''The 400 Million'', also known as ''China in 1938'', was a 1939 black-and-white documentary film by Dutch filmmaker

Joris Ivens Georg Henri Anton "Joris" Ivens (18 November 1898 – 28 June 1989) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker. Among the notable films he directed or co-directed are '' A Tale of the Wind'', '' The Spanish Earth'', ''Rain'', ''...A Valparaiso'', ''M ...

about the Second Sino-Japanese War, part of the East Asian theater of World War II. The filmmaker moved between the Republican,

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, and guerrilla forces of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

resistance to Japanese invasion. Their dialogue in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

is accompanied by English translations read by American actors.Anderson, Kevin Taylor
"The 400 Million (Holland, Ivens, 1938)" in ''Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film'', Vol. 1, pp. 432 f.
Routledge (New York), 2006.Anderson, Kevin Taylor
"The 400 Million (Holland, Ivens, 1939)" in ''The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film'', pp. 262 f.
Routledge (New York), 2013. .

Name

The title refers to the

population of China '' The demographics of China demonstrate a huge population with a relatively small youth component, partially a result of China's one-child policy. China's population reached 1 billion in late 1981. As of December 2021, China's population stood ...

, estimated from the highly untrustworthy official censuses.Tanner, Harold Miles
''China: A History'', Vol. 2: "From the Great Qing Empire through the People's Republic of China", p. 146, n. 33.
Hackett (Indianapolis), 2010. .

Narrative

The film begins with the carnage left by Japanese bombing in northeastern China, describing it as an unprovoked act of aggression. It then provides a brief overview of

Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

and its connections and importance to Europe and North America. It discusses the modernization undertaken by the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

and suggests that nascent development provoked Japan's attack. Japan's history of aggression is detailed, with the United States's continuing exports of iron and steel to the country pointedly noted. The film takes pains to present the Chinese factions as united against the invaders and ends with some small Chinese victories to suggest a turning tide of battle, especially praising the

8th Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chinese ...

Legacy

Footage from the film was later incorporated into

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

propaganda film '' The Battle of China'', which also made prominent use of "

The March of the Volunteers The "March of the Volunteers" (), originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", has been the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike previous Chinese state anthems, it was ...

", the song which later became the

Chinese National Anthem The "March of the Volunteers" (), originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", has been the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike previous Chinese state anthems, it was ...

. The camera from the film was donated by Ivens to the Chinese Communist Party, which used it to begin the Yan'an Film Group.

References

External links

''The 400 Million''
at the Internet Movie Database Dutch documentary films Chinese documentary films 1939 documentary films 1939 films {{netherlands-film-stub