“Children of Huang Shi” may have taken liberties with the story of George Hogg, but the film provides inspiration in this time of destruction and struggle.
Hogg, the product of a British middle class, pacifist family, heads around the world, and ends up in China at the time of the Japanese invasion in 1937. There he becomes embroiled in conflicts – not included in the video – but eventually makes his way to an orphanage at Shuangshipu. Here his commitment to the boys reveals his strength, dedication, and devotion.
If you have not seen it, the DVD has been released and worth the rental. We need stories of ordinary individuals who, by chance, have an opportunity to make a difference. We all have these opportunities. Some are more dramatic, more heroic. Hogg’s gift to the world was his simple connection to a group of children and his commitment to giving them a chance of a future.
Beijing ran an article in 2008 on Hogg, and the biography and script by MacManus:
