Documentary, World History, and National Power in the PRC

This book examines three recent Chinese documentary television series which present the officially sanctioned view of the rise of the modern West, the reasons for the end of the Soviet Union, and the legitimisation of the present-day Chinese government via a specific reading of modern Chinese history to argue for a `Chinese rise¿ in the future. It discusses how history is presented on screen, explores the function of visual history for memory culture and wider society, and provides a keen insight into how the Chinese themselves regard their `global rise¿.