Soft Power as Cultural Diplomacy: Empirical Study of Chinese Film Industry Sin Kit I

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Soft Power as Cultural Diplomacy: An

Empirical Study of Chinese Film Industry

Abstract:

This paper explores the evolution of film industry as part of the soft power instruments that are currently

deployed by the Chinese government to counter its negative world image. Most recent researchers have

highlighted the success of China´s soft power, failing to see the problems it still faces. The emergence of

Chinese cinema on the international screen started in the late 1980s despite several problems such as the

need to refine technical skills and the negative tensions generated by film industry control. This stage is

epitomized not only by movies such as "Grief over the Yellow River", which reflected a willed (but unsuccessful)

attempt to present an image of china that is friendly with the west, but also by movies such as "Raise the Red

Lantern" and "To Live", which won international recognition yet ended up being forbidden internally. In the

2000s a new relation between internationally acclaimed film makers and the Chinese diplomacy seems to have

shaped through themes such as empire building and Chinese history. Despite recent successes on box office,

only stereotypes of China are enhanced whilst current themes that could actually broaden the view of

international audience are very limited. Looking at the evolution of soft power employment, China has been

attempting to improve its global image through its national cinema, but it still needs embracing contemporary

themes in order to truly win the heart of global audience – to exercise its soft power successfully.

Key words:

Soft power, China, Cultural policy, Film industry

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Introduction

Chinese soft power has become a trend not only on a domestic but also international level. Scholars and politicians are eager to find out what the soft power tools are in the hands of Chinese government. Joseph Nye describes soft power as the ability to attract; as well as the ability to shape the preference of others (2004a: p.5 -6). In the case of China, I argue that its national cinema has been employed as a political instrument to exercise soft power in foreign policy and international relations.

The paper will first introduce a theoretical evolution on the concept of soft power. It then presents general cases and figures of soft power exercised by the Chinese government in a broad term. Later, more specifically, this paper argues that the Chinese film industry has become a powerful demonstration of soft power as part of the country´s foreign policy to exert its power on the international relations. Based on the findings, I will show that Chinese films have been the privileged mechanisms to generate an image that is compatible with the West. By creating ideal perceptions of the country, the Chinese government claims to be a robust country that poses no threat but contributes to global peaceful development.

Theoretical Evolution of Soft Power

Supposedly originated from Joseph Nye in early 1990s, a popular term “soft power” has caught an increasing attention of Western politicians and scholars, particularly in the realm of international relations and public diplomacy. This wave silently arrived in China only in recent years, yet it is gaining mounting importance in the government as well as popularity in the public. Soft power then became a label of Nye and has been exploring its real significance during the last two decades.

With the intention of tracing the origin of soft power, Joseph Nye admits that soft power is founded on the second face of power from the work of Peter Bachrach and Morton S. Baratz – “Two Faces of Power” (1962; Nye 2004, Note: 5). Described by Clarence Stone (2006) as “about-to-become classic work”, this collective work forms an important link between the notion of the mobilization of bias and current interest in the new institutionalism (2006: p.670). In the original words of Bachrach and Baratz (1962): Firstly, power is exercised when A participates in the making of decisions that affect B. Secondly, however, power is also exercised when A devotes his energies to creating or reinforcing social and political values and institutional practices that limit the scope of the political process to public consideration innocuous to A (p.948). That is to say, A could mobilize selective ideas in certain ways for the sake of its own interest and meanwhile influencing the decision making process of B. Stone summarizes the two faces of power are: Actors not only expend energy promoting and opposing discrete policy decisions (the first face of power) but also invest resources in arrangements through which strategic advantages are secured (the second face of power) (2006: p.670). Owing to the difficulty of measuring soft power, Stone (2006) highlights that they were less concerned with measuring power precisely than with understanding how strategic disadvantage is perpetuated, but might nevertheless be overcome. Stone praises the genius of Bachrach and Baratz was to open a line of inquiry so vital to the study of politics that the quest remains, even as partial and important insights accumulate (2006: p.670).

