English script for "Children of Blessing"
Contact: Brian KEELEY
Narration in bold
Subtitles in roman
Titles in italics
[Timing starts after bars, card and countdown]
01 00 00" Schools must teach students virtue, knowledge, and strength
01 05 00" to make them enlightened workers for socialism
01 09 00" to make them enlightened workers for socialism --Mao Zedong
01 17 12" Muga district, Yunnan province, near the Burmese border.
01 22 20" Over a thousand years ago a group of Tibetans left the cold Himalayas for the green hills of Muga.
01 29 22" They settled down to farm the hills…and became the Lahu.
01 35 03" Over the centuries, the Lahu hills became part of China, but the people did not.
01 41 02" The Lahu stayed in their hills, and never learned to speak Chinese.
01 45 11" The Chinese seldom came came, and the Lahu never left.
01 50 03" Seclusion has kept them poor but the Lahu have kept their traditions.
01 55 06" They sing the songs of their mothers, and farm the fields of their grandmothers.
02 02 16" For longer than anyone can remember women have led the Lahu.
02 07 24" Strong and forceful, they tend the fields and run the households.
02 14 14" As soon as Lahu girls can walk, they start training for the day when they will become matriarchs.
02 22 20" Lahu girls' hands may be tiny but they feed the Lahu people.
02 30 04" Their backs may be small but they carry the Lahu's future.
02 35 14" In these borderlands, far from Chinese eyes, the Lahu girls live lives that are poor but happy.
02 44 04" On Sundays the Lahu give thanks for what they have.
02 48 08" A century ago a French missionary taught them to celebrate Jesus as they would a plentiful rain and a good harvest.
02 56 02" The church is the heart of the village, and the priest its head.
03 02 24" At church Lahu girls study the Bible, and learn about Adam and Eve and Joseph and Mary.
03 08 23" They pray that each new harvest will fill their tables for the coming year.
03 13 06" Their faith is strong, and their wants are few.
03 18 10" The Lahu call themselves "children of blessing."
03 22 04" They believe they are blessed by God.
03 27 21" BEIJING
03 28 15" Professor Teng Xing is a Chinese anthropologist.
03 32 03" For over twenty years he has studied the Lahu.
03 35 08" He knows the problems they face as China modernizes.
03 38 22" They have little schooling and cannot put meat on the table.
03 45 06" On TV, the Lahu see Beijing's skyline soar and realize they are being left out of China’s economic boom.
03 55 00" This creeping pressure is taking its toll on Lahu society.
03 58 24" Seeking a better life many Lahu mothers run away to the cities to marry Chinese men.
04 05 16" Their abandoned husbands kill themselves with drink.
04 09 06" Their daughters drop out of school.
04 20 10" Professor Teng thinks he knows how to bring the Lahu into the 21st century.
04 25 03" By teaching Lahu girls Chinese he can help them join mainstream Chinese society, and lead their people forward.
04 32 15" In two thousand and one, Professor Teng set up a Chinese-language boarding school for forty-six Lahu girls in the hills near their homes.
04 41 20" It's now two thousand and four. And in these three years the girls have never been happier.
04 52 23" They have enough to eat and don't have to work in the fields.
04 59 14" They have a caring and adoring teacher -- Miss Peng.
05 05 14" During the week the Lahu girls study hard to learn Chinese.
05 12 05" During the weekend they play in the green hills and blue streams of their homeland.
05 17 08" The girls have found their Shangri-La.
05 19 24" After three happy years the professor believes the girls have come a long way, and are now finally ready for China.
05 29 03" He's sending them away from the Muga hills to an elite boarding school in the city.
05 35 17" Their lives will never be the same.
05 45 10" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Orphan
Li Xuefang
05 54 09" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Commissar
Xu Yinfang
06 04 17" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Rascal
Li Nazhen
06 14 21" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Flower
Li Qingfang
06 26 10" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Little One
Tie Na-er
06 37 10" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Harmony
He Li-ping
06 48 01" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Hattie
Zhang
Yanhong
06 59 12" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Miss
Peng
Peng Yunhua
[07 04 00" Children Of Blessing]
[07 06 16" Children Of Blessing
AN EDUCATION IN CHINA]
1. 07 12 20" [PAINTING] leaving home
07 18 06" September…a new school year starts.
07 21 11" Parents bring their daughters to the village school one last time.
07 27 09" The girls are to become the first in their families to leave the Lahu hills.
07 33 18" Their destination is the small city of Lancang, four hours away by jeep.
07 39 23" Miss Peng, their teacher the past three years, will go with them.
07 43 24" In their last class in Muga, she prepares the girls for the new school.
Miss Peng
07 53 21" The girls in our class …
07 58 10" your parents have already given me your spending money.
08 01 09" Some have forty yuan.
08 02 14" Some have twenty yuan.
08 05 12" That's your spending money for the semester.
08 10 09" But the city kids are different.
08 12 00" In one month they'll spend 200 or 300 yuan.
08 15 24" In one month.
08 17 10" So we spend 20 or 40 yuan in four months.
08 19 17" But they'll spend 200 or 300 yuan a month.
08 24 19" It's a huge difference.
08 30 00" The city kids will change clothes every day, while the Lahu girls will have just one set.
08 36 08" The city parents will visit their children on weekends and bring treats while the Lahu parents will remain in the hills.
08 44 09" The city will be a new strange land.
08 53 07" It's the night before departure, and one of the girls, Tie Lin, is wavering.
08 59 05" She begs Miss Peng to let her stay with her father;
09 03 03" her mother has run away, and she wants to help her father farm.
09 07 12" Her father tells her she must leave for the city; she's his only hope.
09 12 24" Her future is decided.
09 16 00" A new morning.
09 18 06" The girls are eager to start their journey.
09 24 21" Even Tie Lin is excited…
09 27 01" she's leaving her father behind but she still has her friends.
09 33 02" One by one the vehicles arrive.
09 41 10" It will take a community effort to send the girls down the muddy roads that seclude the Lahu.
09 49 07" The work needs many hands, no matter how small.
09 56 04" The jeeps arrive…
09 58 04" and the girls squeeze inside.
10 05 11" They say one last goodbye to their old school.
11 26 23" The journey is over…
11 28 12" the girls arrive at Lancang Primary School.
11 32 09" Their new principal quickly spells out the rules:
11 35 08" here they can't speak Lahu or go to church.
11 39 14" They must work hard to become enlightened workers for socialism.
11 43 24" The girls have finally arrived…
11 46 06" in China.
11 50 23" [PAINTING] boot camp
11 59 00" COMMISSAR'S DIARY
Commissar
12 02 08" We've arrived at our new school,
12 04 22" and it's much better here than back home in Muga.
12 09 14" It's so beautiful here.
