Summary: Film about the People's Liberation Army of China, its close links with the people, relations between officers and men and its training, by Felix Greene.
Description: The People's Liberation Army of China is "like no other army in the world" as it is "a vast school of politics, engineering, agriculture and medicine and acts as an immense reserve labour force" whose principal aim is "to serve the people". The film observes the close relationship with the people and shows soldiers aiding civilians planting rice-fields, sweeping streets, sending a medical unit to a village clinic, digging a canal and joining a village meeting. The traditional distinction between officers and men does not exist in the PLA where the officers eat the same food, live in the same quarters and wear the same uniforms as the men and engage the men in discussions on how best to organise things. The army is a self-sufficient unit growing its own food and making its own medicine. There is a sequence of the army training the local militia. The army is highly conscious politically and the works of Mao Tse-Tung are intensively studied. There is a training exercise sequence in which soldiers use light artillery, rifles and machine-guns. Many of the events in the film have been obviously staged for the camera.
Alternative Title:ONE MAN'S CHINA [Series Title]
Colour:Colour
Digitised:
Object_Number:PMO 21
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:NON-IWM
Featured Period:1946-1975
Production Date:1972
Production Country: GB
Production Details: Greene, Felix (Production individual)
Fraser, Chris (Production individual)
Greene, Felix (Production individual)
Greene, Anne (Production individual)
Greene, Elena (Production individual)
Greene, Felix (Production individual)
Greene, Felix (Production cast)
Personalities, Units and Organisations: Mao Tse-tung (person)
People's Liberation Army of China (regiment/service)
Keywords: agriculture, Chinese - arable: rice-fields, sweeping streets, (object name)
propaganda, British - inspirational: pro-Chinese (object name)
society, Chinese - domestic (object name)
society, Chinese - ethnic (object name)
society, Chinese military - friendship (object name)
training, Chinese military (object name)
China (geography)
propaganda (concept)
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: English
Subtitle language: None
Technical Details: Format: 16mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 1
Footage: 890 ft; Running time: 25 mins
