HIST 3000
Spring 1998
John Flower
History of Modern China Through Film
NEW! Click here for Film Journal Guidelines
NEW! Click here for discussion groups list
Course Objectives:
This course has three main objectives: First, to gain a broad understanding of modern China’s historical development, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present; second, to focus more closely on the post-Mao period (1976-present) and on the historical constructions created during that period; third, to reflect critically on historical interpretations of modern China, especially those using film as text. In other words, we will look at representations of modern Chinese history presented in films, at the historical context in which the films were made, and at the special characteristics and forces at play within the films that make them powerful and symbolically rich media for writing history.
Course Organization:
Students will view the films outside of class, in small groups. Over the course of the semester, each group will prepare a short presentation to begin the general class discussion of a film. To facilitate discussion, each student will keep a "film journal" to record the film’s story line, its historical message or interpretation, and significant scenes/images/themes. NOTE: Each group will be responsible for their collected videotapes of the films; an additional set will be put on reserve in the library. Some films are available at video stores, and each group will be responsible for renting the film.
Course Requirements:
1) Keeping a film journal
2) Active participation in class discussions and group presentations
3) Two short (5-7 pages, double-spaced) papers
4) One final take-home essay exam
Required Texts:
Jonathan Spence, The Search for Modern China
Gu Hua, A Small Town Called Hibiscus
Collected Readings (marked "Packet" in syllabus) available on reserve in the library, or outside my office door (135 Garinger)
Syllabus is open to revision at instructor’s discretion
Week One: Why Film ?
1. (1/13) Course introduction: historical subjects and historical contexts
2. (1/15) How to read a film (Part I) River Elegy
Week Two: Film as "Text"
1. (1/20) issues of historiography and film Born under the Red Flag
2. (1/22) discussion of readings
Readings: Packet (1) How to Read a Film, (3-45), Primitive Passions, (4-23)
Week Three: History and re-enactment
1.Late Imperial / Early modern China: Ming and Qing background
2. Discussion: Images of China
Readings: Spence; pp. 3-25, 90-116, 117-143
film [documentary]: The Two Coasts of China (Pacific Century Series)
Week Four: China as exotic "other"
1. China’s transition to "modernity": the impact-response paradigm
2. Discussion of The Last Emperor
Readings: Spence; pp. 165-184, 216-268
film: The Last Emperor
Week Five: Political and Social Change in the early twentieth century
1. Between tradition and modernity
2. Discussion of "feudalism", Zhang Yimou and Raise the Red Lantern
Readings: Spence; pp. 275-299; Packet (2) Primitive Passions, pp. 142-172
film: Raise the Red Lantern
Week Six: A New Culture
1. The May Fourth Movement
2. Discussion of The Family
Readings: Spence; pp. 300-325, 334-379; Packet (3) The Chinese Enlightenment, pp. 12-54
film: The Family
* Paper Topic # 1: Drawing on the films Raise the Red Lantern and The Family, write a five to seven page (double-spaced) essay on the critique of "tradition" or "feudalism" in modern Chinese history. Your essay should make specific reference to the films, and connect the themes raised in each to the historical context (of the May Fourth Period) they represent.
Week Seven: The Yan’an Way (PAPER 1 DUE)
1. Communist Idealism and its critics
2. Discussion of Yellow Earth
Readings: Spence; pp.403-418, 437-483; Packet (4) Perspectives on Chinese Cinema, pp. 62-79
film: Yellow Earth
Week Eight: War and the Birth of the "New Society"
1. Revolution in China’s countryside
2.Discussion of Red Sorghum
Readings: Spence; pp. 484-540; Packet (5) Perspectives on Chinese Cinema, pp. 80-103
film: Red Sorghum
Week Nine: Spring Break, no classes (Read A Small Town Called Hibiscus)
Week Ten: Two Views of Revolution
1. Maoism (the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution)
2.Discussion of Breaking with Old Ideas and Blue Kite
Readings: Spence; pp. 541-551, 563- 617; Packet (6) Chinese Cinema: Culture and politics since 1949, pp. 1-3; 124-184.
films: Breaking with Old Ideas and Blue Kite
HIST 3000
Paper Topic #2 &Revised Schedule:
Drawing on the assigned readings, and on the films Breaking with Old Ideas, Hibiscus Town, (and, optionally, Farewell My Concubine), write a five to seven page paper explaining the ideology, motivations, and personal experiences of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. What were the specific values and goals of the Cultural Revolution that were shown in the films? What were the consequences of the Cultural Revolution for the lives of Chinese people? What different perspectives on/ interpretations of the Cultural Revolution do the films present? Your essay should also reflect the role of film as an element in Cultural Revolution politics (i.e. propoganda), and as part of the post-Mao attempt to make sense of what happened during the Cultural Revolution. The paper is due Tuesday, April 14.
Week Eleven:
3/24. Discussion of Breaking with Old Ideas
3/26. Discussion of Chinese Cinema Reading.
Readings: Spence; pp. 541-551, 563- 617; Packet (6) Chinese Cinema: Culture and politics since 1949, pp. 1-3; 124-184.