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The second face of power then has evolved in the last few decades and become what Nye terms “soft power”(Nye 2004, Note 5). To deliberately invest resources is the path to secure one’s strategic advantages without confronting the opposing energy or discrete policy decisions. Based on this essential point, this Harvard professor further explains that there are two categories of power: hard power and soft power. Nye (2002) explains that military power and economic power are demonstrations of hard command power that can be used to induce others to change their position and can rest on inducements (carrots) or threats (stick) (p.8). By explaining soft power, on the other hand, he claims that “getting others to want what you want” is soft power, that is “an indirect way to exercise power” (Nye 2002: p.9). Rather than coercion, it means the ability of a state to achieve its goals through attraction (Wright, 2009; Nye, 2002, 2006). From the perspective of Nye, a country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries want to follow it, admiring its values, emulating its example, aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness by this means of indirect, often intangible manner (Nye, 2002: p.9).

To further clarify soft power, Nye (2002) diagnoses that it rests on the ability to set the political agenda in a way that shapes the preferences of others (p.9). The scholar also signals that the ability to establish preferences tends to be associated with intangible power resources such as an attractive culture, ideology, and institutions (Nye 2002: p.9). Nye suggests that this is an enormous capacity for a country to get what it wants by attraction, and this attractive, or ¨soft,¨ power stemmed from American culture, values, and policies that were broadly inclusive and seen as legitimate in the eyes of others, rather than out of a sense of fear or desire to gain a reward (2006: p.85; Gil, 2008: p.117).

In response, lately Chinese policy makers and scholars have stressed much on setting “soft power” in the political agenda. Besides, d’Hooghe (2010) points out that culture is considered as the most important source of China’s soft power (p.23). Discussions and conferences are held on a regular basis. Opinions and outcomes are widely reported and debated on a local and national level. Nevertheless, what the public and the officials openly have emphasizing is the “softest part” of soft power – culture itself. Unlike ideology and institution, culture seems to be taking the head of soft power in the context of China.

A Very Brief Evaluation Of Chinese Soft Power

By looking into Chinese soft power, it is of much importance to focus on the different channels in where China has been exercising its soft power. By explaining soft power previously, it refers to the ability to establish preferences tend to be associated with intangible power resources such as an attractive culture, ideology, and institutions (Nye, 2002: p.9). As soft power is argued to be an “integral part” and an “extension” of hard power (Fan, 2008: p.151-152), it is possible to argue that with the facilitation of the direct, tangible economic power, the indirect and intangible soft power would get flourished.

In the time of economic crisis, China specialist on China's foreign policy and diplomacy Ingrid d’Hooghe (2010) points out that China holds the world’s largest foreign currency reserves – 1.9 trillion US dollars – and the stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen appear to suffer less form the crisis than stock markets elsewhere (p.18). Although the Chinese economy is hit hard by the

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fall in exports and millions of Chinese factory workers are losing their jobs, China is expected to be able to keep generating economic growth in the coming years (d’Hooghe, 2010: p.18).

To a large extent, this impressive figure on foreign reserve facilitates the exercise of soft power of the country. In particular, it would work extraordinarily well in terms of utilizing it in foreign policies if the government possesses the desire to do so. Therefore, some argue that Chinese soft power strategies are able to be identified since late 1990s (Kurlantzick, 2006; Gil, 2008). As can be seen from the figure above, China’s foreign reserve growth within the 30-year-old economic reforms, initiated by Deng Xiaoping, have transformed China into one of the world´s largest destinations for foreign direct investment and a vital link in global supply chains (Zheng, 2009: p.1).

Conscious of the apprehension surrounding its rise and worried that such sentiments could impede continued economic growth, Beijing has sought to attach itself to the slogan ¨peaceful development¨ in an effort to reassure others that its newfound strength is benign (Zheng, 2009: p.1). Zheng acknowledges that China today appears much more ¨charming¨, compared with the years of Mao – a transformation that can at least be partially credited to its growing soft power, which is arguably Beijing´s most valuable foreign policy tool (2009: p.1).

On the other hand, Ellis (2011) acknowledges the definition of soft power from Nye (1990) as “a dynamic created by a nation whereby other nations seek to imitate that nation, become closer to that nation, and align its interests accordingly” (p.85). Although the term is used to refer to a range of concepts, he analyzes Chinese soft power in terms of the willingness of governments and other actors in the international system to orient themselves and behave in ways that benefit the PRC because they believe doing so to be in their own interests (2011: p.85).

