EASC Chinese Film Festival
East Asian Studies Center in conjunction with the New York Times Arts & Leisure Weekend Presented:
Postmen in the Mountains
This magnificently photographed and sensitively acted film is the very simple story of a man who hands his life's work over to his son. Although it takes place in the rural mountains of Hunan, China, the story is both age-old and contemporary. Taking place on a mountain path, the postman and his son encounter various townsfolk who show their need, admiration and love for the postman. When the son sees the purpose that his father serves, he experiences a newfound admiration and love for him.
The Saga of Mulan
This production of Mulan, performed by the Beijing Opera, is based on the ancient Chinese legendary tale that became known to U.S. audiences through an animated version produced by the Disney Studios. This visually stunning, live-action version with imaginative sets is the retelling of the classic tale of a woman who rises to the command of the Chinese Army disguised as a male warrior.
Silk Road
During the Xi Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to 25 A.D.), well-known diplomat and explorer Zhang Qian was charged by the Emperor to open the Western Regions and quell the tribes threatening the Northern Territories. After ten years of enslavement, hardship and torture, he finds himself in a land of vast wealth and rich culture. Zhang Qian opened a link which started the world famous Silk Road that ultimately extended from the capital of China to the Capital of Rome. The photography of the western mountains and desert regions of China in this film are spectacular.
East Asian Security Series
In 2003 , the East Asian Studies Center sponsored an informal lecture series on the topic of East Asian security issues. The talks were held at the Borders Bookstore at Eastland Plaza in Bloomington. Jacques L. Fuqua, Associate Director of the East Asian Studies Center and retired Lieutenant Colonel gave the first talk, "The Axis of Uncertainty: US-South Korea-North Korea Security Relations," on March 22, 2003. Questions he addressed included: Why is North Korea's diplomacy characterized by such a "brinksmanship" posture? Why have the Bush administration's policies toward North Korea failed? Why do some experts believe that the US-South Korea bilateral relationship will become more strained during the current nuclear crisis on the peninsula instead of bringing the US and South Korea closer together? Can South Korea's Sunshine Policy toward North Korea succeed?
The presentation touched on these and other pertinent current issues confronting the Bush administration and its bilateral relationship with South Korea, while providing a contextual background that laid the foundation for the current crisis. Recommended Reading: The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (Revised and Updated Edition); Author: Don Oberdorfer
On April 26, 2003, Scott Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Political Science and East Asian Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, gave the second lecture in the series, "China: America's Enemy, America's Ally."
The United States has alternated between treating China as a close ally at some moments and as America's most dangerous challenger -- strategic, economic, and ideological -- at others. Such wavering reflects the deep divisions among Americans' views about the Middle Kingdom. This presentation provides a window into the fractious, polarized, and sometimes, funny, debate over China policy that Americans have been engaged in during the past quarter century. The discussion is based on Kennedy's new book, China Cross Talk: The American Debate over China Policy since Normalization, A Reader (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003).
Last updated: 1/14/2004
URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~easc/
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