# Kukan

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For other uses, see [Kukan (disambiguation)](/source/Kukan_(disambiguation)).

***Kukan*** (originally subtitled ***The Secret of Unconquerable China***) is a 1941 American [documentary film](/source/Documentary_film) co-produced by [Li Ling-Ai](/source/Li_Ling-Ai)[2] and [Rey Scott](/source/Rey_Scott), and directed by Scott about the [Chinese](/source/Republic_of_China) resistance to [Japanese](/source/Empire_of_Japan) aggression during the early part of [World War II](/source/World_War_II) (see [Second Sino-Japanese War](/source/Second_Sino-Japanese_War)). Though Li served as co-producer and sponsor, she was credited as a "technical advisor" in its credits.[2] The film was distributed in 16mm by Adventure Epics and given an [Honorary Academy Award](/source/Academy_Honorary_Award) at the [14th Academy Awards](/source/14th_Academy_Awards).

[United Artists](/source/United_Artists) acquired the film for broader distribution in April 1942 and renamed it *KUKAN: The Battle Cry of China* before releasing it in 35mm in August of the same year. Considered [lost](/source/Lost_film) for many years, a print was located and partially restored at the [Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](/source/Academy_of_Motion_Picture_Arts_and_Sciences).[3]

In 2016, Robin Lung produced a documentary about Li, *[Finding Kukan](/source/Finding_Kukan)*.[4] *Kukan* is available as an extra on *Finding Kukan'*s home release.[5]

## Title etymology

The word Kukan is composed of two Chinese characters:

- [苦](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%8B%A6) (kǔ)
- [干](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B2) (gàn)

Together, the Chinese characters Kǔgàn (苦干) translates to "hard work" or "bitter struggle".[6] As per the original subtitle, "Unconquerable China", people willing to endure a bitter struggle.

## Production background

Scott, a [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis,_Missouri) native and foreign correspondent for London's *[Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*, took a handheld 16mm camera and color film to war-torn [China](/source/China), where he traveled from [Hong Kong](/source/Hong_Kong) to the wartime capital [Chongqing](/source/Chongqing), and then along the [Burma Road](/source/Burma_Road) to [Lanzhou](/source/Lanzhou). From there, he ventured to [Tibet](/source/Tibet), then back to Chongqing. Throughout the film, Scott narrated his journey and detailed various ethnic groups that make up the Chinese population, including the [Miao people](/source/Miao_people) from the mountains of [Guizhou](/source/Guizhou), the [Muslim](/source/Islam_in_China) population of Lanzhou, the [Buddhist](/source/Buddhism_in_China) population in Tibet, the nomads from the [Gobi Desert](/source/Gobi_Desert) and the [Han](/source/Han_Chinese) and [Manchu](/source/Manchu) populations.[7]

The final 20 minutes of *Kukan* consists of an aerial attack by Japanese bombers against the defenseless city of Chongqing from August 19–20, 1940. The bombing took up the film's final 20 minutes and showed some of the 200 tons of bombs dropped on the city. Scott captured his footage from a vantage point on the roof of the U.S. Embassy, which was near the center of the attack.[7] [Bosley Crowther](/source/Bosley_Crowther), reviewing the film for *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*, called the sequence "one of the most awesome bits of motion picture yet seen in this day of frightful news events...somehow this wanton violence appears even more horrible than the scenes we have witnessed of [London's destruction](/source/The_Blitz)."[8]

### Indo-China convoy

After arriving in [Haiphong](/source/Haiphong), Scott joins a truck convoy on "(a) highway from [Dongang](/source/%C4%90%E1%BB%93ng_%C4%90%C4%83ng_station), on the railway in French Indochina, to [Kweilin](/source/Guilin), capital of [Kwangsi](/source/Guangxi), via [Nanning](/source/Nanning), able to take five-ton loads…"[9][10]

Itinerary:

- The convoy makes a dash across the border at night to evade Japanese planes.
- After crossing the border, the convoy enters rural China, Kwangsi (Guangxi) province.
- Scott observes that Nanning appears deserted during the day as people hide in the fields from air raids, but becomes active at night.
- Near Kweiyang ([Guiyang](/source/Guiyang)), the ambulances reach the training hospital of Dr. [Robert Lim](/source/Robert_Lim), who is working to build China's medical corps.
- Scott describes Chungking ([Chongqing](/source/Chongqing)) as a city built on cliffs at the junction of the Chialing ([Jialing](/source/Jialing_River)) and [Yangtze](/source/Yangtze) rivers. He counts the alleged "300" steps leading up into the city.
- At Chengtu ([Chengdu](/source/Chengdu)) located 200 miles northwest of Chungking, Scott visits [West China Union University](/source/West_China_Union_University) to document the "intellectual migration" of students and the development of industrial cooperatives.

