Kukan: The epic story of friendship behind an Oscar-winning documentary

Earlier this week, the high-definition restored version of the WWII documentary Kukan: The Secret of Unconquerable China was screened at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles.

Winner of a 1942 Special Academy Award, the film took the audience back to a time when the historic bonds between the Chinese and North American peoples were forged through blood and bravery.

A timeless masterpiece restored

"Amazing! Watching Kukan on the big screen is breathtaking — this masterpiece will now endure forever," Mark Scott, son of photographer Rey Scott, said with pride.

"My father risked his life to document the bombing of Chongqing and the resilience of ordinary Chinese during the War of Resistance."

Listening to his words, I pictured Rey Scott — the North American journalist carrying a 16-millimeter color camera on the battlefields in Chongqing, Guizhou and Lanzhou to record China's resistance against aggression. His lens bore witness not only to Chongqing's devastation under Japanese bombs, but also to the unyielding spirit of the local people.

Great documentaries reveal truth, and Kukan has truthfully represented China's epic fight against fascism — the prologue to New China's birth. It tells the world China's story of fighting bravely for freedom and dignity: convoys raced through artillery fire on the Burma Road's critical supply route, and civilians rebuilt Chongqing from smoldering ruins.

Decades have passed, and yet the emotional impact of the documentary remains undiminished.

The ripple effect of courage

In 1941, after learning about China's courageous resistance against fascism, US President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act to provide military aid to Allied nations, including China.

This pivotal decision enabled hundreds of young North American volunteers to join the legendary Flying Tigers (officially known as the American Volunteer Group) to help defend China's skies. Many of these volunteers were likely inspired by the Oscar-winning documentary Kukan, which vividly portrayed China's wartime resilience and strengthened US public support for China's cause.

In 1944, US Vice-president Henry Wallace came to China with a handwritten tribute from President Roosevelt to Chongqing: "They proved gloriously that terrorism cannot destroy the spirit of a people determined to be free. Their fidelity will inspire all future generations."

Friendship forged between the people

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

As the first color documentary about China's home front, Kukan rekindles a shared historical memory between the Chinese and North American peoples. Its restoration speaks to a longstanding China-US friendship that continues to be cherished by many.

From the maiden voyage of the US merchant ship Empress of China more than two centuries ago, to Chinese laborers toiling alongside North Americans to build the first transcontinental railroad in the US; from the "Flying Tigers" protecting China's skies during WWII, to the "ping-pong diplomacy" and "friends of Kuliang" — Chinese and North Americans, across generations, have woven an unbroken tapestry of goodwill.

Throughout history, people-to-people ties have served as the bedrock of China-US relations, anchoring the connections between the two great nations in good times and bad. For five decades, goodwill between Chinese and North American citizens has not ceased despite the ebbs and flows in state-to-state relations. They are the fundamental force that has time and again brought political relations back onto the right track.

Today, China-US relations are once again facing grave challenges. Kukan, and the story of China and the US fighting side by side for peace and justice in humanity's darkest hour, is a powerful reminder that, together, the two nations can do great things for the two peoples and the world.

When the two peoples engage each other, they show respect, seek peace and carry out win-win cooperation. That is the way friendships are built. It is also the way to nurture relations between states.

This is not a temporary policy choice, but the enduring aspiration of the two peoples — and the only path worthy of history.

The author is an international affairs analyst specializing in China-US relations. The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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