Abstract
One of the particular characteristics of Chinese films is that they are based on the unique sources of Chinese cultural thought. This article examines the main spiritual ideas of traditional Chinese culture through the lens of the three relationships between heaven and man, humans and other humans, and man and himself. It explores how Chinese films made in different cultural contexts and historical backgrounds have expressed the spirit of Chinese culture through both inheritance and transformation. We approach this issue by focusing on expressions of the traditional concepts of “the unity of man and heaven,” “vigor and promise,” “balanced harmony and the golden mean,” and “the unity of body and mind.”
Funding source: The Great Wall Scholar Scheme of Beijing Education Commission
Award Identifier / Grant number: CIT&TCD20190316
Funding source: General History of Film Translation in China
Award Identifier / Grant number: 20&ZD313
Funding source: The Inheritance and Development of Chinese Artistic Traditions in Contemporary Chinese Films
Award Identifier / Grant number: 20ZD18
About the authors
Haizhou Wang is a professor in the Department of Film Studies (Film Research Institute) at Beijing Film Academy, the associate editor Journal of Beijing Film Academy, and the director of the Taiwan and Hong Kong Film Society of China. His main academic expertise is in Chinese film studies, and he has systematically studied films in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Yaxuan Yuan is a PhD candidate in the College of China Film Culture Research at Beijing Film Academy.Translator Wen Zhang, Communication University of China, Beijing, China,Wen Zhang is a postgraduate in the School of Foreign Languages and Cultures at the Communication University of China. Her translation of this academic paper is supported by the China National Social Science Major Research Project “General History of Film Translation in China” (Grant number: 20&ZD313).
Acknowledgements
This article is supported by the research funds of the Advanced Innovation Center for Future Visual Entertainment at the Beijing Film Academy, the China National Social Science Major Research Project in Arts, “The Inheritance and Development of Chinese Artistic Traditions in Contemporary Chinese Films” (grant number: 20ZD18), the China National Social Science Major Research Project, “General History of Film Translation in China” (grant number: 20&ZD313), and the Great Wall Scholar Scheme of Beijing Education Commission (grant number: CIT&TCD20190316).
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