## Post production

The film was theatrically released in 1942. *Kukan* received the attention of U.S. President [Franklin D. Roosevelt](/source/Franklin_D._Roosevelt), who saw the film at a public [White House](/source/White_House) screening.[11]

Scott received an Honorary Academy Award for *Kukan*. The award was presented as a certificate rather than as a statuette, and it cited Scott "for his extraordinary achievement in producing *Kukan*, the film record of China's struggle, including its photography with a 16mm camera under the most difficult and dangerous conditions." *Kukan* was one of two non-fiction features about World War II cited by the Academy for its 1941 Oscars, the other being *[Target for Tonight](/source/Target_for_Tonight)*, produced by the British Ministry of Information.[12]

Though [Li Ling-Ai](/source/Li_Ling-Ai) was a co-producer and sponsor of the film, she was credited as a "technical advisor" in its credits.[2] It is reported that several Americans joined the [Flying Tigers](/source/Flying_Tigers) in China after viewing the documentary.[6]

## See also

- [List of rediscovered films](/source/List_of_rediscovered_films)

## References

1. ["The Battle Cry of China"](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-battle-cry-of-china-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmja3nze). *[British Board of Film Classification](/source/British_Board_of_Film_Classification)*. May 9, 1943.

1. Griner, Allison (March 6, 2016). ["Finding Kukan and a piece of Chinese-American history"](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/3/6/finding-kukan-and-a-piece-of-chinese-american-history). *Al Jazeera*. Retrieved 2026-05-30.

1. ["Only copy of KUKAN Arrives at AMPAS for Restoration"](http://www.nestedeggproductions.com/finding-kukan/kukan-arrives-at-ampas). April 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-11.

1. ["Finding KUKAN"](http://www.nestedeggproductions.com/), the homepage of the documentary about [Li Ling-Ai](/source/Li_Ling-Ai).

1. ["Purchase Information for the documentary FINDING KUKAN"](http://www.nestedeggproductions.com/purchase). August 8, 2017. Retrieved 2019-02-08.

1. ["China Focus: Restored Oscar-winning film captures China's WWII suffering, resilience"](https://english.news.cn/20250626/84f906afd36e4bb8b9736537f11d50a5/c.html). *english.news.cn*. June 26, 2025. Retrieved 2026-03-28.

1. ["The New Pictures"](https://time.com/archive/6786929/the-new-pictures-jul-14-1941/). *TIME*. July 14, 1941. [Archived](http://web.archive.org/web/20241222085325/https://time.com/archive/6786929/the-new-pictures-jul-14-1941/) 2024-12-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-30.

1. Crowther, Bosley (1941-06-24). ["' Kukan,' a Vivid Fact Film About Modern China and Its Myriad Peoples, Is Seen at the World"](https://www.nytimes.com/1941/06/24/archives/kukan-a-vivid-fact-film-about-modern-china-and-its-myriad-peoples.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2026-05-30.

1. [*Radio Report: Volume of Military Supplies Entering China via Haiphong*](http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/_resources/images/psf/psfa0261.pdf). President's Secretary's File (PSF), Box 26. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. April 20, 1938. p. 3. Retrieved March 25, 2026.

1. Barthel, Alexandre (9 June 2022). "“Bad Luck for the Chinese”: France and the Transit of War Materiel to China During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1939)". *MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities*. **25** (1): 1–18. [doi:10.1163/26659077-25010002](https://doi.org/10.1163/26659077-25010002) The US archives tend to show, however, that the ban on the transit of war materiel was not total, as most of the materiel from the United States continued to pass into China through French Indochina until the outbreak of the war in Europe…

1. ["Kukan"](http://web.archive.org/web/20060510111942/http://theoscarsite.com/pictures1941/kukan.htm). *The Oscar Site*. Archived from [the original](http://theoscarsite.com/pictures1941/kukan.htm) on 2006-05-10. Retrieved 2026-05-30.

1. [""The Birth of the Documentary Oscars"by Ed Carter, AMPAS"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080906193433/http://www.oscars.org/events/past/2005/oscars_docs/essay.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.oscars.org/events/past/2005/oscars_docs/essay.html) on September 6, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2008.

## External links

- [Kukan](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121453/) at IMDb
- [Facebook page for FINDING KUKAN](https://www.facebook.com/Kukandocumentary)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kukan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.