Chinese Mythology and the Reconstruction of Contemporary Chinese Film Aesthetics
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Linxia Chen
Linxia Chen is a professor of Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Sun Yat-sen University. He serves as the chair researcher of the China National Social Science Major Project, whose field of research lies in cinematic art. His major publications include
With Chinese Film to Construct National Image: Under the Cross Cultural Background (2014) andFrom Fiction to Film: the Comprehensive Research on the Adaptation of Film and Television (2011) andKnowledge Structure of Chinese Genre Films and Cross-cultural Comparison (2010). This work is supported by the China National Social Science Major Research Project “Competitiveness of Chinese Film Culture and Overseas Market Dynamics Database Construction” (Grant number: 19ZDA271).
Abstract
Contemporary Chinese films, which tell mythological stories and presenting audio-visual wonders by means of film and television technology, have been fully recognized by the market. However, the context of storytelling has been too capitalized, resulting in the intervention of capital from the consumer terminal in the production of content, which has led to the secularization of the values of the mythological stories told, and even the tendency of deformed egoism. Chinese films should not only satisfy market consumption but also spread and inherit the cultural consciousness and collective memory of the myths. Therefore, Chinese films should break through the narrative mode and power aesthetics of Western films, construct a two-stage structure with a clear, cyclical and recurrent structure, give full play to its imagination, break through the boundaries of modern rationality, and then shape its own cultural identity, art form, and aesthetic style on a global scale.
Funding source: China National Social Science Major Research Project “ Competitiveness of Chinese Film Culture and Overseas Market Dynamics Database Construction ”
Award Identifier / Grant number: 19ZDA271
About the author
Linxia Chen is a professor of Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Sun Yat-sen University. He serves as the chair researcher of the China National Social Science Major Project, whose field of research lies in cinematic art. His major publications include With Chinese Film to Construct National Image: Under the Cross Cultural Background (2014) and From Fiction to Film: the Comprehensive Research on the Adaptation of Film and Television (2011) and Knowledge Structure of Chinese Genre Films and Cross-cultural Comparison (2010). This work is supported by the China National Social Science Major Research Project “Competitiveness of Chinese Film Culture and Overseas Market Dynamics Database Construction” (Grant number: 19ZDA271).
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Postscript
The originally article entitled中国神话与当下中国电影美学重建 was published in 山东社会科学 (Shandong Shehui Kexue, Shandong Social Sciences) 2025 (03): 73–82+2.Search in Google Scholar
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