Historiography Construction of Chinese Cinema

Author: Li Daoxin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: In this book, "classic" refers to film history works recognized by general Chinese readers, especially professional film history scholars. In the author's view, there are two such classics: one is A History of Chinese Cinema (Volumes 1 and 2), and the other is A History of World Cinema, written by French film historian Georges Sadoul. A History of Chinese Cinema is a concise survey that comprehensively scans the historical landscape of Chinese cinema from the "prehistory" to the "1990s and beyond." The author not only establishes a teleological historical narrative but also, from the perspective of cinema's integrated characteristics, captures four main categories of the generative mechanisms of film history: cinema as a technical system, an economic entity, a social institution, and an artistic form. These categories hold significant positions in the construction of film history, and the author successfully applies this film historiographical concept.