The Changing Face of China

• Code V23
• DVD Video
• Suitable ages 14+

This DVD contains 3 programs

• The Ancient Empire (18 minutes)
• Revolution (17 minutes)
• The Fifth Millennium (16 minutes)

Program 1
The Ancient Empire

China has been shaped by its 4,000 - year culture as well as its enormous and varied terrain. Its history extends from the Shang Dynasty in 1766 BC through the abdication of the last emperor in 1912 – a period that sees the development of Confucian philosophy the spread of Buddhism, the flowering of science and culture under the Han emperors, the military triumph of the Mongols under Genghis Khan, and the collapse of the imperial system under Western pressure.

Program 2
Revolution

The first president of China, Sun Yat-sen, sets his country on a democratic course, but problems include a backward bureaucracy, primitive industry, and a famine-plagued population. In 1927, fighting breaks out between the Communists under Mao Zedong, and the Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek. The struggle continues through Japanese invasion and the Second World War. The communist victory brings many gains, including atomic energy, that re-establish China as a global power.

Program 3
The Fifth Millennium

Since Mao’s death, economic liberalisation has changed communist economics, but political and human rights in China are still limited. China is one of the world’s richest countries in natural resources like coal, petroleum, iron and minerals. Its population now is over one billion. Growing involvement with the world is evidenced by a thirty-fold increase in China’s foreign trade. The country seems destined for a new global role as this millennium, China’s fifth, begins.

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The Changing Face of Japan

• Code V27
• DVD Video
• Suitable ages 14+

This DVD contains 3 programs

• The Divine Land (16 minutes)
• A Nation Reborn (16 minutes)
• Superpower of the Pacific (17 minutes)

Program 1
The Divine Land

Until 1947, Shinto, the official religion, held that Japan enjoyed divine protection, ruled by an emperor descended from the gods. This video begins with the legendary Yamato period and continues through feudal times to reunification during the Meiji Era. In the 17th century a 250-year seclusion from the outside world decreed by the shogunate gives rise to indigenous art forms but creates growing social unrest. This changes in 1853 when a U.S. naval fleet under Commodore Perry ends Japan’s isolation.

Program 2
A Nation Reborn

Rapid industrialisation without political reform leads Japan to military expansion and ultimate disaster in the Second World War. Ninety-two years after Perry, another American, General Douglas MacArthur, presides over the post-war transformation of the imperial system and introduces Japan to democratic government. A period of unprecedented peace and economic prosperity begins as a new Japan emerges from the ashes.

Program 3
Superpower of the Pacific

Japan today has three-quarters of its people crowded into major cities like Tokyo and Osaka, where a highly skilled work force excels in technologically advanced exports. Second only to the U.S. as a world economic power, Japan's long cherished traditions continue to affect everything from business practices to everyday life. Examining the role of the educational system, religion, family values and government, this program offers a rounded portrait of Japan during the 1990s.

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Vietnam Today

• Code V30
• DVD Video
• Suitable ages 15+

This DVD contains 2 programs

• Open for Business (52 minutes)
• People, Land and Culture (20 minutes)

Program 1
Open for Business

The present communist government is moving the country away from a failed centralised command economy and into one driven by the forces of the open market. This program features interviews with top Vietnamese officials responsible for guiding the country out of poverty and into the 21st century. We learn about changes in laws affecting foreign investors, planned improvements in the infrastructure, and the opportunities and pitfalls for business in the rapidly changing economy.

Program 2
People, Land & Culture

Long a target of invaders due to its strategic location between India and the Far East, Vietnam is still largely agrarian with a population split by geography, ethnic differences and religion. Today Vietnam is attempting to remake itself into an industrialised society. The task is a monumental one, complicated by problems of communication, a poor health system and inadequate education. But remembering the past, while struggling with the present, Vietnam has an eye on the future.

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