Week Twelve: The Cultural Revolution as historical watershed
3/31. Post-Mao China (I)
4/2.Discussion of Hibiscus Town
Readings: Spence; pp. 621-666; Packet (7) Unofficial China (37-53); New Chinese Cinemas (40-56); Gu Hua, A Small Town Called Hibiscus
Week Thirteen: Post-Mao China (II)
4/7. Artists, Intellectuals and the State
4/9. Discussion of Farewell My Concubine
Readings: Packet (8) Primitive Passions, pp. 23-107
Week Fourteen: Reform and the Chinese Countryside (PAPER 2 DUE)
4/14. the rural-urban split
4/16. Discussion of The Story of Qiu Ju and Small Happiness
Readings: Spence; pp. 667-712; Packet (9) From the Soil, pp. 37-44; 94-107
Week Fifteen: Culture Fever and The People’s Movement of 1989
4/21. Post-Mao intellectual Renaissance and Discussion of River Elegy
4/23. "democracy" or "protest" movement? Discussion of Gate of Heavenly Peace
Readings: website:
Week Sixteen: The Pacific Century
4/28. Hong Kong and Beyond
4/30. Discussion: Jackie Chan, Confucian Action Hero
film: Rumble in the Bronx
Note: The final exam will be a take-home essay asking you to explore a theme-- e.g. tradition and modernity; city and countryside; gender; etc-- through analysis of the films viewed in the course. Your essay will be based on the readings and on your notes on the films in your journals.
HIST 3000
Modern China Through Film
The films for this course are documentary sources, not just entertainment. While watching the films you should take notes in three areas:
1) the film’s interpretation of Chinese history (storyline, intent/message, perspective)
2) the film’s historical context (maker, audience, relevance to its own times)
3) the film’s production (images, symbolic language, important scenes; i.e. the specific technology used to send its message).
After watching the film, write an entry in your film journal that synthesizes your notes on the film and includes your personal reactions. Begin with a heading of the film’s title and production date, a brief synopsis of the film’s storyline, and a summation of the film’s message (i.e. what interpretation of the historical period does it present; number (1) above). Then move on to your critical interpretation of the film-- how it is a reflection of its own historical context, how its message is carried in the symbols, images and dialogue (numbers (2) and (3) above)-- relating what you see in the film to the themes we are developing in the course:
* different interpretations of modern Chinese history
* special focus on the post-Mao period (1976- present) as a time of historical reflection
* images of China (Western and Chinese)
* the problems of modernization: "tradition" versus "modernity"
To help you gather your thoughts in the journal, try to answer the following questions.
A) How does the historical interpretation offered by the film connect with the interpretations covered in class and in Spence’s The Search for Modern China ? Are there any differences, and what significance might they have?
B) Who made the film, and what audience do they hope to reach? How do maker and audience affect the interpretation ?
C) What do you know about the circumstances surrounding the film’s production? How do the artistic, political, economic and intellectual climates in which the film was made affect its interpretation of modern Chinese history?
Another exercise that is helpful in interpreting a film is to choose a scene (or recurring image) that seems to you to best represent the film’s message. Analyze this scene, asking yourself why you chose it as the most significant, and how you could use this scene to both epitomize the whole film and draw connections between the film and the broader issues of the historiography of modern China.
Finally, in the film journal feel free to include your personal reactions, likes and dislikes, and feelings about (or aroused by) the film. The idea is to reflect on the film, and to be able to discuss it with your classmates.
Modern China Through Film HIST3000
Professor John Flower jmflower@email.uncc.edu
Monday
Jeffrey Harbin 595-5895
Ray Burton UTSPORT@email.uncc.edu
Sandra Johnson 598-5313
Laura Henson squirrelwing@www.hotmail.com 376-2327
Tuesday
So Onadera sonodera@hotmail.com 503-3259
Dena Sisk dksisk@unccvms.edu 866-0850
Brooke Rhine brrhine@unccvms.uncc.edu 569-9997
Allison Simpson acsimpso@unccvms.edu 597-5515
Jennifer Fry 788-3737
Wednesday
Scott Yamanashi 372-4531
Yancey Orr YORR@uncc.edu
Brian Pope Epopb@aol.com
Emily Mackay 535-3299
Thursday
Jason Long 394-6820
Ashleigh Harrington 857-7249
Joel Cristea 732-7271
Jonathan Doughty web3947@charweb.org
Virtual One
Shawn Carmody Ogenkidesu@aol.com 377-5033
Michael Williams micwilli@aol.com 515-2456
Ryan Sniateak 537-8311
Aaron Bar Dab1029@aol.com
Virtual Two
Ricky Rodriguez BombBrothr@aol.com 786-7432
Trey Walters cwalters@unccvms.uncc.edu 365-8491
Nick Sheets lumen@mindspring.com 373-1387
NOTE: READINGS ARE ON RESERVE IN THE LIBRARY
WEB PAGE WITH SYLLABUS AT http://www.uncc.edu/~jmflower/chinafilm.htm
PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL ADDRESS
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