12 11 08" The schoolyard is so pretty.
12 13 04" And very clean.
12 16 07" Time is flying by so fast.
12 21 12" The teachers here are so nice to us.
12 24 08" They gave us clothes.
12 27 01" Our parents aren't here …
12 29 17" but we're still very happy.
12 37 00" I know I shouldn't be sad
12 39 09" but I miss my parents so much.
12 42 17" I must persevere, persevere, persevere.
12 45 07" I must be the best in the class,
12 47 15" be the best in the school."
12 55 21" The joy and laughter of the first few days soon fade.
13 03 00" The girls are now in boot-camp.
13 05 06" Every September the school runs a week-long boot-camp to teach new students discipline and obedience.
13 11 07" The principal wants them to be good soldiers.
The Principal
13 14 19" Boot camp will teach us discipline …
13 08 03" and that will help us to be efficient.
13 22 07" Discipline will increase our efficiency.
13 25 14" Once boot-camp has taught you discipline then …
13 27 22" we'll begin classes.
13 30 05" Then …
13 23 13" when you wake up,
13 34 00" when you sleep,
13 35 07" when you eat,
13 36 08" when you stand in line,
13 37 08" you must follow army rules,
13 39 17" do everything the army way.
13 45 06" The Chinese kids take the principal's commands to heart.
13 51 18" The Lahu girls are not used to taking orders.
Soldier
14 53 16" Tuck in your shirt
14 56 20" The training lasts from sunrise to sunset, and never seems to end.
Soldier
15 03 05" Dismissed
Girls
15 03 15" Dismissed!
SOLDIER
15 13 07" Thanks for being here, Teacher.
15 16 03" Otherwise they wouldn't listen to me at all.
15 22 16" I still have another class to teach this evening."
Girls singing
15 38 05" The trumpets roar
15 40 18" we march in line
15 43 04" The people's army has iron discipline.
15 47 16" Obedience is our first duty.
15 52 06" Rules must be followed.
15 55 22" Orders must be obeyed.
15 59 09" Prohibitions must be respected.
16 03 15" Discipline, discipline,
16 06 05" we respect discipline.
16 10 03" Discipline makes us invincible.
16 14 14" We completely obey our officers.
16 17 22" So we march to victory."
16 25 17" The other teachers laugh at the girls.
16 28 19" For the first time Miss Peng is angry with the girls.
Miss Peng
16 23 10" We were the worst class at boot-camp.
16 35 09" You just kept fooling around.
16 41 09" Did you hear?
16 43 00" Did you hear the teachers laugh at you?
16 44 22" Don't you have any shame!
16 47 13" If you don't want to learn go home.
16 50 19" Don't you know what's left from right?
16 55 06" Don't you have any brains?
16 59 17" How did you ever make it through these three years?
17 03 23" I now know what you're really like.
17 08 11" [painting] the sick orphan
17 13 15" Boot-camp is over…classes begin.
17 17 18" In their new school the Lahu girls are learning…
17 20 19" How to use a computer.
17 24 02" How to communicate with foreigners.
17 34 06" How to enjoy nature.
17 40 05" From a soldier, they even learn how to recognize terrorists.
17 45 16" The girls are learning new things but at the cost of their freedom.
17 49 18" They cannot leave the school.
17 53 20" They have ten classes a day, every day.
17 57 16" And most of their day is spent in the all-important math and Chinese classes, being bombarded with equations and grammar.
18 07 11" Every week they take hour-long Chinese and math tests.
18 21 22" Their new world is getting old, and the girls are becoming home-sick.
18 26 13" They're still struggling to learn Chinese, and can't keep up with their teachers.
18 35 21" The teachers say the girls are just difficult to teach.
18 39 10" They say the girls seem bored, tired and restless in class.
18 50 21" Back home the Lahu girls were high achievers.
18 55 02" But here they seem to confirm the Chinese belief that the Lahu are unteachable.
19 02 03" In China, math and Chinese are what's tested, but obedience and discipline are what matters.
19 09 20" And on that count, the girls are failing miserably.
19 15 22" Worse still, the Chinese think the girls are different.
19 20 16" Teachers complain to Miss Peng the girls like to study in the storm gutter.
19 26 22" They also tell her the girls need to learn, think and dress like Chinese.
19 34 05" The girls need to leave the hills behind once and for all.
19 46 19" Then a crisis brings to the fore all the girls' problems.
19 51 12" After dinner one day "the orphan" falls ill.
19 56 08" She complains that her chest hurts.
20 03 17" Miss Peng carries her to the clinic.
20 20 02" The doctor can see the orphan's in a lot of pain but she doesn't know what's wrong with her.
20 34 11" Shortly after she was born Li Xuefeng lost both her parents.
20 39 07" Her mother swallowed poison, and her father was jailed for selling opium.
20 44 08" The orphan was raised by her grandmother.
20 47 04" Unschooled and illiterate, the old woman knew schooling was her granddaughter's only hope.
20 53 06" So when she heard about the professor's school, she enrolled the girl.
21 01 00" She has worked hard to support her granddaughter.
21 05 02" When the orphan returns home on holidays she helps her grandmother with chores.
21 12 21" This summer while walking on a wet path the orphan slipped, fell down a slope, and broke some bones.
21 21 21" Her grandmother nursed her day and night.
21 26 00" Eventually, the orphan seemed to get better.
21 31 04" Now the orphan is in pain again, and the pain threatens to destroy her future.
21 37 01" Her classmates rally around her.
21 43 15" But no one knows what to do.
21 54 04" That evening Miss Peng has to deal with another crisis.
21 58 02" A thief has been discovered.
Miss Peng
22 00 12" If you don’t want to follow the rules go home.
22 08 01" Why did you steal someone else's cup?
22 19 02" Why did you steal?
22 21 08" You already have one.
22 28 12" Stand up.
22 32 14" Why did you steal?
22 34 11" You already have one.
22 41 09" Why did you steal?
23 02 10" Have you been stealing since grade one?
23 04 20" You just take what you want?
23 10 07" Have you stolen money?
23 19 07" You just take what you want.
23 22 15" You've been stealing since grade one.
23 40 02" What have I taught you?
23 46 06" The allure of shiny things is great.
23 49 04" A tin cup was stolen, and found in Flower's bag.
23 53 10" She says she wanted a gift for her mother.
24 08 01" Miss Peng never faced so many problems in the school in the hills.
24 13 11" When the professor's project began three years ago the Lahu girls resented their parents for sending them to the new strange school where they had to speak Chinese.
24 23 14" Their old playmates laughed at them.
24 26 04" Missing home, the Lahu girls often ran back to their mothers late at night.
24 31 20" Miss Peng ran after them in the cold darkness.
24 35 15" She knocked on many doors, and pleaded with the Lahu mothers to send their daughters back.
