Transformation of China through eyes of Robert Carl Cohen
- By staff reporter Lu Rucai
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A New Account
In October 2014, Zhang Mingyu, head of the Changchun Broadcasting TV Station, received a rather unusual message on LinkedIn. The message was from an old man in Colorado, who had attached a still from the treasured film he had shot in China over 50 years ago. This old man was Robert Carl Cohen.
"In the course of our correspondence, I learned that as early as 1957, an almost unheard of diplomatic event had taken place between the people of the US and China. An American Youth Delegation of 41 people had visited China, gone to Changchun, and had even taken part in the National Day Ceremony celebrations that year." Zhang Mingyu said that he and Cohen simultaneously came up with the idea of using these rare images to illustrate China's "rocket-like" development. And so, a new documentary was made, entitled Robert Carl Cohen's China Today.
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Cohen revisits the FAW Group Corporation, China's leading automobile manufacturer, in Changchun in 2015. |
In November 2014, the documentary project was formally given the go-ahead. By May 2015, the production team was on their way to the U.S. to finish interviews and filming in the U.S. On August 22, the China portion of the shoot officially began in Dalian. In addition to the eight cities he had visited previously, this time Cohen also travelled to the Shanhai Pass, Jiayu Pass, Jiuquan City and Shenzhen City, crisscrossing the entire country on a journey of 12,000 km, lasting 70 days, during which he accumulated over 300 hours of film footage.
The TV version of the documentary was split into four episodes, entitled "Development and Problems," "Reform and Revolution," "Life and the Environment," and "Traditions and Modernity." The footage was accompanied by a voiceover, where Cohen described the changes he observed in modern China.
The documentary reflects the huge changes that have occurred in China across the span of half a century, by comparing old and new China, and interviewing scholars and public figures. It also reveals Cohen's own reflections and observations on issues common to both modern China and the rest of the world.
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Cohen visited China in 1957 as a special correspondent for NBC-TV. |
On seeing the documentary, Yin Aiqun, chairman of Jilin Province's Federation of Literary and Art Circles, said, "The film touches upon various topics, including environmental protection, anti-corruption, traditional festivals, the economy, the aging population, and Peking opera. This will allow foreigners to gain a more comprehensive understanding of China, and see its changes from a much more three-dimensional perspective."
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