Chinese and British: films on Kanopy

Browse our featured films on Kanopy as part of our library exhibition inspired by the British Library.

Kanopy is our free video streaming service which you can access using your library card.

Hanzi: A Documentary on Chinese Typography

How does language shape identity? What role does handwriting play in the digital age? Hanzi encourages audiences around the world to revisit and rethink their own culture, language and identity. This film explores international design, visual culture, and identity through the lens of modern Chinese typography.

Winner of Best Film at the Urban Nomad Film Festival. Official Selection at the Bali International Film Festival and the Providence Art & Design Film Festival.

Watch Hanzi →

The Professor: Tai Chi's Journey West

The Professor: Tai Chi's Journey West is a feature documentary about Tai Chi and one of its greatest masters, Cheng Man-Ching, a man who brought Tai Chi and Chinese culture to the West during the swinging, turbulent 60's. Though Cheng is an important transformational figure, his teachings have been overlooked. This documentary film tells the story of his remarkable life and features Tai Chi as a martial art and a spiritual practice.

Watch The Professor: Tai Chi's Journey West →

Soul of a Banquet

In this mouth-watering documentary, director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) profiles Cecilia Chiang, the matriarch of modern Chinese cooking, as she relates her fascinating history and cooks up a sumptuous, once-in-a-lifetime banquet.

Watch Soul of a Banquet →

Energy Flow in Your Surroundings

Qigong manipulates the flow of qi in your body. Learn how the art of feng shui allows you to harmonize qi energy in your surrounding environment. Also investigate the ancient Chinese five element theory. Close with Opening the Arms Like a Fan in the short form.

Watch Energy Flow in Your Surroundings →

Yin and Yang of Classical Chinese Cuisine

Chinese culture produced what is arguably the most complex, sophisticated, and varied culinary tradition on earth. Trace the rise of civilization in China from the Hsia to the Han dynasty, the social and technological factors underlying China’s elaborate food traditions, and the role of Taoist thought and Chinese medicine in diet.

Watch Yin and Yang of Classical Chinese Cuisine →

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