Abstract:

From the Manchu's overthrow to the "moral-force" regime of Deng Xiaoping, this three-part program, produced for British television, documents eight decades of Chinese history. Archival film (some never before seen) and modern scenes are juxtaposed with personal stories of the Kuomintang's drive against warlords, Japanese domination in the 1930's, the Long March, Tiananmen Square, and other signal events. "Paradise of Adventurers" (part 1) uses Shanghai as a metaphor in tracing China's development between the wars. "Change in Heaven" sees allied victory, the triumph of communism, and Chiang's flight to Taiwan. "Roads to Freedom" details the Cultural Revolution, the end of Mao's era, and China's emergence as an economic and political giant.