China: The Making of a Nation

China: The Making of a Nation (2026)

China: The Making of a Nation is the story of the painful transformation of the vast Qing Empire into the Chinese nation after the 1911 revolution. Spanning more than a century up to the Xi Jinping era, the story pits the two pivotal leaders of this transformation against each other: Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Republic of China for 47 years, and Mao Zedong, who rose from ‘red bandit’ to master of the mainland in 1949. Sworn enemies, they fought a merciless battle: first military, then diplomatic, and finally, beyond their deaths, in the conflicting memories of the Taiwanese and the Chinese of the People's Republic. Beyond their fierce hatred, the two tyrants also had much in common: a certain vision of Chinese territory and the greatness of China, the desire to regain the country's sovereignty and the quest for a Chinese identity in a nation that also includes Tibetans, Uighurs, Mongols... and a certain ability to rewrite history.

  • First Air Date: 2026-02-10
  • Last Air Date: 2026-02-10
  • Total Seasons: 1
  • Total Episodes: 2
  • Episode Runtime: 60 min.
  • Network: ARTE
  • Director: Anne Loussouarn
  • Creator: Anne Loussouarn

Where to Watch China: The Making of a Nation Online

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Seasons

  • Season 1

    2 Episodes

Trailer

Cast

  • Sarah-Jane Sauvegrain

    Main narrator (voice)

  • Thierry Debrune

    Narrator (voice)

  • Marie-Ève Dufresne

    Narrator (voice)

  • Daniel Lafourcade

    Narrator (voice)

  • Jean-François Pagès

    Narrator (voice)

  • Benoît Rivillon

    Narrator (voice)

  • Romain Rougier

    Narrator (voice)

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