24 42 02" Miss Peng understood that the girls were lonely and confused.
24 47 06" Soon the girls grew to trust their teacher, almost seeing her as their mother.
24 53 09" Over three years some girls did become ill,
24 56 20" but never as seriously as the orphan tonight.
25 00 17" Every night the orphan's crying wakes the other girls.
25 03 19" She's getting sicker by the day.
25 06 23" Miss Peng feels helpless.
25 09 02" She risks losing the orphan.
25 13 01" The principal is also worried about the girl…
25 15 22" and her medical bills.
25 17 23" He says the school has done all it can.
25 23 09" Helpless, Miss Peng calls the orphan's brother to take her home.
25 30 23" Miss Peng says goodbye, knowing she may never see the orphan again.
25 42 15" For a Lahu to come to a Chinese school is hard enough…
25 46 08" coming back is nearly unthinkable.
4. 25 53 02" [WITH PAINTING] miss peng
25 59 02" Miss Peng grew up poor in the hills, not far from the Lahu villages.
26 03 02" Alhough she is Chinese she had never looked down on the Lahu.
26 07 17" When she started teaching the girls she was apprehensive.
26 12 22" Aren't the Lahu rude to teachers?
26 15 08" Don't they hate school?
26 17 03" Aren't they unteachable?
26 19 08" But Miss Peng grew to love the girls.
26 21 17" When she heard the girls were going to the city she was happy for them…and for herself.
26 26 19" She'd have a chance to move up in life.
26 29 11" Now that she's in the city she and the girls have grown even closer.
26 33 17" As a new teacher Miss Peng is being watched and tested as much as the girls are.
26 38 06" Miss Peng believes she and the girls can earn the principal's respect only by working together.
26 43 02" But she doesn't realize the principal sees her as a tool to control the Lahu girls.
26 48 00" How much longer can she juggle her career with her love of the girls?
26 51 23" At the teachers' meeting the principal says the Lahu girls' test scores are the worst in the school because Miss Peng is too soft and too weak.
27 00 10" The principal tells Miss Peng to crack down.
27 03 20" Miss Peng is concerned.
27 05 12" She knows she can no longer protect the girls without risking her future at the school.
27 10 00" Miss Peng decides she has to get tough.
Miss Peng
27 14 19" If you want to play get out.
27 18 15" Get out!
27 20 00" You rascals!
27 25 18" You should just get lost.
27 43 15" Today Miss Peng and the girls have a chance to prove themselves at a school race.
Miss Peng
27 48 02" Remember this.
27 49 21" As long as we're united …
27 51 23" I know we can do anything.
27 57 19" But so far …
28 01 19" our biggest problem is…
28 05 00" we're not united.
28 08 19" Especially when you're handing off the balls…
28 10 08" don't get emotional,
28 13 06" don't be like -- I hate her,
28 14 16" I'll just throw the balls at her.
28 17 17" That way we'll lose for sure.
28 21 11" And don't get nervous.
28 25 19" Didn't you say the other teachers …
28 27 23" say we'll finish last for sure?
28 32 15" Very last place.
Girl off camera
28 34 13" We'll show them by placing first.
Miss Peng
28 40 00" As long as you don't drop the balls…
28 43 00" we'll win for sure.
28 45 22" Hold the basketballs tight.
28 48 08" Don't drop them.
28 55 04" Everyone looks down on them so the girls are determined to win.
28 59 05" The confident Lahu girls take an early lead.
29 06 16" Miss Peng can scent victory it's so close.
Miss Peng
29 13 00" If you exchange balls and don’t drop them …
29 15 06" we'll win
29 25 19" Then…disaster.
29 50 14" [WITH PAINTING] fall outing
30 00 17" Halfway through the term the school goes on its fall outing.
30 04 13" At last the girls can show the Chinese something they can do right.
30 08 12" Here in the hills the Lahu can be themselves: creative, independent, and resourceful.
30 15 12" As the other children struggle to cross a slippery bridge…
30 18 11" the Lahu girls make their own path.
30 36 05" Quickly and efficiently the girls gather water and firewood to get ready to cook lunch.
30 44 03" It's obvious to the girls the Commissar would rather work on her own.
30 51 13" They leave her alone.
Commissar
31 00 00" Miss Peng, Li Nazhu didn't go fetch water.
31 03 08" She lost the water pail.
31 27 05" By working together most of the teams finish making lunch in record time.
31 31 22" The Commissar is late in finishing lunch, and still refuses any help from her partners.
31 43 15" The girls sit down to enjoy their hard work.
31 47 21" It's been a long time since lunch tasted this good.
32 03 10" Roll call.
32 04 11" The school prepares to head back.
32 06 09" But one of the students is missing.
32 09 16" It's one of the Lahu girls:
32 12 04" The Commissar.
32 14 10" Miss Peng is frantic.
32 18 10" The principal has yet another reason to sees the girls as trouble.
32 24 24" Miss Peng sends the girls out to search the hills.
32 35 10" The Commissar has turned a day of triumph into another disaster.
32 48 04" The Commissar comes from a well-to-do Lahu family, and grew up with Chinese neighbors.
32 53 09" From them she learned fluent Chinese.
32 55 18" From them she also learned to look down on other Lahu.
32 59 04" She sees herself as the class commissar.
33 02 15" She takes her role seriously, going after any trouble-makers.
33 07 14" Like the principal she thinks the girls are undisciplined…
33 11 07" and she's determined to strike their Lahu-ness out of them.
33 16 12" The other girls ignore her…
33 18 15" and she acts as though she doesn't care.
33 22 24" But today the girls cannot ignore her.
33 25 13" When she finally wanders back she has much to explain.
Miss Peng
33 33 01" Ever since you became a cadre no one plays with you.
33 37 11" Are you proud?
33 41 12" You want to be class leader --
33 46 04" but how can you become leader if no one will even talk to you?
33 52 21" The girls will never pick you as leader.
33 59 06" Everyone was so worried.
34 03 04" Everyone went looking for you.
34 13 01" You're so selfish!
34 22 16" You've made our entire class look bad.
34 25 13" You decide to go play by yourself.
34 27 16" So everyone had to go looking for you.
34 31 18" You've let us all down.
34 36 20" Everyone was having so much fun today --
34 39 24" and you've ruined the day all by yourself.
34 55 10" [WITH PAINTING] visitors
35 01 07" Finally the girls have some good news.
35 04 11" Their mothers are coming down from the hills to attend Lancang city's annual Lahu festival.
35 11 22" They have never been to the city, and most have had to borrow money to come.
35 24 06" And there's more good news…
35 26 06" the Orphan is back.
35 29 03" Her grandmother has used traditional Lahu medicine to treat her…and has brought her back to the school.
