporting from Taiwan, the United States, Hong Kong and China, unearthing rare historical documents and film footage, and presenting an incisive and complete record of this legendary figure of the 20th century.
The Mao Years: DS777.55 M37 1994
The film recounts the transition of China from an old traditional empire into the world's largest communist state focusing on the Mao Zedong years from 1949-1976.
Marco Polo's Shangri-La: DS793.Y8 M3 2006 DVD
Marco Polo the famous, Venetian explorer, raved about the exotic beauty of Yunnan, the magic land beyond the clouds. Poets praise Yunnan as Shangri-La, the imaginary, remote idyllic hideaway, where life approaches perfection. Even today, Yunnan remains an enigma to many. The cultural diversity of its minorities, which have survived untouched and unspoiled for thousands of years, is fascinating. The Middle Kingdom was once the cradle of civilization. Now China is doing everything to preserve its epic culture. It remains to be seen if the remnants of China's rich cultural heritage will survive the onslaught of the 21st Century.
Nu Shu: a Hidden Language of Women in China: HQ1767 .N87 1999 DVD In English and Chinese with English subtitles
In feudal China, women, usually with bound feet, were denied educational opportunities and condemned to social isolation. But in Jian-yong county in Hunan province, peasant women miraculously developed a separate written language, called Nu Shu, meaning 'female writing.' It wasn't until the 1960s that Nu Shu caught the attention of Chinese authorities, who suspected that this peculiar writing was a secret code for international espionage. Today, interest in this secret script continues to grow. This documentary revolves around the filmmaker's discovery of eighty-six-year-old Huan-yi Yang, the only living resident of the Nu Shu area still able to read and write in Nu Shu.
Performing Arts of China: The Opera: M1805.3 C48 2003 DVD
An overview of traditional Chinese opera, a complex mixture of music, mime, acrobatics and acting, including a discussion of some orchestral instruments.
The Power to Predict: Chinese Astronomy and the Mandate of Heaven: DS721 .P69 2004 DVD
In this program, Dr. Sun Xiaochun and others consider the roles of astronomy and astrology in China as they relate to the Mandate of Heaven: the belief that the power to rule derived from the power to predict the future.
Retail Distribution in China: HF1416.6.C5 R4 1992
Presents an overview of Chinese retailing historically and in thepresent.
Shanghai, la Nueva via China: DS796.S24 S5 2004 DVD
This program shows how the Chinese government is trying to turn Shanghai into the new financial and cultural capital of Asia
The Silk Road: DS33.1 .S55 2000 DVD v.1-3
A panoramic tour examining the world's most historic and inaccessible locations, Silk Road escorts the viewer on the ancient path traveled by Marco Polo, linking the riches of China with the European markets of the Middle Ages.
The Stories of Maxine Hong Kingston: PS3561.I52 S7 1990
Maxine Hong Kingston, in two conversations with Bill Moyers, talks about her writing, her published works and the interaction of East Asian and American consciousness.
Sun Tzu, Art of War: U104 .S86 1994
The Art of war, from the calligraphic brush of a fourth century BC Chinese general and military philosopher, has been the textbook of Western as well as Eastern leaders for centuries. The title says it all: the book is as much about psychology, morality, and style as a first-rate novel. Explores the principles of the book as they have been applied to 20th century warfare, as well as elucidating the differences between Eastern and Western civilizations.
Two-way Traffic: China, the Hub of the East: DS721 .T86 2004 DVD
In this program, archaeologists, scholars, and others shed light on the tides of China's cultural and economic fortunes, from ancient times to today, as the country once again opens its doors to the world.
What the Ancients Knew: CB311 .W43 2005 DVD
From the Roman Empire to the Chinese Dynasties to the early Egyptians, take a journey into the ancient, technological past and learn how it continues to shape our modern world. Discover how the difficulties of pre-industrial life sparked a number of ingenious engineering solutions and how much of the science and technology we consider to be "modern" was actually created by civilizations long ago.
Xiao Xi: Small Happiness: Women of a Chinese Village: HQ1767 .X56 1987
A documentary which examines the social conditions for Chinese women today and in the past, with specific focus on the villageof Long Bow. Inhabitants reveal the strides that have been madefor women's equality, despite the seeming oppression when observed from a Western viewpoint.
Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse Chinoise: PQ2664.A437 B3 2005 DVD In Chinese with English subtitles
Set in the early 1970's during the later stages of China's cultural revolution. Two city-bred teenager best friends, Luo and Ma are sent to a remote mountainous region for a Maoist re-education. The two end up falling in love with a local girl, the daughter of the most renowned tailor in the region. They do not know her name so they refer to her only as "the Little Seamstress." When they discover a hidden suitcase filled with banned books by western writers, they read these works to the little seamstress for hours on end in a secret meeting place.
Bawang Bie Ji: PL2877.P48 B3 1999 DVD
Story that spans more than 50 years in the lives of two men at the Peking Opera, friends since childhood, and the woman who comes between them. Also an absorbing drama of the period in Chinese history from the warlord era through the Cultural Revolution.
