I recently saw the film "The Last Emperor" that chronicles the life of Puyi the 12th and final emperor of the Qing Dynasty. I have to admit, I haven't used this film in class yet but will be using it next year. When covering the Chinese Revolution, I often fail to provide students with the background needed to understand how the communists were able to seize power in China. What I like about this film is that it covers the fall of the Empire, the transfer of power and establishment of the Republic of China and later his life a prisoner under the communist government of the People's Republic. I don't think I would show this movie in its entirety because it is almost three hours long. I would most likely break it up into three sections with power point presentations for each so I can front load the information prior to showing the video clip. I have a feeling my students would find this film interesting and easy to follow along.
.