35 35 12" Mothers and daughters are happy to be re-united.
35 38 14" The girls show their mothers what they've learned.
35 42 23" Pride surges through these women.
35 45 06" Their dreams are coming true.
35 47 17" When they first sent their girls away their neighbors mocked them.
35 50 21" Did they want their daughters to become Chinese?
35 53 13" The mothers know the girls are far away, and they're changing.
35 56 23" And perhaps one day the girls will become Chinese.
35 00 06" But that remains in the future.
36 02 05" Today they are just happy to be together.
36 09 18" But one girl has been told her mother is not coming.
36 12 11" In fact she may never see her again.
36 15 03" Flower, the girl who stole the tin cup to give to her mother, has become the ninth girl to lose her mother since the professor's school began three and a half years ago.
36 29 21" She knew her mother wanted shiny things, and that's why she stole the cup.
36 34 08" But she never thought her mother would leave her father, and run away to the city with another man.
36 39 21" Perhaps if she had never gone away to school her mother would have stayed.
36 44 18" The girl will never know.
36 50 12" Communist Party officials and the principal gather the mothers for a meeting.
36 55 12" The principal says studies show the Lahu are the least educated of China's minority groups.
37 03 18" Even their Tibetan cousins have more schooling.
37 06 17" The Lahu girls are blessed to be here…
37 10 17" but the girls do not appreciate the opportunity.
37 13 10" They are still too wild.
37 16 18" They still speak Lahu.
37 20 24" Their Chinese is still poor.
37 23 03" They need to conform.
37 25 20" The Principal tells the Lahu mothers to urge their girls to work harder at becoming good Chinese.
37 33 06" The evening of the Lahu festival, and mothers and daughters go to the dance performance.
37 38 09" Tonight the girls can finally celebrate being Lahu.
38 04 24" The next day the parents leave.
38 08 20" The girls are alone again.
38 10 24" Their mothers have asked the girls to listen to the principal.
38 14 18" Becoming good Chinese is their only chance at a better tomorrow.
38 22 19" Will the girls make it?
7. 38 29 08" [WITH PAINTING] school games
38 37 08" The fall term is coming to an end.
38 39 21" Final exams are not far off.
38 42 06" And the school games are only a week away.
38 45 12" At the games Chinese officials will inspect the students' training and discipline.
38 49 17" Everyone must be on their best behavior.
38 52 04" The principal tells the Lahu girls that the games are their last chance to prove themselves.
38 57 07" So they had better start training.
39 00 05" The girls are unco-ordinated, and they know it.
39 04 03" Miss Peng tells them to practise.
39 07 20" Some think it's all good fun.
39 10 13" Only to be told that it's not.
39 13 10" Can the girls focus?
39 15 13" Miss Peng decides the girls still don't take the principal seriously.
Miss Peng
39 19 17" A teacher was there while you practiced …
39 25 13" she said you march like ducks.
39 30 14" Didn't you learn anything during bootcamp?
39 35 13" You can't even line up straight.
39 41 04" We can still improve.
39 45 09" But this morning I could see that some of you aren't serious.
39 49 06" Some think this is only a game.
39 53 03" From now on we'll practice every afternoon.
39 56 01" We have to stop the teachers from calling our class ducks."
40 02 20" The girls practice hard.
40 07 24" They push themselves.
40 15 18" And they get better.
40 24 23" They march tirelessly.
40 28 15" And they study relentlessly.
40 31 22" Final exams are coming up.
40 34 04" The girls are determined to make their parents and Miss Peng proud.
40 38 09" In class they now raise their hands instead of lowering their heads.
40 44 04" They're all trying to do their best.
40 50 11" But determination can only get the girls so far.
40 53 16" Calisthenics is the most important competition.
40 59 02" It can show that the Lahu can be disciplined.
41 02 11" This one the Lahu girls must win.
41 08 12" Miss Peng is always there, coaching them.
41 11 16" And what she sees worries her.
41 14 17" Perhaps the other teachers are right -- the Lahu are unteachable.
41 19 03" Perhaps the girls can never be obedient and disciplined.
41 22 21" Perhaps they never will fit in.
41 25 04" Miss Peng is afraid the games could be the girls' greatest disaster.
41 33 03" The big day arrives.
41 36 15" Army and party leaders are watching closely.
41 39 15" The Lahu girls feel pressure to perform well.
41 42 15" They've heard that if they don't do well in the games they may be expelled.
41 46 19" The principal has already told others he regrets admitting the girls.
41 51 14" The girls know he wants to send them back to the hills.
42 08 20" The beating of drums fills the air, as the games begin.
42 16 03" First comes the relay race.
42 22 20" The girls are nervous and run slower than usual.
42 29 09" But they eke out a victory.
42 35 03" Pole-climbing is next.
42 38 03" The girls take an early lead.
43 00 03" This time they keep their lead, and win.
43 11 20" Their confidence is growing, and they easily win the third event -- rope-skipping.
43 33 07" The girls are three for three so far but their toughest hurdle remains …
43 38 05" calisthenics.
43 40 01" They know the whole school is watching them.
44 21 12" Calisthenics captures the core of the Chinese education system.
44 26 10" The Lahu girls must abandon their individuality, and move as one.
44 31 13" Each hand and heel, each heart and head must follow the beat.
44 37 08" They must forget who they are.
44 40 00" They must become enlightened workers for socialism.
45 21 22" Finally, the girls' long struggle is over.
45 25 11" At the awards ceremony the girls receive the news they've been waiting for.
45 32 02" They have swept the games.
45 34 10" And in Chinese exams they scored the highest.
45 42 03" Miss Peng is proud.
45 44 20" The girls should be happy.
45 46 23" But are they?
45 50 15" They were lured into China with the promise of a better life.
45 55 00" They found out they can have a better life but only on Chinese terms.
46 00 10" For the sake of Miss Peng and their parents they've worked hard to become good soldiers.
The Principal
46 05 05" Boot camp will teach us discipline,
46 08 14" and that will help us to be efficient.
42 12 15" Discipline will increase our efficiency.
46 16 00" Once boot-camp has taught you discipline then …
46 18 08" we'll begin classes.
46 20 16" Then.
46 22 24" When you wake up,
46 24 11" when you sleep,
46 25 18" when you eat,
46 26 19" when you stand in line,
46 27 19" you must follow army rules,
46 30 03" do everything the army way.
46 38 07" These forty-six Lahu girls have embarked on the road to a better life in China.
46 44 14" They have proven to the Chinese they deserve to be on this road.
46 49 12" But what does a better life mean for the Lahu girls?
46 53 14" Is a better life worth it if the girls must become enlightened workers for socialism?
46 59 15" Will broader horizons make them forget they were once …
47 03 03" Children of Blessing?