Nevertheless, it seems that Ellis does not entirely agree with Nye’s definition. In order to complement, Ellis hypothesis that there are many reasons why other actors may decide that actions beneficial to the PRC are also in their own interest: They may feel an affinity for the Chinese culture and people and the objectives of its government, they may expect to receive economic or political benefits from such actions, or they may even calculate that the costs or risks of “going against” the PRC are simply too great (Ellis, 2011: p.85).

I. Chinese soft power tools

The tools of China’s soft power can be firstly classified into at least five groups: investment, humanitarian aid, exchange programs, diplomacy, and participation in multilateral institutions (Kurlantzick, 2006; Zheng, 2009).

Investment

Zheng claims that China’s investment strength is arguably its most significant and effective soft-power instrument (2009: p.3). Kurlantzick (2006) complements that China´s embrace of free trade, and promotion of the idea that it will become a source of foreign direct investment (FDI), would bolster its image (p.3). Some observers argue that China is not yet a significant foreign investor, yet its FDI is growing faster than many experts predicted; China became the largest source of FDI in Cambodia in 2004 (Kurlantzick, 2006: p.4) whereas the fastest growing investor in the Latin American continent was China in 2010, according to the report released by the UN´s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) (Rucker and Rojas Mena 2011).

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Peacekeeping and humanitarian aid

As a Chinese saying goes, “Peacefulness is prized” (以和為貴 yi he wei gui). Zheng (2009) takes the

role of China in the United Nations as an example of being a keen peacekeeper. Zheng admits that it is almost impossible to obtain precise statistics, but there is no question that China has markedly increased spending on humanitarian and development aid (2009: p.4). According to the latest white paper on peaceful development, Beijing claims that China has dispatched about 21,000 personnel on 30 UN peacekeeping missions, which is the highest number among the permanent members of the UN Security Council1. The role of being a global peacekeeper is emphasized and amplified throughout its foreign policy scenario.

Exchange Programs

A variety of exchange programs has been central to Beijing’s public diplomacy strategy (Zheng, 2009: p.4). The Chinese Ministry of Culture and private organizations organize innumerable exhibitions, festivals, Chinese cultural projects (such as the China Culture Year) and Chinese New Year events (d’Hooghe 2010: p.23). Beijing has also been investing greatly in promoting Chinese arts and the Chinese language (ibid). As can be seen from the webpage of Confucius Institute,

Through the joint efforts of China and the Confucius Institute host countries in addition to the enthusiasm and active support of people all over the world, by the end of 2010, there have been 322 Confucius Institutes and 369 Confucius Classrooms established in 96 countries. In addition, some 250 institutions from over 50 countries have expressed requirements for establishing Confucius Institutes/Classrooms, amongst them some of the world's top universities (http://college.chinese.cn/en/article/2009-08/29/content_22308.htm, 21 August 2011).

China has significantly expanded its exchange programs to include academic, language, and cultural exchanges; political training for foreign government officials; and media training for foreign news correspondents (Zheng, 2009: p.4). According to local news, it comments that the Confucius Institute can be considered as the one of the best platforms for "people to people" exchanges between China and foreign countries (People's Daily Online, 31 May 2011). Realistically speaking, nevertheless, Ellis (2011) acknowledges that the difficulty of and time required for learning Mandarin and the Chinese character set are a powerful impediment among cultures (p.90). It is particularly true when it comes to study Mandarin in a non-Chinese speaking environment. The level of language improvement is very much limited.

Diplomacy

Alternatively, advertising and enhancing the image of China could also be considered as part of the soft power campaign. For instance, by increasing its public diplomacy budget, the Chinese government reinforces the concept of peaceful development through efforts like publishing

1 “China issues white paper on peaceful development”, Information Office of the State Council, PRC, available at: http://co.china-embassy.org/esp/sghd/t857222.htm (23 September 2011)

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documents on peaceful development2 (for instance, the latest one was released on 9 September 2011). This kind of document is presented in English and aiming to be understood by general public about an idea: “China should develop itself through upholding world peace and contribute to world peace through its own development3”. To put it differently, the rise/development of China would pose no harm but contribute to the world peace. Other efforts such as organizing museum exhibits to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the voyages of Zheng He, a Chinese admiral who sailed across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, without conquering any nations (Kurlantzick 2006: p.3). By means of such exhibitions, China have made use of the ¨anniversary¨ opportunity to fully show to the world its hard power (military) through the good, chosen images to promote its economic, cultural power and diplomatic policies.

