Previous studies on early China cinema suggest that cinema before WWI was in its infancy and mere... more Previous studies on early China cinema suggest that cinema before WWI was in its infancy and merely a foreign novelty. In these studies, China was generally seen as a recipient. I would like to argue in this article that previous studies have failed to recognize late Qing officials’ prominent role in promoting cinema and using it to assist reforms during the process of China’s modernization and nationalization. I intend to investigate film activities of several high officials from Manchu government and early Republic of China, analyze their cinematographic views and discuss how their involvements and views were weaved in the context of late Qing reforms. Based on their political stances, these high officials can be roughly categorized into three groups: reformists, constitutionalists and revolutionaries, with the most powerful statesman Li Hongzhang as forerunner, Duan Fang and Dai Hongci these two special commissioners as representatives of the second group and Wu Tingfang, the Minister to the United States for the third group. Accordingly, there are three distinct but developmental views on cinema: machine-based, educational and commercial. Generally speaking, progressive late Qing high officials energetically engaged in film activities despite their different political stances. Their perceptions and views on cinema differed according to their reading of “denotation” and “connotation” meanings of cinematograph. Their interests in cinema increased as cinema proved to be not only an optical device but also a beneficial means to enlighten people, as well as a profitable commercial enterprise.
In this article, I will explore the history of Man’ei from the perspective of modern colonialism ... more In this article, I will explore the history of Man’ei from the perspective of modern colonialism and conduct a case study on the artificial identity of “Li Xianglan.” As Hannah Arendt writes in The Origin of Totalitarianism, the capital expansion is an endless process, in which the expansion itself becomes both the means and aim. Eventually, it will devour all (AHRENDT 1951: 333–350). In this sense, the rising and demise of Man’ei and Li Xianglan serve as a vivid illustration. The focus of this study is nevertheless on the existent Man’ei feature films. According to target audiences, Man’ei coproduced a number of location-driven films. I choose Winter Jasmine, Chi-na Night and Sayon’s Bell as regional samples for analysing and discussing Man’ei’s gendered nationalist motif. I argue that Japanese adopts a differentiated geopolitics respectively in Manchu, mainland China and Taiwan. In the puppet Manchukuo, Ja-pan adopts a modern colonialism and is prone to build a seemingly equal and har-mony relationship with Manchurians. Accordingly, in Winter Jasmine a modern and exotically attractive image of Manchukuo is purposely constructed. On contrary, in Taiwan Japan continues the outdated trade colonialism. In Sayon’s Bell, through the brave, beautiful and pro-Japan patriotic Taiwanese girl Sayon, Taiwan serves as a reliable raw material reservoir for Japanese empire. The recent acquired mainland China, however, as showed in China Night is backward, damaged and dangerous, thence needs to be violently conquered and tamed. Notable is Iwasaki Akira’s (1903–1981) exceptional realistic criticism in Winter Jasmine.
Cinema in China prior to WWI: A Case Study of West-Eastern Culture Transfer , 2020
This book delineates cinema in China prior to WWI into five periods and interprets this section o... more This book delineates cinema in China prior to WWI into five periods and interprets this section of history under references of up-to-date early film theories. The spreading of cinema is treated as a continuation of the lantern tradition, and is contextualized and conventionalized in the late Qing sociopolitical milieu. It synchronizes with the colonial process and Manchu government‘s progressive reforms. The central argument here is that early cinema in China shows a developmental pattern, which bears a high similarity to Jean Piaget‘s knowledge development, and is characteristic of intermediality and internationality. From a mechanic novelty to a mass medium, to a profitable commodity, although cinema in China begins as an attachment to other existing entertainments, after about two decades‘ development its subjectivity has already been secured and an incipient film industry is formed in prewar era, featuring a strong foreign monopoly and regional imbalance.
Previous studies on early China cinema suggest that cinema before WWI was in its infancy and mere... more Previous studies on early China cinema suggest that cinema before WWI was in its infancy and merely a foreign novelty. In these studies, China was generally seen as a recipient. I would like to argue in this article that previous studies have failed to recognize late Qing officials’ prominent role in promoting cinema and using it to assist reforms during the process of China’s modernization and nationalization. I intend to investigate film activities of several high officials from Manchu government and early Republic of China, analyze their cinematographic views and discuss how their involvements and views were weaved in the context of late Qing reforms. Based on their political stances, these high officials can be roughly categorized into three groups: reformists, constitutionalists and revolutionaries, with the most powerful statesman Li Hongzhang as forerunner, Duan Fang and Dai Hongci these two special commissioners as representatives of the second group and Wu Tingfang, the Minister to the United States for the third group. Accordingly, there are three distinct but developmental views on cinema: machine-based, educational and commercial. Generally speaking, progressive late Qing high officials energetically engaged in film activities despite their different political stances. Their perceptions and views on cinema differed according to their reading of “denotation” and “connotation” meanings of cinematograph. Their interests in cinema increased as cinema proved to be not only an optical device but also a beneficial means to enlighten people, as well as a profitable commercial enterprise.