[END TITLES]
Contact: Brian KEELEY
Narration in bold
Subtitles in roman
Titles in italics
[Timing starts after bars, card and countdown]
01 00 00" Schools must teach students virtue, knowledge, and strength
01 05 00" to make them enlightened workers for socialism
01 09 00" to make them enlightened workers for socialism --Mao Zedong
01 17 12" Muga district, Yunnan province, near the Burmese border.
01 22 20" Over a thousand years ago a group of Tibetans left the cold Himalayas for the green hills of Muga.
01 29 22" They settled down to farm the hills…and became the Lahu.
01 35 03" Over the centuries, the Lahu hills became part of China, but the people did not.
01 41 02" The Lahu stayed in their hills, and never learned to speak Chinese.
01 45 11" The Chinese seldom came came, and the Lahu never left.
01 50 03" Seclusion has kept them poor but the Lahu have kept their traditions.
01 55 06" They sing the songs of their mothers, and farm the fields of their grandmothers.
02 02 16" For longer than anyone can remember women have led the Lahu.
02 07 24" Strong and forceful, they tend the fields and run the households.
02 14 14" As soon as Lahu girls can walk, they start training for the day when they will become matriarchs.
02 22 20" Lahu girls' hands may be tiny but they feed the Lahu people.
02 30 04" Their backs may be small but they carry the Lahu's future.
02 35 14" In these borderlands, far from Chinese eyes, the Lahu girls live lives that are poor but happy.
02 44 04" On Sundays the Lahu give thanks for what they have.
02 48 08" A century ago a French missionary taught them to celebrate Jesus as they would a plentiful rain and a good harvest.
02 56 02" The church is the heart of the village, and the priest its head.
03 02 24" At church Lahu girls study the Bible, and learn about Adam and Eve and Joseph and Mary.
03 08 23" They pray that each new harvest will fill their tables for the coming year.
03 13 06" Their faith is strong, and their wants are few.
03 18 10" The Lahu call themselves "children of blessing."
03 22 04" They believe they are blessed by God.
03 27 21" BEIJING
03 28 15" Professor Teng Xing is a Chinese anthropologist.
03 32 03" For over twenty years he has studied the Lahu.
03 35 08" He knows the problems they face as China modernizes.
03 38 22" They have little schooling and cannot put meat on the table.
03 45 06" On TV, the Lahu see Beijing's skyline soar and realize they are being left out of China’s economic boom.
03 55 00" This creeping pressure is taking its toll on Lahu society.
03 58 24" Seeking a better life many Lahu mothers run away to the cities to marry Chinese men.
04 05 16" Their abandoned husbands kill themselves with drink.
04 09 06" Their daughters drop out of school.
04 20 10" Professor Teng thinks he knows how to bring the Lahu into the 21st century.
04 25 03" By teaching Lahu girls Chinese he can help them join mainstream Chinese society, and lead their people forward.
04 32 15" In two thousand and one, Professor Teng set up a Chinese-language boarding school for forty-six Lahu girls in the hills near their homes.
04 41 20" It's now two thousand and four. And in these three years the girls have never been happier.
04 52 23" They have enough to eat and don't have to work in the fields.
04 59 14" They have a caring and adoring teacher -- Miss Peng.
05 05 14" During the week the Lahu girls study hard to learn Chinese.
05 12 05" During the weekend they play in the green hills and blue streams of their homeland.
05 17 08" The girls have found their Shangri-La.
05 19 24" After three happy years the professor believes the girls have come a long way, and are now finally ready for China.
05 29 03" He's sending them away from the Muga hills to an elite boarding school in the city.
05 35 17" Their lives will never be the same.
05 45 10" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Orphan
Li Xuefang
05 54 09" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Commissar
Xu Yinfang
06 04 17" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Rascal
Li Nazhen
06 14 21" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Flower
Li Qingfang
06 26 10" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Little One
Tie Na-er
06 37 10" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Harmony
He Li-ping
06 48 01" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Hattie
Zhang
Yanhong
06 59 12" [ON FREEZE FRAME] Miss
Peng
Peng Yunhua
[07 04 00" Children Of Blessing]
[07 06 16" Children Of Blessing
AN EDUCATION IN CHINA]
1. 07 12 20" [PAINTING] leaving home
07 18 06" September…a new school year starts.
07 21 11" Parents bring their daughters to the village school one last time.
07 27 09" The girls are to become the first in their families to leave the Lahu hills.
07 33 18" Their destination is the small city of Lancang, four hours away by jeep.
07 39 23" Miss Peng, their teacher the past three years, will go with them.
07 43 24" In their last class in Muga, she prepares the girls for the new school.
Miss Peng
07 53 21" The girls in our class …
07 58 10" your parents have already given me your spending money.
08 01 09" Some have forty yuan.
08 02 14" Some have twenty yuan.
08 05 12" That's your spending money for the semester.
08 10 09" But the city kids are different.
08 12 00" In one month they'll spend 200 or 300 yuan.
08 15 24" In one month.
08 17 10" So we spend 20 or 40 yuan in four months.
08 19 17" But they'll spend 200 or 300 yuan a month.
08 24 19" It's a huge difference.
08 30 00" The city kids will change clothes every day, while the Lahu girls will have just one set.
08 36 08" The city parents will visit their children on weekends and bring treats while the Lahu parents will remain in the hills.
08 44 09" The city will be a new strange land.
08 53 07" It's the night before departure, and one of the girls, Tie Lin, is wavering.
08 59 05" She begs Miss Peng to let her stay with her father;
09 03 03" her mother has run away, and she wants to help her father farm.
09 07 12" Her father tells her she must leave for the city; she's his only hope.
09 12 24" Her future is decided.
09 16 00" A new morning.
09 18 06" The girls are eager to start their journey.
09 24 21" Even Tie Lin is excited…
09 27 01" she's leaving her father behind but she still has her friends.
09 33 02" One by one the vehicles arrive.
09 41 10" It will take a community effort to send the girls down the muddy roads that seclude the Lahu.
09 49 07" The work needs many hands, no matter how small.
09 56 04" The jeeps arrive…
09 58 04" and the girls squeeze inside.
10 05 11" They say one last goodbye to their old school.
11 26 23" The journey is over…
11 28 12" the girls arrive at Lancang Primary School.
11 32 09" Their new principal quickly spells out the rules:
11 35 08" here they can't speak Lahu or go to church.
11 39 14" They must work hard to become enlightened workers for socialism.
11 43 24" The girls have finally arrived…
11 46 06" in China.
11 50 23" [PAINTING] boot camp
11 59 00" COMMISSAR'S DIARY
Commissar
12 02 08" We've arrived at our new school,
12 04 22" and it's much better here than back home in Muga.
12 09 14" It's so beautiful here.