Multilateral Institutions/Forum

Zheng (2009) notes that China has increasingly grown more active in international multilateral organizations in order to boost its international legitimacy and convey the image of a responsible stakeholder that plays by the rules (p.5). The analyst demonstrates several examples such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, ASEAN Regional Forum, the Forum for East Asia and Latin America Cooperation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States (Zheng, 2009: p.5) and China-Latin American entrepreneur summit.

II. Chinese Films (Image) as Tool (Powerful Soft Power)

As d’Hooghe (2010) points out, Chinese policy –makers regard culture as the most important source of China’s soft power (p.23). d’Hooghe (2010) highlights that president Hu Jintao has publicly called for the enhancement of culture as part of China’s soft power in the 17th Party congress4. She further explains that the CPPCC held a special meeting on the topic of China’s culture as a major resource for building China’s soft power in summer 2007 (d’Hooghe, 2010: p.23).

Being witnessed by the world, People’s Republic of China (PRC) has transformed itself from a fragile communist nation into a rising economic power with a five millennium history of civilization. Kurlantzick (2006) explains the reason of the image transformation as followings: Firstly, since ten years ago China has benefited from missteps by the United States, including its slow reaction to the Asian financial crisis and post-9/11 counterterrorism myopia; secondly, thanks to the growth of Chinese soft power – China’s ability to influence by persuasion rather than coercion (p.2).

Beijing seems to have included this image transformation as part of the cultural exports plan. PRC policy makers have emphasized the “peaceful” nature of China’s rise and have generally avoided military or political actions (Ellis, 2011: p.85). Ellis notes that, nonetheless, the economic, institutional, and cultural battles through which the PRC has advanced its position have both leveraged (2011: p.85).

2 “China issues white paper on peaceful development”, Information Office of the State Council, PRC, available at: http://co.china-embassy.org/esp/sghd/t857222.htm (23 September 2011) 3 Ibid. 4 Brief summary on emphasizing culture, 17

th Party Congress, in the language Chinese, available at:

http://www.chinanews.com/cul/news/2007/10-15/1049050.shtml

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d’Hooghe (2010) identifies that soft power and image management are essential aspects of its diplomacy (1). She points out that soft power has to make China’s rise palatable to the world and has to create understanding, regard and ultimately support for China’s political model and policies. It has to help China to win friends and allies, and to advance the country’s agenda. It is therefore no surprise that building and projecting soft power have been put firmly on China’s international agenda (d’ Hooghe, 2010: p.1).

For Joseph Nye, soft power is suggested as “important reality” (2002: p.9). This “reality” precisely is and could be reflected in widespread and influential images such as film industry in the U.S.. As Nye (2002) has quoted from the French politician Hubert Védrine:

Americans are so powerful because they can “inspire the dreams and desires of others, thanks to the mastery of global images through film and television and because, for these same reasons, large numbers of students from other countries come to the United States to finish their studies” (p.9).

Talking about the best way to convey ideal images and hence stories efficiently, possibly nothing is better than showing them in a movie. To put it differently, if the pen is mightier than the sword, then a picture is worth a thousand words. The most popular, or possibly most influential, film industry in the world is Hollywood, where has been a melt pot of the popular American culture. Its counterpart -- Chinese film production is, however, relatively fragile when compared to with the corporate structure and production relations of Hollywood (Scott, 2004; Keane, 2005: 4).

As Nye wisely points out, “in a global information age, success depends on whose story wins” (quoted in Ellis, 2011: p.85). On one hand, film industry plays a significant role in culture, or at least in the part of storytelling (such as culture), and hence has an immediate effect on the target audience. On the other hand, the Chinese government certainly has noticed this connection and the fragility of the industry on the international level. For the Chinese movie goers in the last century, the pleasures of the viewer and the profitability of the product must take a back seat to such concerns due to the responsibility of educating local children and resisting foreign competition (Keane, 2010: p.131).

