Chinese Martial Arts Cinema

The Wuxia Tradition

Datos Bibliográficos

ID20022787
AutoresStephen Teo (0000-0001-5025-7937, autor de correspondencia)
Año2009
Páginas230
Fecha de publicación2009-03-31
Open AccessNo
TipoBOOK
RevistaChinese martial arts cinema (SOURCE_BOOK)
EditorialEdinburgh University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3366/edinburgh/9780748632855.001.0001
OpenAlexW4235454609
Open LibraryOL24086106M
ISBN9780748632855
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas20

The martial arts genre known as wuxia (literally 'martial chivalry') is one of the oldest in the Chinese cinema. Its antecedents are closely tied to the historical knights-errant known as xia who were said to have roamed ancient China over two thousand three hundred years ago, fighting injustices and righting wrongs. This book delves into the cinematic development of the genre from its beginnings in the Shanghai film industry in the late 1920s to its recent state of evolution in the Chinese, Taiwan, and Hong Kong cinemas, as represented by works such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Hero (2002). Essentially, this book is a history of the genre, covering the landmarks of its development, one of which is the banning of the genre in the 1930s due to the perception by educationists and intellectuals that it fostered feudal superstition and anti-social rebellion. It goes on to analyse the concepts and values of the heroic xia, or knights-errant, often considered controversial figures because they resorted to violence as a means to practice chivalry and achieve righteous ends. Chapters are devoted to discussing the female knight-errant, a unique figure in the tradition, and in cinema that has charmed and beguiled cinemagoers since the beginning of the genre. Themes that further explore the genre include nationalism, transnationalism, and the supernatural powers and characteristics of the heroic protagonists (as well as villains)

Art · China · Chivalry · Feudalism · HERO · Knight · Literature · Martial arts · Movie theater · Political science · Visual arts · Chinese history and philosophy · History · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law · Philippine History and Culture · Film · Kampfsport (Motiv) · Martial arts films · Motion pictures