''A grand epic interpreting the human civilization encoded in china'.
'Human history has witnessed civilizations from different roots coexisting with one another. Human kind has incessantly accepted and internalized elements of other civilizations. These elements, in return, fueled further development of civilizations. China is arguably the very first mass-produced, highly value-added, and technically advanced product ever made by human hands. And china presents itself as the crystallization of such inter-civilizational efforts.
''If America created the spaceship, the Song Dynasty gave birth to china'.
'It was china that provided China with important channels for international trade in the 9th century. Just as silk had opened the Silk Road, china opened up the seafaring China Route.
'Both Muslim Middle East and Christian Europe greeted this mysterious porcelain from the East with enthusiasm and fascination. Yet, the arrival of the chinaware did not accompany its secret knowhow. Until the 15th century, only China and Korea had the technology to produce china. Japan joined these East Asian porcelain producing powers later in the 16th century after bringing Korean potters to Japan during her invasion to Korea.
'In the 18th century, Europeans finally succeeded in deciphering the secret of porcelain technology, largely thanks to the scientific and experimental knowledge acquired and accumulated since the Renaissance period. Europe soon took lead of the world's porcelain market. Furthermore, after experimenting with the nature of clay, Europeans gave birth to a new product called ceramics. This marked the start of a whole new area of porcelain industry, which would later make the 'travel through space in a glazed jar' possible in the 20th century.
''A documentary series exploring the 10000-year history of human civilization'
'How did science and art work together in the creation of this new culture? How did china affect the flow of history in other parts of the world? Do the historical and civilizational codes engraved in china pieces bear equal meaning for us in the 21st century as they did in the past'
'Covering from Egypt of 10,000 years ago to Washington D.C., of the 21st century, this documentary series will take a new look into how civilizational exchanges have nourished human history. "--2004 Peabody Awards entry form
Corporate Producers: Korean Broadcasting System
Broadcast Date: 2004