Despite this, one cannot deny that China itself is a story – a long and impressive story that Beijing needs to utilize and demonstrate it well to the world. As Fortune magazine (p. 16; October 4, 2004) euphorically editorializes ‘The remarkable rise of China is one of the mega-stories of our time’ (Keane, 2005: p.2). When it comes to China, the question would be when looking at China’s image and influence, to what extent this image is based on China’s soft power (d’ Hooghe, 2010: p.2).

Intimate Relationship Between the State and Film Industry

Keane (2010) diagnoses that China’s soft power has become a key issue in the reform of its

cultural, media, and creative industries (p.130). Chinese policy-makers pay much attention to the

role of the media in enhancing or damaging the country’s image (d’ Hooghe, 2010: p.4). d’ Hooghe

also points out that Beijing is deeply sensitive to foreign perceptions of China and its policies

abroad (2010: p.4).

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After the centennial celebration of Chinese cinema in 2005, no one doubted the extraordinary growth of Chinese cinema in the new century (Zhang, 2010: p.135). In the past, China’s “small screen” industries responded obediently to the government’s call to target the domestic market, though increasing box office returns in China’s film industry, both domestically and internationally (Keane, 2010: p.131). In the 21st century, Zhang et al. (2007) highlights that ¨the government now regulates the film market by encouraging private companies to enter production and compete

with Hollywood blockbusters, and the immediate result is the euphoric ´age of blockbusters´ (大片

時代 dapian shidai) when nongovernmental investments on productions reached 75 percent in

2005¨ (p.37).

To have a clearer picture of how the film financing works in China, Keane (2005) has identified a few sources of the principal financiers of the Chinese film industry: 1) Government: direct support for approved films as well as indirect support for co-productions via tax breaks and reductions of expensive red tape; 2) foreign investors: particular in co-productions and joint-venture arrangements; 3) major business enterprises: through revenue-sharing arrangements and product endorsements in film; 4) advertising companies: often through brokering of services such as post-production; and 5) state-owned enterprises: many of these such as the People’s Liberation Army, are in fact highly profitable enterprises with interests in communications (p.6).

The film-financing phenomenon reflects the intimate relationship between the state and the film business. Consequently, the state/government plays both roles: angel and devil. It provides direct and indirect support as well as posing restrictions on film themes. Naturally if the theme is in favor of the government, the film tends to be well supported. Otherwise it tends to lose the chance to appear in national cinema. Filmmakers: China’s Soft Power Exercisers The term “soft power” is now commonly used in plans and proposals circulated not only by China’s film, but also TV, and animation sectors (Keane, 2010: p.135). Keane sharply identifies that soft power is about national pride as much as export data (2010: p.135). In order to enhance both aspects, most export films contain certain kind of expectation in the stories: spectacular architecture and landscape, colorful costumes and sets, superhuman martial-arts skills, sensuous music and dance, as well as beautiful female faces and bodies (Zhang et al., 2007: p.38). This kind of expectation leads to a certain way of reading the screen stories and the spectators would be influenced (or convinced) by the story setting. As Brecht (1964) alleges that the filmgoer develops a different way of reading stories, but the man who writes the stories is a filmgoer too (quoted in Eidsvik, 1973). The storytellers, therefore, develop their story lines and would expect how the filmgoers would understand the stories in their way.

In turn, the China’s film storytellers tend to be employed as soft power exercisers in the hands of the state. Regarding China’s film industry, Keane (2005) reveals that the prevailing phenomenon would be the politicization of film content, erratic censorship regimes, and the necessity of managing scripts to appease officials (p.7). Keane also diagnoses that in 2003, only ten Chinese movies achieved box office sales of more than RMB 5 million (USD 600,000) – a statistic that reflects the dependency relationship between the film makers and the state (2005: p.8).

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Not surprisingly, as the state plays such a significant role, the Chinese government has the control over the industry. With arguably its own film industry, which could be influential and, in contrast to the United States, China could utilize it well in terms of state foreign policy. By displaying compelling images in the films, Beijing attempts to inject the perceptions that they want into the global audience´s mind.