12 11 08" The schoolyard is so pretty.
12 13 04" And very clean.
12 16 07" Time is flying by so fast.
12 21 12" The teachers here are so nice to us.
12 24 08" They gave us clothes.
12 27 01" Our parents aren't here …
12 29 17" but we're still very happy.
12 37 00" I know I shouldn't be sad
12 39 09" but I miss my parents so much.
12 42 17" I must persevere, persevere, persevere.
12 45 07" I must be the best in the class,
12 47 15" be the best in the school."
12 55 21" The joy and laughter of the first few days soon fade.
13 03 00" The girls are now in boot-camp.
13 05 06" Every September the school runs a week-long boot-camp to teach new students discipline and obedience.
13 11 07" The principal wants them to be good soldiers.
The Principal
13 14 19" Boot camp will teach us discipline …
13 08 03" and that will help us to be efficient.
13 22 07" Discipline will increase our efficiency.
13 25 14" Once boot-camp has taught you discipline then …
13 27 22" we'll begin classes.
13 30 05" Then …
13 23 13" when you wake up,
13 34 00" when you sleep,
13 35 07" when you eat,
13 36 08" when you stand in line,
13 37 08" you must follow army rules,
13 39 17" do everything the army way.
13 45 06" The Chinese kids take the principal's commands to heart.
13 51 18" The Lahu girls are not used to taking orders.
Soldier
14 53 16" Tuck in your shirt
14 56 20" The training lasts from sunrise to sunset, and never seems to end.
Soldier
15 03 05" Dismissed
Girls
15 03 15" Dismissed!
SOLDIER
15 13 07" Thanks for being here, Teacher.
15 16 03" Otherwise they wouldn't listen to me at all.
15 22 16" I still have another class to teach this evening."
Girls singing
15 38 05" The trumpets roar
15 40 18" we march in line
15 43 04" The people's army has iron discipline.
15 47 16" Obedience is our first duty.
15 52 06" Rules must be followed.
15 55 22" Orders must be obeyed.
15 59 09" Prohibitions must be respected.
16 03 15" Discipline, discipline,
16 06 05" we respect discipline.
16 10 03" Discipline makes us invincible.
16 14 14" We completely obey our officers.
16 17 22" So we march to victory."
16 25 17" The other teachers laugh at the girls.
16 28 19" For the first time Miss Peng is angry with the girls.
Miss Peng
16 23 10" We were the worst class at boot-camp.
16 35 09" You just kept fooling around.
16 41 09" Did you hear?
16 43 00" Did you hear the teachers laugh at you?
16 44 22" Don't you have any shame!
16 47 13" If you don't want to learn go home.
16 50 19" Don't you know what's left from right?
16 55 06" Don't you have any brains?
16 59 17" How did you ever make it through these three years?
17 03 23" I now know what you're really like.
17 08 11" [painting] the sick orphan
17 13 15" Boot-camp is over…classes begin.
17 17 18" In their new school the Lahu girls are learning…
17 20 19" How to use a computer.
17 24 02" How to communicate with foreigners.
17 34 06" How to enjoy nature.
17 40 05" From a soldier, they even learn how to recognize terrorists.
17 45 16" The girls are learning new things but at the cost of their freedom.
17 49 18" They cannot leave the school.
17 53 20" They have ten classes a day, every day.
17 57 16" And most of their day is spent in the all-important math and Chinese classes, being bombarded with equations and grammar.
18 07 11" Every week they take hour-long Chinese and math tests.
18 21 22" Their new world is getting old, and the girls are becoming home-sick.
18 26 13" They're still struggling to learn Chinese, and can't keep up with their teachers.
18 35 21" The teachers say the girls are just difficult to teach.
18 39 10" They say the girls seem bored, tired and restless in class.
18 50 21" Back home the Lahu girls were high achievers.
18 55 02" But here they seem to confirm the Chinese belief that the Lahu are unteachable.
19 02 03" In China, math and Chinese are what's tested, but obedience and discipline are what matters.
19 09 20" And on that count, the girls are failing miserably.
19 15 22" Worse still, the Chinese think the girls are different.
19 20 16" Teachers complain to Miss Peng the girls like to study in the storm gutter.
19 26 22" They also tell her the girls need to learn, think and dress like Chinese.
19 34 05" The girls need to leave the hills behind once and for all.
19 46 19" Then a crisis brings to the fore all the girls' problems.
19 51 12" After dinner one day "the orphan" falls ill.
19 56 08" She complains that her chest hurts.
20 03 17" Miss Peng carries her to the clinic.
20 20 02" The doctor can see the orphan's in a lot of pain but she doesn't know what's wrong with her.
20 34 11" Shortly after she was born Li Xuefeng lost both her parents.
20 39 07" Her mother swallowed poison, and her father was jailed for selling opium.
20 44 08" The orphan was raised by her grandmother.
20 47 04" Unschooled and illiterate, the old woman knew schooling was her granddaughter's only hope.
20 53 06" So when she heard about the professor's school, she enrolled the girl.
21 01 00" She has worked hard to support her granddaughter.
21 05 02" When the orphan returns home on holidays she helps her grandmother with chores.
21 12 21" This summer while walking on a wet path the orphan slipped, fell down a slope, and broke some bones.
21 21 21" Her grandmother nursed her day and night.
21 26 00" Eventually, the orphan seemed to get better.
21 31 04" Now the orphan is in pain again, and the pain threatens to destroy her future.
21 37 01" Her classmates rally around her.
21 43 15" But no one knows what to do.
21 54 04" That evening Miss Peng has to deal with another crisis.
21 58 02" A thief has been discovered.
Miss Peng
22 00 12" If you don’t want to follow the rules go home.
22 08 01" Why did you steal someone else's cup?
22 19 02" Why did you steal?
22 21 08" You already have one.
22 28 12" Stand up.
22 32 14" Why did you steal?
22 34 11" You already have one.
22 41 09" Why did you steal?
23 02 10" Have you been stealing since grade one?
23 04 20" You just take what you want?
23 10 07" Have you stolen money?
23 19 07" You just take what you want.
23 22 15" You've been stealing since grade one.
23 40 02" What have I taught you?
23 46 06" The allure of shiny things is great.
23 49 04" A tin cup was stolen, and found in Flower's bag.
23 53 10" She says she wanted a gift for her mother.
24 08 01" Miss Peng never faced so many problems in the school in the hills.
24 13 11" When the professor's project began three years ago the Lahu girls resented their parents for sending them to the new strange school where they had to speak Chinese.
24 23 14" Their old playmates laughed at them.
24 26 04" Missing home, the Lahu girls often ran back to their mothers late at night.
24 31 20" Miss Peng ran after them in the cold darkness.
24 35 15" She knocked on many doors, and pleaded with the Lahu mothers to send their daughters back.
