Search - Ancient China: A Journey Back in Time (Lost Treasures of the Ancient World) on DVD

Too brief

mka9 | USA | 06/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although this DVD packs a lot of information into 50 minutes, it is much too brief to cover thousands of years of ancient Chinese civilization. I don't even remember the Tang or Sung dynasties being mentioned. So this DVD isn't really a complete introduction to the subject, although I did enjoy the expert commentary on topics being discussed.



Aside from the problems resulting from the brevity & rushed pace of this DVD, I had few complaints. The computer animation was overdone a bit. It seemed more appropriate for the ancient village rather than for extant structures such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. And one myth which the narrator repeats twice is that that the Great Wall can be seen from the moon.



Not quite as polished as a PBS documentary, but a decent value for the money.



Chapters:

1. Opening

2. Beginnings of Chinese Civilization

3. Pre-Dynastic Worship

4. Ancestor Worship

5. The Rise of the Dynasties

6. The Shang Dynasty

7. The Great Philosophies

8. The Unification of China

9. The Great Wall

10. The Terracotta Army

11. The Han Dynasty

12. The Silk Road

13. Buddhism

14. The Chinese Pagoda

15. The Ming Dynasty

16. The Forbidden City



Commentary by:

Dr Rana Mitter , History Dept, Warrick University

Prof Hugh Baker & Dr Wang Tao , School of African & Oriental Studies, London

Prof Jessica Rawson, Chinese Art & Archaeology, Merton College, Oxford"

Chinese history and archaeological and architectural treasur

Kim Boykin | New York, NY | 12/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 50-minute documentary examines treasures of Chinese archaeology and architecture, including the Great Wall, the first emperor's terra cotta army, pagodas, and the Forbidden City. Along the way, the video provides an introduction to Chinese history. (Incidentally, the Great Wall isn't visible from the moon, as the video says. That's an urban myth.)



I've used excerpts of this video in teaching Chinese religion and philosophy: ch. 4, on ancestor worship; ch. 7, on Confucianism, Taoism, and legalism; and chs. 13 and 14, on Buddhism and the pagoda.



(If you want to learn about 20th-century Chinese history, I'd recommend the documentary "China: A Century of Revolution.")"

This DVD is great for teaching

Megan Jones | 01/26/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD works perfectly with the grade 8 Social studies (B.C.) China unit (I think it's Grade 6 or 7 in the States). it is a clear and well-produced documentary. It's divided into segments that correspond pretty clearly with the textbook that we use. There are 5-10 minute segments that correspond to basic topics like the Xia, Ancestor Worship, Shang, Qin, Han, Tang, Silk Road, and Three Doctrines. My students really enjoy the Great Wall footage and animation and spent some time wondering if people ever dirtbike along it! It doesn't have as much gore and creepiness as the (wonderful) Time Life "Ancient China" video, but it is still a nice little addition to the Ancient China unit. There is a a fair amount of interview footage and no fantasy element outside the nice animation."