A critical study on wenyi and wenyi film in republican China

Abstract

Wenyi film has long been a research focus of Chinese film studies since the 1980s. An abundance of scholars has been writing on the topic of wenyi film, defining its generic nature as literature and art film or film adaptation of great literature, or understanding it in relation to themes of love and human relationships. Many scholars have explored the role of wenyi films in post-war Hong Kong and Taiwan cinemas. Yet, in terms of Republican Chinese cinema, only brief accounts on some wenyi directors or works can be found. This dissertation aims to answer the question of what is wenyi film? by studying materials from the 1910s to the 1940s. Wenyi film as a discursive notion was never static in that period of time and the notion intersects with different discourses and practices. By investigating the interaction between the notion and those discourses and practices, this dissertation aims to present a taxonomy of wenyi film as grouped under the themes of romance, family, national character, heroism and the people.