‘3,000 Years of History Are Literally Just Beneath Our Feet’: China Remains a Hidden Culture
The Chinese government does not acknowledge that there are thousands of years of ancient history that are literally underneath our feet.
“3,000 Years of History Are Literally Just Beneath Our Feet,” sounds like the title and description of an action movie starring an actor playing a Chinese soldier in the American War of 1812. Yet, it’s in actuality a new documentary by the American journalist and historian David M. Kennedy entitled, “On Our Way to Wonder.”
Directed and produced by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker James Marsh with the help of a team of scholars from universities including The Chicago and Shanghai Institutes, the film, “On Our Way to Wonder,” opens in theaters March 21, 2018.
“3,000 Years of History Are Literally Just Beneath Our Feet,” is the result of a collaboration between a group of American and Chinese scholars and filmmakers. It was funded in part through a grant from the Asia Foundation with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Marsh’s documentary tells the story of how one man, a humble teacher, began to tell the stories of 3,000 years of Chinese history, which he believed to be hidden in the ground, literally.
“On Our Way to Wonder” is the result of an effort at collaboration among scholars around the world, Marsh told TIME. “I wanted to work with people who could share a story with me to make my film more compelling instead of just being my collaborator,” he said.
Marsh, who has had a lifelong interest in Chinese history as well as writing books on the subject, said he was excited to join the project when it was first announced in 2014.
“What was so exciting was that the idea of actually revealing a portion of the Chinese past to our world was really exciting,” said Marsh, whose book “The Forbidden Kingdom” was published in 2013. “I thought that was
