Chinese Films at Ames Public Library
Today is 5/24/2012
China’s First Emperor (951 DVD CHI) 250 min. 1996.
Credited with both unifying China and tormenting its citizenry, Qin Shi Huangdi, the "first emperor of China," is a controversial leader in the nation's history. His reign brought advances such as standardized currencies, weights, and measures; unified written and spoken language; and transportation systems. In battle, he was centuries ahead of his time ─ creating assembly lines to mass-produce precision-crafted swords, arrows, and other weapons. Examine this ruler's complex legacy, from the brilliant military strategies that created an empire to his plans for the original Great Wall. A bonus disc features the discovery of the emperor's 7,000 life-size army of terra-cotta statues and the Great Wall of China.
China’s Lost Girls (362.73 DVD CHI) 40 min. 2004.
Host Lisa Ling examines the consequences of China's two-decade-old, one-child policy. To curb the country's 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. Tens of thousands of girls end up in orphanages.
China, A Century of Revolution (951 DVD CHI) In Chinese and English. 360 min. 1997.
This powerful program takes a remarkable first-hand look at China's tumultuous history, examining its social, political and cultural upheaval through eyewitness accounts, rare archival film footage, and insightful commentary.
