Lure of the sea

For centuries, China stood proudly as a great nation of agriculture, boasting a long history of rule on an expansive mass of land. But it was the sea, not the land, that the British crossed when they invaded China in 1840, causing the Middle Kingdom to lose its place as a leading nation in the world. Today, many question how this oriental country may forge a presence on the sea. What is the future of China's relationship to the world's oceans?

Further into the Sea, China's first documentary to focus on the country's marine history and culture, tries to offer some clues. It was aired on China Central Television (CCTV) 1 in late December, and soon after, CCTV 4 and CCTV 9 broadcast their own screenings. To top it off, DVDs and books of the same name were released on December 30.

The documentary comprises eight episodes, following a time line that begins with the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) and continues into the contemporary age. Each installment focuses on a particular historical period, highlighting the nation's prevailing attitudes toward the sea.

Further into the Sea was made by the same cinematographic team that produced The Rise of the Great Nations, laying the ground for a highly anticipated documentary. Filming and production took five years, with filmmakers traveling to nine nations and consulting over 400 experts to complete the project. The documentary is meant to mark a milestone in modern China's approach to seafaring.

The power of the ocean

As a country with 18,000 kilometers of coastline, China has had a close relationship with the sea for most of its history. But in recent centuries, land has become more important than the water that surrounds it: agriculture is the main source of food, land expansion raised the value of terra firma, and farmers even had a higher social status than merchants.

However, in the same period, the West began to explore the sea: nations launched ambitious voyages on the waves, searched for new continents across oceans, developed marine trade, and built strong transoceanic relations.

The diverging attitudes toward the sea led to different destinies: when the West was walking a path of fortune, China remained stagnant. And what's worse, between 1840 and 1945, China was burdened with fighting various wars with different countries that had become strong seafaring nations.

For a long time, the relationship between a nation's destiny and the sea was rather unknown. Then in 1890, Alfred Thayer Mahan, an American military theorist, became famous for his sea power theory, which held that a nation's development relies heavily on its use of the ocean to expand its reach.

Ever since the publication of Mahan's compelling ideas on marine prowess, the sea has been considered an integral part of a nation's might. The US Navy is the biggest in the world, and its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. Wang Linhai, director of publicity for the People's Liberation Army Navy of China (PLAN), believes that the sea is a crucial part of a nation's international clout.

Although China's intelligentsia began to realize the importance of the sea in recent years, the majority of Chinese still regard the ocean to the east as merely an obstacle that prevents them from going abroad. "Even today, when most Chinese know their country has a territory of 9.6 million square kilometers, few can tell you the exact length of China's coastline," commented Wang.

And that is why Wang supports documentaries like Further into the Sea, which will soon be screened in universities, and primary and secondary schools as an informal educational tool for the students.

Wang said the documentary conveys a very important concept: A nation that fosters a close relationship with the sea will prosper. A nation that ignores the sea lose ground on the world stage.

Timing makes waves

Such efforts to promote the documentary may not be a surprise these days given that we live in a business-centered world. However, the "political identity" of the film, a collaboration of China's State Oceanic Administration and PLAN, together with the recent successful trial of China's first aircraft carrier, has led to heated discussions of China's political intentions. Some netizens have predicted that the documentary is meant to be a precursor to ambitious plans for naval development.

When asked whether the documentary has any such profound meaning, Li said it is "just a coincidence" that the documentary was released so close to China's first aircraft carrier launch. "In fact, we had already wanted this documentary to be made. If it had been finished earlier, it would have been released in 2010," he said in a press conference on December 30.

However, Li's voice is drowned out amid various speculations by the media. Images of an aircraft carrier and recent statements by President Hu Jingtao have drawn much attention. According to a report from Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao last month, "In 2007, Hu Jingtao set his sights on training a powerful navy that could achieve historic missions when he met with representatives from the 10th Party congress of PLAN...Early [December, 2011] Hu Jingtao ordered officials to speed up naval building efforts when he met with representatives from the 11th Party congress of PLAN."

Regardless of the speculation on the intention behind it, Further into the Sea received a warm welcome from Chinese audiences. According to a survey by douban.com, as of January 2, about 78.8 percent of respondents said they would recommend the documentary to a friend, while only 6.1 percent thought it was not very good.

The documentary has also had a positive effect on Chinese people's awareness of sea powers, resulting in an outpouring of patriotic emotions. Many weibo users who had watched the documentary posted their feelings on their accounts, encouraging others to learn more about the concept of sea power, and rooting for a successful China in the future. For most Chinese, the prospect of setting sail into a future where China has a place on the high seas is a welcome change.