GBH Openvault

China: A Century of Revolution; Born Under the Red Flag (1976-1997): Surviving Mao

Part of Stories of East and South East Asia.

Series

China: A Century of Revolution

Program

Born Under the Red Flag (1976-1997): Surviving Mao

Program Number

101

Series Description

In 1986 AMBRICA Productions began CHINA: A Century of Revolution, a series of three feature-length documentaries that explore the history of modern China.

The first film, CHINA IN REVOLUTION describes the epic upheaval that began in China with the fall of the last emperor in 1911. Over the next four decades, the Chinese people were caught up in struggles with warlords, foreign invasion and a bitter rivalry between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party. The film highlights the two figures who came to shape events, Chang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong. First they worked as allies to unite the country and then they fought a bloody civil war that was won by the Communists in 1949.

The trilogy continues with THE MAO YEARS, a look at the next period of modern China’s history: Mao Zedong’s rule, from 1949 to his death in 1976. The film begins with the celebrations marking the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, a moment of great hope for millions of Chinese. But the quarter-century of Mao’s rule was as turbulent as the decades which preceded it. Interludes of relative calm and increased prosperity were interrupted repeatedly by violent campaigns, purges, and a famine in which killed more than 30 million people. It culminated in Mao’s colossal and tragic experiment, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. When Mao died in 1976, people were exhausted by the turmoil and longed for stability.

What happened next could never have been anticipated and forms the story line for the final film of the trilogy; BORN UNDER THE RED FLAG examines China’s remarkable transformation after Mao’s death. In just 15 years, under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership, China raced forward at an astonishing pace to become a never-before-seen hybrid of communism and capitalism. The world’s most populous nation has reinvented itself, changing from a relatively undeveloped and isolated nation into an economic giant and a major player on the world stage. For many Chinese, this transformation has brought unprecedented prosperity, but it has also raised troubling questions of national identity and social inequality.

See Ambrica website: http://www.ambrica.com/chinatrilogy.html

Program Description

This program tells the story of China's remarkable transformation after Mao Zedong's death, focusing on personal stories that are compelling and often tragic, as the Chinese have had to cope with what the film calls "failed ideals, a brutal, outmoded communism, and a harsh new capitalism." As in the earlier films in this series, the filmmakers combine never-before-seen archival footage from China with location shooting and interviews with a wide range of China's people: peasants, political prisoners, intellectuals, prostitutes, students and government officials.

Hour 1: Surviving Mao Hour 2: The New Generation

This documentary recounts China's remarkable transformation after Mao Zedong's death and the takeover of Deng Xiaoping. Xiaoping was revered by the Chinese for China's economic development, his negotiations to return Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997, and for his support of the factory workers and peasant farmers. However, he was also hated for his tyrannical control over Chinese politics, his appeal to governmental conservatives, and the "one child" policy that governed family planning. This program chronicles Xiaoping's rise to power and a political career that climaxed during the student demonstrations at Tiananmen Square.

Asset Type

Broadcast program

Media Type

Video

Genres

Documentary

Topics

History

Military Forces and Armaments

Social Issues

Politics and Government

Protest and Public Advocacy

Creators

Williams, Sue (Writer)

Dietz, Kathryn (Producer)

Vecchione, Judith (Executive Producer)

Publication Information

WGBH Educational Foundation

Citation

Chicago: “China: A Century of Revolution; Born Under the Red Flag (1976-1997): Surviving Mao,” GBH Archives, accessed July 27, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_EE90D1CE18834933A15339BE1B12762A.

MLA: “China: A Century of Revolution; Born Under the Red Flag (1976-1997): Surviving Mao.” GBH Archives. Web. July 27, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_EE90D1CE18834933A15339BE1B12762A>.

APA: China: A Century of Revolution; Born Under the Red Flag (1976-1997): Surviving Mao. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_EE90D1CE18834933A15339BE1B12762A