AllMovie

The 13-part series The Giants Within -- A Portrait of Chinese Writers captures the faces and words of many of China's leading literary voices. Now banned in China, this video is a rare document of the most important modern Chinese writers from the 1930s onward. Available in Chinese- and English-language versions, this series combines images of life in China with a compelling narrative about the lives of 12 of China's most significant authors. Each video focuses its attention on the life and work of one author. Combining a collage of images from the places where the authors lived and worked, perspectives gleaned from interviews with literary experts and family and friends, and even personal accounts from the authors themselves, this series helps place these giants of Chinese literature into the historical, political, and social context in which their lives and work developed. Part nine, The Giants Within -- A Portrait of Chinese Writers: A Literary Soul in a Border Town -- Shen Congwen, chronicles the experiences that shaped the work of Shen Congwen.