「The oldest state on earth, today China is the second biggest economy in world and is flexing its muscles again across the globe. It’s a great time to look at what has made Chinese civilisation so utterly distinctive, and so brilliant, for so long. And time, too, to ask whether after the last 400 years of the triumph of the West, China – for long periods of history the greatest civilisation on earth, – is simply returning to its lace?」
「中國是世界上最古老的國家，今天的中國是全球第二大經濟體並在全世界嶄露頭角。這是一個絕好的機會看清楚是什麼使中國的文化如此與眾不同，如此輝煌，如此悠久。而當下，也是提出以下問題的良機：在西方領先的這400年後，中國，歷來的偉大文明古國，是否正再次崛起？」
第一集（Ancestors）
英國歷史學家Michael Wood走訪名城古都，探索神秘國度幾千年文化的歷史淵源。
Michael Wood explores the history of the world's newest superpower, from its ancient past to the present day. Starting in Wuxi, Michael joins the Qin family reunion, when 300 relatives gather to worship their ancestors>To answer that question, Michael journeys to the plain of the Yellow River, where he joins a million pilgrims at the shrine of ancient goddess Nüwa, who legend says made the first people from the yellow mud of the Yellow River.
Looking for the origins of the Chinese state, he visits the excavations at Erlitou and sees an exquisite turquoise dragon sceptre from 2000 BC. China's first writing is found>Next, the Age of Philosophers and Confucius, whose book Analects has had greater influence worldwide than even the Bible, according to some. In Xi'an, we hear how the First Emperor united China and created the authoritarian Qin state that gave us the word China.
Finally, Michael returns to the temple fair in Henan for a dramatic night ceremony to give thanks to the ancestors. China, Michael concludes, is rising again, not just because of its economic strength, but because of the incredible solidarity of the Han Chinese view of their own civilisation, their sense of family and, of course, the presence of the ancestors.
第二集（Silk Roads and China Ships）
公元7世紀，唐朝(618-907)是世界上最為強大的王朝。歷史學家Michael Wood走訪洛陽西安大運河，講述大唐往事。
Michael Wood tells the tale of China's first great international age under the Tang Dynasty (618-907). From the picturesque old city of Luoyang, he travels along the Silk Road to the bazaars of central Asia and into India>Then in the backstreets and markets of Xi'an, Michael meets descendants of the traders from central Asia and Persia who came into China>Moving south, Michael sees the beginnings of China as an economic giant. On the Grand Canal, a lock built in 605 still handles 800 barges every day! The film tracks the rise of the silk industry, and the world's favourite drink- tea.
Michael looks too at the spread of Chinese script, language and culture across east Asia. 'China's influence>Finally, the film tells the intense drama of the fall of the Tang. Among the eyewitnesses were China's greatest poets. In a secondary school in a dusty village, where the Chinese Shakespeare - Du Fu - is buried in the grounds, the pupils take Michael through>
視頻觀看地址：https://www.bilibili.com/video/av28802221/
（溫馨提示：視頻需要複製連結到瀏覽器查看哦）
第三集（The Golden Age）
宋朝(960-1279)普遍被認為是最富創造性的朝代。歷史學家Michael Wood走訪開封和杭州，觀賞宮殿，探索民間，品嘗美食，體味大宋風韻。
This episode tells the tale of what's broadly considered China's most creative dynasty - the Song (960-1279). Michael Wood heads to the city of Kaifeng, the greatest city in the world before the 19th century.
Here in Twin Dragon Alley, locals tell him the legend of the baby boys who became emperors. He explores the ideas and inventions that made the Song
The golden age of the northern Song ended in 1127, when invaders sacked Kaifeng, but they survived in the south. At their new capital, Hangzhou, Wood joins locals dancing by the West Lake, while in the countryside he meets Mr Xie with his records of 40 generations of ancestors.
The final defeat of the Song took place in a naval battle in the estuary of the Pearl River in 1279. When all was lost, rather than surrender to the Mongols, a loyal minister jumped into the sea with the young boy emperor in his arms. 'So ended the glory of the Song', Wood concludes, 'but a new age would arise... as in China, it always has!'.
《中國故事》簡介：
Exploring the history of the world's oldest civilization and newest superpower, The Story of China is an extraordinarily ambitious six part BBC/PBS landmark series presented by TV historian Michael Wood.
《中國故事》系列紀錄片共6集，由英國廣播公司和美國公共電視網（PBS）聯合製作播出，目標受眾是對中國缺少了解的普通西方觀眾。該系列紀錄片由英國知名歷史學家和電視主持人麥可·伍德擔綱撰稿和主持。本期推送的是該系列第一集。
The series is truly epic in scale and sweep. From Henan temple fairs a million people strong to ancient capitals, barges on the Grand Canal to Song dynasty cooking recipes, from the silk road to the modern cities of Nanjing, Shanghai and Beijing.
該系列作品從規模和範圍上可以說是一部真正的史詩，從中記錄了有著百萬人口聚集的河南廟會，宋朝古都，大運河上的駁船以及宋朝時代的食譜，從絲綢之路到現代都市南京，上海和北京。
「BBC Two’s new landmark documentary series, The Story of China (6×60), written and presented by historian Michael Wood, explores the history of the world’s oldest continuous state, from the ancient past to the present day.
「《中華故事》（6×60分鐘）是BBC第二頻道的最新重大紀錄片系列，由著名歷史學家Michael Wood所寫，探尋世界上最古老、未曾衰亡過的源遠流長的歷史。
Home to over a billion people, China is the new superpower, a country we all want to understand now, and Wood argues that to do so we have to look at its history. Travelling across the country he explores the landscapes, peoples, stories and cultures that have helped create China’s distinctive character and genius over more than four thousand years.
中國是新的超級大國，擁有超過十億人口， Michael Wood指出如果想全面了解一個國家，我們需要審視它的歷史。他在全國旅行，探索培育了超過四千年歷史的中國文明特質的風景、民族、故事和文化。
A grand sweep narrative, full of big ideas and unexpected surprises, the series shows how the Chinese created their own distinctive vision of the world: a vision that is still alive in the 21st century and indeed, Wood argues, is the real motor behind the incredible and growing success of China today.」
《中華的故事》的奇思妙想和連連驚喜充滿著這一宏偉的敘述之中，展示了中國人如何創造了其看待世界的獨特視角， Wood認為21世紀這一視角仍具生命力，正是這樣的視角造成了造就了中國今日和指日可待的驚人成就。」