In this article, I will explore the history of Man’ei from the perspective of modern colonialism ... more In this article, I will explore the history of Man’ei from the perspective of modern colonialism and conduct a case study on the artificial identity of “Li Xianglan.” As Hannah Arendt writes in The Origin of Totalitarianism, the capital expansion is an endless process, in which the expansion itself becomes both the means and aim. Eventually, it will devour all (AHRENDT 1951: 333–350). In this sense, the rising and demise of Man’ei and Li Xianglan serve as a vivid illustration. The focus of this study is nevertheless on the existent Man’ei feature films. According to target audiences, Man’ei coproduced a number of location-driven films. I choose Winter Jasmine, Chi-na Night and Sayon’s Bell as regional samples for analysing and discussing Man’ei’s gendered nationalist motif. I argue that Japanese adopts a differentiated geopolitics respectively in Manchu, mainland China and Taiwan. In the puppet Manchukuo, Ja-pan adopts a modern colonialism and is prone to build a seemingly equal and har-mony relationship with Manchurians. Accordingly, in Winter Jasmine a modern and exotically attractive image of Manchukuo is purposely constructed. On contrary, in Taiwan Japan continues the outdated trade colonialism. In Sayon’s Bell, through the brave, beautiful and pro-Japan patriotic Taiwanese girl Sayon, Taiwan serves as a reliable raw material reservoir for Japanese empire. The recent acquired mainland China, however, as showed in China Night is backward, damaged and dangerous, thence needs to be violently conquered and tamed. Notable is Iwasaki Akira’s (1903–1981) exceptional realistic criticism in Winter Jasmine.
Cinema in China prior to WWI: A Case Study of West-Eastern Culture Transfer , 2020
This book delineates cinema in China prior to WWI into five periods and interprets this section o... more This book delineates cinema in China prior to WWI into five periods and interprets this section of history under references of up-to-date early film theories. The spreading of cinema is treated as a continuation of the lantern tradition, and is contextualized and conventionalized in the late Qing sociopolitical milieu. It synchronizes with the colonial process and Manchu government‘s progressive reforms. The central argument here is that early cinema in China shows a developmental pattern, which bears a high similarity to Jean Piaget‘s knowledge development, and is characteristic of intermediality and internationality. From a mechanic novelty to a mass medium, to a profitable commodity, although cinema in China begins as an attachment to other existing entertainments, after about two decades‘ development its subjectivity has already been secured and an incipient film industry is formed in prewar era, featuring a strong foreign monopoly and regional imbalance.
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Papers by M Xu
爾塞瑟、克拉瑪及近期的皮亞斯、恩斯特、西格特、威茲曼等人及其著作受到譯介，媒介考古、媒介技術、文化技藝等概念也得到一定闡述。然而譯介
零散、研究不足，常造成認知混亂和理解困難。本文基於比較和歷史研究的
方法，試圖將「德國媒介研究」置入德國傳播學史及其代際演變之中，在多種媒介體系的參照下，考察與德國媒介學派開創者基德勒有著密切聯繫且影響日盛的三種代表學說：文化技藝、媒介考古和控制論，以此來梳理和探討德國媒介理論從 1980 年代至今所呈現出的反叛、變節和遞歸的變化脈絡。
Thesis Chapters by M Xu
Books by M Xu
industry is formed in prewar era, featuring a strong foreign monopoly and regional imbalance.
爾塞瑟、克拉瑪及近期的皮亞斯、恩斯特、西格特、威茲曼等人及其著作受到譯介，媒介考古、媒介技術、文化技藝等概念也得到一定闡述。然而譯介
零散、研究不足，常造成認知混亂和理解困難。本文基於比較和歷史研究的
方法，試圖將「德國媒介研究」置入德國傳播學史及其代際演變之中，在多種媒介體系的參照下，考察與德國媒介學派開創者基德勒有著密切聯繫且影響日盛的三種代表學說：文化技藝、媒介考古和控制論，以此來梳理和探討德國媒介理論從 1980 年代至今所呈現出的反叛、變節和遞歸的變化脈絡。
industry is formed in prewar era, featuring a strong foreign monopoly and regional imbalance.