AM publishes new audiovisual resource, China on Film: Twentieth Century Sources from the British Film Institute
The latest addition to AM’s suite of AV primary source collections offers a vivid portrayal of daily life, historical moments, and transformative events, seen through the lens of foreign travellers.
From the rise of communist China to everyday moments in bustling cities and rural areas, these films drawn from the British Film Institute (BFI) provide a rare visual journey through a century marked by profound political, social, and cultural change.
Hosted on AM’s powerful Quartex discovery platform, the collection benefits from increased accessibility tools such as transcripts and audio description, ensuring the material is accessible to a wider audience than ever before.
Users of all levels are further supported by the addition of commissioned thematic essays and editorial content contextualising the visual material. These deeper insights into the films explore not only the pivotal events captured, such as the fall of the Qing dynasty, but also provide practical support and guidance for researchers such as how to approach film as a medium and interpreting the Western view presented in the material.
The twentieth century was a period of immense change in China as the country saw the final days of the 276-year-old Qing dynasty through to the establishment of a Communist state, alongside the growing modernisation of the country, multiple wars and an ever-changing relationship with the West. These films help shine a light onto these events through the lenses of Western travellers and amateur filmmakers. There is also a significant number of films that focus on everyday life in China during this time.
China on Film: Twentieth Century Sources from the British Film Institute represents an invaluable tool for students and researchers of modern Chinese history and early amateur film-making.
Find out more about this new audiovisual collection from AM.
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