The Bird People in China: PN1995.9.F67 B5 2004 DVD
Workaholic Tokyo salaryman Wada ventures into deepest, darkest China to investigate a massive deposit ofhigh-quality jade. Tailing him is Ujiie, a snarling yakuza hell-bent on getting Wada's company to repay its debts. Led by their unflappable guide, Shun, the twogo through rural villages and striking landscapes, quickly leaving behind all signs of the 20th century. As the trail grows narrower and more remote and as they brave gales, bugs, and floods, the long simmering tension between Wada and Ujiie bursts into full-scale contempt. One night, after Shun gets blind drunk, he hits his head and loses his memory. Now completely lost, the trio stumbles upon a hill tribe, whose children are adorned with wings made from bamboo and paper. Their teacher, a blue-eyed woman named Yan, tells them that she is teaching them to fly. Wada quickly becomes obsessed with this curious local. After she tells him that she has a book on human-powered flight and that her grandfather wasa downed British airman, he almost believes that she can teach her students to soar. Soon Wada feels purged from the evils of city life while Ujiie decides to dedicate his life to protecting the village.
Good Men, Good Women: PN1997 .H36 2001 DVD
This film consists of three intermingling stories: a film within a film as well as the past and present as linked by an actress in present-day Taipei. The film in which she plays is about a couple who return to mainland China to participate in the anti-Japanese movement in the 1940s and are arrested as Communists when they return to Taiwan. Images of the film-in-progress contrast with images from the actress' own past, when she was a party girl involved with a gangster.
Hua Hun: N6853.P343 H8 2003 DVD
In the late 1920s, a woman painter specializing in nude painting returns from France to China to teach her skills but finds that the art form is being heavily condemned by the general public and the government. In dismay, she leaves her husband several years later and returns to France to pursue her career.
Hua Yang Nian Hua: PL1093 .H839 2006 DVD
The story of two lonely people who discover in each other the intimacy they have lost in their marriages.
Huo Zhe: PN1997 .H86 2003 DVD
The story of a prodigal son set against the backdrop of China in the tumultuous era of the 40s and beyond.
The Iron Ladies: PN1997 .I76 2002 DVD
The true story of a Thai male volleyball team that competes in the national championships in 1996 with a team consisting mostly of gays, transsexuals, and transvestites. At the heart of the team are Mon, a weary transvestite who is a fantastic player, and his best friend Jun, a raucous drag queen with hilariously over-supportive parents. They get their chance to show their stuff when the provincial governor hires a suspiciously butch female head coach to put together a "dream team" for the national competitions. She announces that there will be open tryouts, and when Mon and Jun get selected, their macho teammates resign en masse--all except Chai, whose self-respect is obstinately tied to his success on the court. When the coach asks Mon to find some friends to join the squad, he knows just who to pick: Nong, a muscle-laden army sergeant and makeup artist; Pia, a transsexual stage star; Wit, a closeted Chinese-Thai boy; and, perhaps most memorably, April, May and June, Jun's transvestite triplet friends! Plenty of conflict ensues, with the straight captain Chai learning tolerance, and the more selfish of the "girls" learning team spirit. Other darker problems are hinted at with occasional outbreaks of homophobic violence against outspoken Jun and the shame that some parents feel about their gay children, but the team gradually melds into an impressive unit, emerging triumphant in match after match. They even find a way to shame the conservative game authorities who try and disqualify them!
The Joy Luck Club: PS3570.A48 J6 1993
Juxtaposes scenes from the lives of four Chinese women in pre-1949 China and the lives of their American-born daughters to show how the mothers' experiences in China and as immigrant’s in the United States shaped their dreams for their daughters' lives.
Kundun: BQ7935.B777 8 1998 DVD
A dramatization of the life and work of the current (14th) Dalai Lama and his ongoing struggle to regain independence for Tibet.
The Lover: PQ2607.U8245 A6 1996
A poor French teenager embarks on a love affair with a wealthy Chinese man in 1929 French colonial Vietnam, defying the boundaries of age, race and class.
Meng Ying Tong Nian: PN1997 .M47 2006 DVD
When a delivery man crashes into a girl, she asks him to feed thepets in her apartment, while she is in the hospital. What he finds there is a diary that exposes the young girl for who she really is.
Mulan: PS3569.A46698 1999 DVD
Mulan, a young girl who does not fit in well with traditional Chinese society, disguises herself as a soldier to take her father's place in the Imperial army when the Huns invade China.
Raise the Red Lantern: PL2904.T86 R3 2000 DVD
Set in 1920's China, 19-year-old Songlian has become Fourth Wife to the wealthy Chen. Yet she must share her husband with three existing wives. Each must wait until dusk for the arrival of a red lantern, which signifies with whom the master will sleep tonight. When Songlian discovers that the other wives cheat to win the red lantern, she decides to join the fight for Chen's attention.
Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion: DS786 .T53 2004 DVD
A snow lion is a mythic beast of Tibetan legend. As a protector of the nation, the snow lion is emblazoned on the Tibetan flag. Today the Tibetan flag is outlawed in its own homeland. Ten years in the making, filmed during a remarkable nine journeys throughout Tibet, India and Nepal. The dark secrets of Tibet's recent past are powerfully chronicled through riveting personal stories and interviews, and a collection of undercover and archival images never before assembled in one film.
Xian Hun Nu: PN1997 .X53 2004 DVD
At the center of this film is an old legend about two girls who drowned themselves in a local lake and were said to have flown away as beautiful birds. A contemporary businesswoman hopes for a better life, but true happiness proves elusive.
Compiled by
Cindy Badilla-Melendez
Media Resources Librarian
