China: The Making of a Nation

A sober, densely informative history lesson that moves briskly through a century of upheaval, rewarding close attention with context and consequence.

Created by

Anne Loussouarn

Genres

Documentary

Starring

Sarah-Jane Sauvegrain, Thierry Debrune, Marie-Ève Dufresne

Overview

China: The Making of a Nation is the story of the painful transformation of the vast Qing Empire into the Chinese nation after the 1911 revolution. Spanning more than a century up to the Xi Jinping era, the story pits the two pivotal leaders of this transformation against each other: Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Republic of China for 47 years, and Mao Zedong, who rose from ‘red bandit’ to master of the mainland in 1949. Sworn enemies, they fought a merciless battle: first military, then diplomatic, and finally, beyond their deaths, in the conflicting memories of the Taiwanese and the Chinese of the People's Republic. Beyond their fierce hatred, the two tyrants also had much in common: a certain vision of Chinese territory and the greatness of China, the desire to regain the country's sovereignty and the quest for a Chinese identity in a nation that also includes Tibetans, Uighurs, Mongols... and a certain ability to rewrite history.

How it feels

Measured and needs your attention.

About

Power, identity, war, politics

Content

Mild violence. No gore, sexual content or swearing.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Watch the trailer on YouTube (opens in a new tab)