24 42 02" Miss Peng understood that the girls were lonely and confused.
24 47 06" Soon the girls grew to trust their teacher, almost seeing her as their mother.
24 53 09" Over three years some girls did become ill,
24 56 20" but never as seriously as the orphan tonight.
25 00 17" Every night the orphan's crying wakes the other girls.
25 03 19" She's getting sicker by the day.
25 06 23" Miss Peng feels helpless.
25 09 02" She risks losing the orphan.
25 13 01" The principal is also worried about the girl…
25 15 22" and her medical bills.
25 17 23" He says the school has done all it can.
25 23 09" Helpless, Miss Peng calls the orphan's brother to take her home.
25 30 23" Miss Peng says goodbye, knowing she may never see the orphan again.
25 42 15" For a Lahu to come to a Chinese school is hard enough…
25 46 08" coming back is nearly unthinkable.
4. 25 53 02" [WITH PAINTING] miss peng
25 59 02" Miss Peng grew up poor in the hills, not far from the Lahu villages.
26 03 02" Alhough she is Chinese she had never looked down on the Lahu.
26 07 17" When she started teaching the girls she was apprehensive.
26 12 22" Aren't the Lahu rude to teachers?
26 15 08" Don't they hate school?
26 17 03" Aren't they unteachable?
26 19 08" But Miss Peng grew to love the girls.
26 21 17" When she heard the girls were going to the city she was happy for them…and for herself.
26 26 19" She'd have a chance to move up in life.
26 29 11" Now that she's in the city she and the girls have grown even closer.
26 33 17" As a new teacher Miss Peng is being watched and tested as much as the girls are.
26 38 06" Miss Peng believes she and the girls can earn the principal's respect only by working together.
26 43 02" But she doesn't realize the principal sees her as a tool to control the Lahu girls.
26 48 00" How much longer can she juggle her career with her love of the girls?
26 51 23" At the teachers' meeting the principal says the Lahu girls' test scores are the worst in the school because Miss Peng is too soft and too weak.
27 00 10" The principal tells Miss Peng to crack down.
27 03 20" Miss Peng is concerned.
27 05 12" She knows she can no longer protect the girls without risking her future at the school.
27 10 00" Miss Peng decides she has to get tough.
Miss Peng
27 14 19" If you want to play get out.
27 18 15" Get out!
27 20 00" You rascals!
27 25 18" You should just get lost.
27 43 15" Today Miss Peng and the girls have a chance to prove themselves at a school race.
Miss Peng
27 48 02" Remember this.
27 49 21" As long as we're united …
27 51 23" I know we can do anything.
27 57 19" But so far …
28 01 19" our biggest problem is…
28 05 00" we're not united.
28 08 19" Especially when you're handing off the balls…
28 10 08" don't get emotional,
28 13 06" don't be like -- I hate her,
28 14 16" I'll just throw the balls at her.
28 17 17" That way we'll lose for sure.
28 21 11" And don't get nervous.
28 25 19" Didn't you say the other teachers …
28 27 23" say we'll finish last for sure?
28 32 15" Very last place.
Girl off camera
28 34 13" We'll show them by placing first.
Miss Peng
28 40 00" As long as you don't drop the balls…
28 43 00" we'll win for sure.
28 45 22" Hold the basketballs tight.
28 48 08" Don't drop them.
28 55 04" Everyone looks down on them so the girls are determined to win.
28 59 05" The confident Lahu girls take an early lead.
29 06 16" Miss Peng can scent victory it's so close.
Miss Peng
29 13 00" If you exchange balls and don’t drop them …
29 15 06" we'll win
29 25 19" Then…disaster.
29 50 14" [WITH PAINTING] fall outing
30 00 17" Halfway through the term the school goes on its fall outing.
30 04 13" At last the girls can show the Chinese something they can do right.
30 08 12" Here in the hills the Lahu can be themselves: creative, independent, and resourceful.
30 15 12" As the other children struggle to cross a slippery bridge…
30 18 11" the Lahu girls make their own path.
30 36 05" Quickly and efficiently the girls gather water and firewood to get ready to cook lunch.
30 44 03" It's obvious to the girls the Commissar would rather work on her own.
30 51 13" They leave her alone.
Commissar
31 00 00" Miss Peng, Li Nazhu didn't go fetch water.
31 03 08" She lost the water pail.
31 27 05" By working together most of the teams finish making lunch in record time.
31 31 22" The Commissar is late in finishing lunch, and still refuses any help from her partners.
31 43 15" The girls sit down to enjoy their hard work.
31 47 21" It's been a long time since lunch tasted this good.
32 03 10" Roll call.
32 04 11" The school prepares to head back.
32 06 09" But one of the students is missing.
32 09 16" It's one of the Lahu girls:
32 12 04" The Commissar.
32 14 10" Miss Peng is frantic.
32 18 10" The principal has yet another reason to sees the girls as trouble.
32 24 24" Miss Peng sends the girls out to search the hills.
32 35 10" The Commissar has turned a day of triumph into another disaster.
32 48 04" The Commissar comes from a well-to-do Lahu family, and grew up with Chinese neighbors.
32 53 09" From them she learned fluent Chinese.
32 55 18" From them she also learned to look down on other Lahu.
32 59 04" She sees herself as the class commissar.
33 02 15" She takes her role seriously, going after any trouble-makers.
33 07 14" Like the principal she thinks the girls are undisciplined…
33 11 07" and she's determined to strike their Lahu-ness out of them.
33 16 12" The other girls ignore her…
33 18 15" and she acts as though she doesn't care.
33 22 24" But today the girls cannot ignore her.
33 25 13" When she finally wanders back she has much to explain.
Miss Peng
33 33 01" Ever since you became a cadre no one plays with you.
33 37 11" Are you proud?
33 41 12" You want to be class leader --
33 46 04" but how can you become leader if no one will even talk to you?
33 52 21" The girls will never pick you as leader.
33 59 06" Everyone was so worried.
34 03 04" Everyone went looking for you.
34 13 01" You're so selfish!
34 22 16" You've made our entire class look bad.
34 25 13" You decide to go play by yourself.
34 27 16" So everyone had to go looking for you.
34 31 18" You've let us all down.
34 36 20" Everyone was having so much fun today --
34 39 24" and you've ruined the day all by yourself.
34 55 10" [WITH PAINTING] visitors
35 01 07" Finally the girls have some good news.
35 04 11" Their mothers are coming down from the hills to attend Lancang city's annual Lahu festival.
35 11 22" They have never been to the city, and most have had to borrow money to come.
35 24 06" And there's more good news…
35 26 06" the Orphan is back.
35 29 03" Her grandmother has used traditional Lahu medicine to treat her…and has brought her back to the school.
