Recommended Reading and Viewing Lists
Films: Most of these films are in Mandarin, with subtitles--those with more English are noted below.
Films About China:
Beijing Bicycle- (modern film addressing youth in Beijing- a sometimes disturbing but intriguing glimpse at life in the big city at the end of the 20th century...)
Empire of the Sun (interesting historical film touching on WW2 era and a prison camp in Shanghai) Mostly English.
Farewell my Concubine- (a depressing film that features a Chinese opera troupe and the changes they experience over time in China in the mid-twentieth century)
Joy Luck Club (provides a good context for Americans going to China, to understand cultural differences and be aware of some 20th century history) Mostly English
To Live If you only watch one film about China before you go, watch this one which portrays one family’s experience from pre-revolutionary times into the Cultural Revolution (late 60’s/early 70’s).
The Last Emperor: Historical epic portraying the life of PuYi, the last emperor of China from the early 1900s through the Cultural Revolution. Provides a good context to understand what life was like for royalty in imperial China. Mostly English
KungFu/Special effects films set in China:
House of Flying Daggers
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Emperor and Assassin (interesting historical epic with a lot of violence, but also a good background introduction to early Chinese history)
About Tibet:
Kundun: The life story of the fourteenth Dalai Lama from his recognition at age two in Tibet, to his flee into Exile in 1959. Mostly English
Seven Years in Tibet: Depicts life in India and Tibet during the WW2 era from the perspective of an Austrian mountaineer who lived and worked in Tibet. Mostly English
Tibet Cry of the Snow Lion: An amazing documentary which describes the challenges faced by the Tibetan people, with a focus on the second half of the twentieth century. If you only watch one film about Tibet- watch this one, but have a handkerchief ready! Mostly English
Windhorse: A compelling film about a Tibetan family living in Lhasa in the 1980s, while the film is has a gripping story, it also reveals many sad truths about life in modern-day Tibet. Some English and some subtitles
Books:
About China:
China: Lonely Planet Guide: This guide has not only “what to see, and how to get there” kind of information but a very helpful historical and cultural introductory section and a useful language section.
China Wakes, N. Kristoff and S. WuDunn (a great read by two New York Times journalists who lived and worked in China including during the late 1980s. Includes many stories describing the lives of real people from various walks of life in China. Good description of the difficult but real problems still faced in China today).
China Alive in the Bitter Sea, Fox Butterfield (A journalist’s look at China in the 1980s, a bit dated, but helpful if looked at in a historical context)
Life and Death in Shanghai (a woman’s story of the challenges she faced being imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution)
Wild Swans (multi generational story of life for a family in China)
Son of the Revolution (one man’s story of how he got involved in the Cultural Revolution as a Red Guard)
Mr. China’s Son (an older man’s story of his life growing up in the Bai indeginous community in Dali, over many decades of the 20th century. We can meet the author in Dali, he runs a bookstore there).
About Tibet:
My Land And My People, Tenzin Gyatso First autobiography of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, includes useful background information to understand political and cultural changes in Tibet in the mid-twentieth century.
Freedom in Exile, Tenzin Gyatso Second autobiography of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
In Exile from the Land of Snows, John Avedon, The classic non-fiction work which describes both historical information about Tibet and the exodus of so many Tibetans into Exile beginning in the mid-twentieth century.
Kundun: Mary Craig The fascinating story of the family of the Dalai Lama
Tears for Tibet, Mary Craig. Historical and cultural background about the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
The Voice that Remembers, Ama Adhe. One Tibetan woman’s story including life in pre-occupied Tibet, her assistance to the resistance forces, and the subsequent 27 years she spent in Chinese prisons. A fascinating but depressing portrayal of the impact of the Chinese occupation on one woman’s life. (Our students who go to India with Global LAB have met with the author multiple times)
Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk, Palden Gyatso. The life story of a Buddhist monk who spent 33 years in prison in Tibet and China before escaping to Dharamsala, India. (Students who go to India with Global LAB sometimes can meet and talk with Palden-la about his experiences).