Film +/ Image => Perception => Soft Power

Eidsvik describes that photography freezes and preserves perceptual fragments, embalming moments of time (1973: p.116). A subjective mental state cannot be actually photographed, but a photograph can be envisioned mentally (Eidsvik, 1973: p.116). Consequently, frames of photographs enhance the mental envision and hence could be more “preservable”. In a question of a second in a movie, it contains 24 frames. A simple mathematic question would be how many hundreds and thousands of images could be shown in a film. All these images create a mental picture, a perception that stays. According to Eidsvik, the cinema was based on the public quality of perceptions, on the fact that audiences could perceive actions in a like enough way to make them comprehensible (1973: p.118).

Ellis (2011) further clarifies that soft power is based on perceptions and emotion (that is, inferences), and not necessarily on objective reality (p.86). Because perception drives soft power, the nature of the PRC impact on each country is shaped by its particular situation, hopes, fears, and prevailing ideology (Ellis, 2011: p.86). Ellis points out that the core of Chinese soft power in the world, is the widespread perception that the PRC, because of its sustained high rates of economic growth and technology development, will present tremendous business opportunities in the future, and will be a power to be reckoned with globally (2011: p.86).

Talking about Chinese movies, conventional perceptions for the world audience would tend to appear the following names: Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, possibly the most famous director Zhang Yimou as well. For Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li, they have constituted a perception of strong Chinese men since last century. If one does not know Jet Li, one would know Jackie Chan. If one does not know Jackie Chan, one would have heard of Bruce Lee. Chinese kung fu is deeply rooted in the mind of foreigners and it would be no surprise for a Chinese to be asked abroad, “Do you practice Kung Fu? Do all Chinese practice Kung Fu?”

Another perception about China from Chinese films is beautiful women. Gong Li was the first actress whom was internationally acknowledged in her performance such as “Rise the Red Lantern (1991)”, “To live (1994)”, and “Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)”. In the story of “Golden Flower” , the lavish setting in Tang dynasty and the extraordinary female bodies were deliberately displayed. In this case, women are likely to be viewed as subjects of pleasure through the seductive female body shapes. Unlike men, Chinese women in the film show their power by demonstrating their pretty faces and stunning bodies.

Last but not least, the perception of Chinese films cannot omit the name: Zhang Yimou. The international known films mentioned above played by Gong Li are all directed by him, not to mention the unforgettable movie-like opening ceremony5 of the Beijing Olympics 2008. The power

5 The Beijing Olympics’ opening ceremony is available as DVD on market.

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of Zhang is not his look, and possibly not many people could envision his face easily. On the contrary, the power of this director is the long lasting and influential effects created by his productions. For instance, the vivid colors of “Hero (2002)” and “House of Flying Daggers (2006)” and the impeccable sessions of China’s “creative past” were shown in the Olympics.

As expected, the perception of China has been combined attractively to the world: powerful men, gorgeous women, picturesque landscapes and affluent culture. In the eyes of foreign spectators, this mixture of “ideal perceptions” on China helps reinforce the positive image of the country, despite the “absence” of Chinese government in the “small screens”. To recall the words of Nye, through these perceptions and images, Beijing has successfully become its own storyteller and is gradually winning over the heart of the world.

Case Study: Lovers’ Grief Over The Yellow River

In order to strengthen a perfect perception of rising China, promoting Chinese movies is the fashion that PRC seeks. Recently, the Chinese government has purposefully chosen some movies and documentaries and distributed to its cultural agent – Confucius Institute. All films are not only sent physically to most, if not all, Confucius Institutes over the world in the form of DVD6, but also could be easily watched online in the Confucius’ webpage. One of the films chosen by the Institute to represent Chinese culture and hence constitute perceptions on China is “Lovers’ Grief Over The Yellow River”/ “Huanghe juelian” (Directed by Feng Xiaoning, 1999). It was China’s official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, although without receiving any nomination.

According to the information provided by the Institute, the summary of the film is: During the later stage of World War II, a seriously wounded American airplane was forced to land near the Great Wall. A squad of the 8th Route Army rescued the American pilot. Thus he escorted by the squad to go to the liberated area. On their way to the liberated area, they encountered a series of thrilling events7. As predicted, the film does meet certain kind of expectation: spectacular landscape, sensuous music, and beautiful female faces (Zhang et al., 2007: p.38). Interestingly, the images and perception that Beijing attempts to send is not only about the elements above, it also tries to establish a sweet and promising relationship between China and the world through the face of Chinese and “foreigner” (See the film image above).