35 35 12" Mothers and daughters are happy to be re-united.
35 38 14" The girls show their mothers what they've learned.
35 42 23" Pride surges through these women.
35 45 06" Their dreams are coming true.
35 47 17" When they first sent their girls away their neighbors mocked them.
35 50 21" Did they want their daughters to become Chinese?
35 53 13" The mothers know the girls are far away, and they're changing.
35 56 23" And perhaps one day the girls will become Chinese.
35 00 06" But that remains in the future.
36 02 05" Today they are just happy to be together.
36 09 18" But one girl has been told her mother is not coming.
36 12 11" In fact she may never see her again.
36 15 03" Flower, the girl who stole the tin cup to give to her mother, has become the ninth girl to lose her mother since the professor's school began three and a half years ago.
36 29 21" She knew her mother wanted shiny things, and that's why she stole the cup.
36 34 08" But she never thought her mother would leave her father, and run away to the city with another man.
36 39 21" Perhaps if she had never gone away to school her mother would have stayed.
36 44 18" The girl will never know.
36 50 12" Communist Party officials and the principal gather the mothers for a meeting.
36 55 12" The principal says studies show the Lahu are the least educated of China's minority groups.
37 03 18" Even their Tibetan cousins have more schooling.
37 06 17" The Lahu girls are blessed to be here…
37 10 17" but the girls do not appreciate the opportunity.
37 13 10" They are still too wild.
37 16 18" They still speak Lahu.
37 20 24" Their Chinese is still poor.
37 23 03" They need to conform.
37 25 20" The Principal tells the Lahu mothers to urge their girls to work harder at becoming good Chinese.
37 33 06" The evening of the Lahu festival, and mothers and daughters go to the dance performance.
37 38 09" Tonight the girls can finally celebrate being Lahu.
38 04 24" The next day the parents leave.
38 08 20" The girls are alone again.
38 10 24" Their mothers have asked the girls to listen to the principal.
38 14 18" Becoming good Chinese is their only chance at a better tomorrow.
38 22 19" Will the girls make it?
7. 38 29 08" [WITH PAINTING] school games
38 37 08" The fall term is coming to an end.
38 39 21" Final exams are not far off.
38 42 06" And the school games are only a week away.
38 45 12" At the games Chinese officials will inspect the students' training and discipline.
38 49 17" Everyone must be on their best behavior.
38 52 04" The principal tells the Lahu girls that the games are their last chance to prove themselves.
38 57 07" So they had better start training.
39 00 05" The girls are unco-ordinated, and they know it.
39 04 03" Miss Peng tells them to practise.
39 07 20" Some think it's all good fun.
39 10 13" Only to be told that it's not.
39 13 10" Can the girls focus?
39 15 13" Miss Peng decides the girls still don't take the principal seriously.
Miss Peng
39 19 17" A teacher was there while you practiced …
39 25 13" she said you march like ducks.
39 30 14" Didn't you learn anything during bootcamp?
39 35 13" You can't even line up straight.
39 41 04" We can still improve.
39 45 09" But this morning I could see that some of you aren't serious.
39 49 06" Some think this is only a game.
39 53 03" From now on we'll practice every afternoon.
39 56 01" We have to stop the teachers from calling our class ducks."
40 02 20" The girls practice hard.
40 07 24" They push themselves.
40 15 18" And they get better.
40 24 23" They march tirelessly.
40 28 15" And they study relentlessly.
40 31 22" Final exams are coming up.
40 34 04" The girls are determined to make their parents and Miss Peng proud.
40 38 09" In class they now raise their hands instead of lowering their heads.
40 44 04" They're all trying to do their best.
40 50 11" But determination can only get the girls so far.
40 53 16" Calisthenics is the most important competition.
40 59 02" It can show that the Lahu can be disciplined.
41 02 11" This one the Lahu girls must win.
41 08 12" Miss Peng is always there, coaching them.
41 11 16" And what she sees worries her.
41 14 17" Perhaps the other teachers are right -- the Lahu are unteachable.
41 19 03" Perhaps the girls can never be obedient and disciplined.
41 22 21" Perhaps they never will fit in.
41 25 04" Miss Peng is afraid the games could be the girls' greatest disaster.
41 33 03" The big day arrives.
41 36 15" Army and party leaders are watching closely.
41 39 15" The Lahu girls feel pressure to perform well.
41 42 15" They've heard that if they don't do well in the games they may be expelled.
41 46 19" The principal has already told others he regrets admitting the girls.
41 51 14" The girls know he wants to send them back to the hills.
42 08 20" The beating of drums fills the air, as the games begin.
42 16 03" First comes the relay race.
42 22 20" The girls are nervous and run slower than usual.
42 29 09" But they eke out a victory.
42 35 03" Pole-climbing is next.
42 38 03" The girls take an early lead.
43 00 03" This time they keep their lead, and win.
43 11 20" Their confidence is growing, and they easily win the third event -- rope-skipping.
43 33 07" The girls are three for three so far but their toughest hurdle remains …
43 38 05" calisthenics.
43 40 01" They know the whole school is watching them.
44 21 12" Calisthenics captures the core of the Chinese education system.
44 26 10" The Lahu girls must abandon their individuality, and move as one.
44 31 13" Each hand and heel, each heart and head must follow the beat.
44 37 08" They must forget who they are.
44 40 00" They must become enlightened workers for socialism.
45 21 22" Finally, the girls' long struggle is over.
45 25 11" At the awards ceremony the girls receive the news they've been waiting for.
45 32 02" They have swept the games.
45 34 10" And in Chinese exams they scored the highest.
45 42 03" Miss Peng is proud.
45 44 20" The girls should be happy.
45 46 23" But are they?
45 50 15" They were lured into China with the promise of a better life.
45 55 00" They found out they can have a better life but only on Chinese terms.
46 00 10" For the sake of Miss Peng and their parents they've worked hard to become good soldiers.
The Principal
46 05 05" Boot camp will teach us discipline,
46 08 14" and that will help us to be efficient.
42 12 15" Discipline will increase our efficiency.
46 16 00" Once boot-camp has taught you discipline then …
46 18 08" we'll begin classes.
46 20 16" Then.
46 22 24" When you wake up,
46 24 11" when you sleep,
46 25 18" when you eat,
46 26 19" when you stand in line,
46 27 19" you must follow army rules,
46 30 03" do everything the army way.
46 38 07" These forty-six Lahu girls have embarked on the road to a better life in China.
46 44 14" They have proven to the Chinese they deserve to be on this road.
46 49 12" But what does a better life mean for the Lahu girls?
46 53 14" Is a better life worth it if the girls must become enlightened workers for socialism?
46 59 15" Will broader horizons make them forget they were once …
47 03 03" Children of Blessing?
[END TITLES]