6 For instance, they were sent to the Confucius Institute in Medellin in July 2011, together with books and DVDs of cooking Chinese food from different regions, major Chinese festivals, impressive traditional Chinese art such as paper cut, calligraphy, and certainly, learning Chinese language as well. 7 See Confucius Institute Online: http://www.chinese.cn/video/en/article/2009-10/13/content_73541.htm, accessed on 15 September 2011.

Lovers’ Grief Over The Yellow River, image retrieved

from: http://ent.qq.com/a/20050812/000153.htm

(Accessed on 15 September 2011)

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Visual images facilitate cross-cultural understanding (Von Glinow et al., 2004: p.585). Deliberately made images/films attempt to produce perception and understanding for different cultures. An American soldier, who could speak Mandarin in the time of World War II, miraculously, met his “angel” (that was how he called her in the film) – a Chinese woman who could speak English and saved his life at the same time. They fell in love (as expected), although this government supported film would not let the beautiful illusion of Chinese woman marrying foreigner happen, not to mention to have a baby of both – the woman conveniently died in the process of struggling to cross the river. No one is sure of how convincing such plot, and in reality, the result of purposely distributing this film or other similar ones tends to be difficult to evaluate. Even if to be evaluated, it would be another paper to find out.

At least the intention of echoing its “soft” part of foreign policy is detected. China made an effort to demonstrate its role as a loyal company and most importantly, a world peacekeeper. It starts with the sudden appearance of an unknown foreigner who was welcomed and became a friend of Chinese people. During the story, the (one and only) American soldier was saved several times by Chinese people, from a 9-year-old boy through Chinese soldiers to his beloved Chinese woman. To make it more striking, human sacrifices are almost “required” to happen.

Meanwhile, in order to justify its determination to be a peace lover, China also displays its people as victims of Japanese invasion through brutal images. Occasionally, images of babies, women, and soldiers being killed violently appeared during the film. It shows that the endeavoring fight against the Japanese was the only way to obtain dignity and peace. This image of peace-loving country tends to be compatible with the West, especially in the United States, where it claims, “make love, no war” in the last decade.

Eventually, I would like to highlight the narration of the American soldier throughout the story. The monologues in the language English strongly suggest the perfect image of PRC and its people. Through the mouth of the American soldier -- messages such as “Chinese are extremely wise”, or “Our love remained magnificent” were delivered -- Beijing indeed tries to set the perception of foreign spectators in a desirable manner. In the words of Bachrach and Baratz, the Chinese government (A) attempts to mobilize the inclinations of foreign spectators by investing in the film industry (B) delivers messages for the sake of securing its interest and strategic advantages both in short and long term. Likewise, in Nye’s words, it is China’s ability to shape the preference of others (2004a: p.5 -6) and this ability is China’s soft power that is expected to exercise in the film.

Conclusion

Since soft power is inherently difficult to define, consequently there is no satisfactory way to measure a country’s soft power (Kurlantzick, 2006: p.6; d’Hooghe, 2010: p.12). Nonetheless, by means of exporting films, the positive image of rising China is expected to maintain and improve as a powerful but peaceful sign to the world.

What I discuss here is the connection between the intention of the Chinese government (utilizing film and its images as soft power tool) and the theory of Bachrach and Baratz (1962) where they argue that A would utilize an approach and assumptions, which predetermine their conclusions of influencing B’s decision making (p.947). Beijing attempts to program the perceptions of the country for the global audience by means of largely controlling national film industry, distributing ideal images and relating stories with impressive but predefined themes.

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Therefore, from the perspective of Beijing, their fashion of exercising soft power by means of film industry has been influential, and more efficient than the practice of learning Chinese language. Be friend of the world by diffusing attractive national culture is the objective of PRC. Indeed, robust men, stunning women, amazing landscape, charming culture and the peace-loving Chinese people would be culturally sufficient to do so – particularly the peace-loving sign -- to be compatible to the West.

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