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The Chinese Combat Film Since 1949: Variants of ‘Regulation’, ‘Reform’ and ‘Renewal’

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The Chinese Combat Film Since 1949: Variants of ‘Regulation’, ‘Reform’ and ‘Renewal’ The Chinese Combat Film Since 1949: Variants of ‘Regulation’, ‘Reform’ and ‘Renewal’ Michael Robert Stein Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Asian Studies This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University 2005 I declare that all the material contained within this thesis is my own research and contains as its main content work that has not been previously submitted for a degree at any tertiary institution. Michael Robert Stein Abstract This thesis examines variations of the Chinese ‘combat film’, from its origins within cinema in 1949, through to the contemporary period. My argument transposes the critical approach of ‘genre’, as a popular style within conventional film criticism, to a specific Chinese form. In particular, this study investigates the ‘combat film’ as a prevailing mode in Chinese cinema, with a particular history, form of progression and set of aesthetics. The argument initially applies the ‘war film’ and ‘combat genre’ categorisations to Chinese forms. Consequently three major variants emerge, manifest in the ‘regulated’ (1949-1966), ‘reformed’ (1980s) and ‘renewed’ (1990s) styles, respectively. These modes are subsequently examined in rigorous narratological and cinematic contexts, resulting in an expanded conception of the Chinese ‘combat’ film. This thesis offers an integrative appreciation of variegations of the Chinese ‘combat film’ since 1949, sutured to wider discursive and socio-political changes within the country. Moreover, this argument produces a framework for a more expansive and complex comprehension of Chinese cinema, one undergoing continual modes of re-negotiation as the medium progresses into the Twenty First Century. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1 1. Genre, The Combat Film and Chinese Cinema 29 Genre as a Critical Approach Critical Approaches to the ‘War’ Film and ‘Combat’ Film Origins of the Chinese ‘War’ Film and ‘Combat’ Film The Chinese ‘Resistance’ Narrative as Generic Form Conclusion 2. 1949-1966: The ‘Regulated’ Chinese Combat Film 61 Introduction Narratological Analysis of the Regulated Combat Film Combat Case Study – Guerrillas on the Railroad Conclusion 3. 1980s: The ‘Reformed’ Chinese Combat Film 134 Introduction Narratological Analysis of the Reformed Combat Film Combat Case Study – Evening Bell Conclusion 4. 1990s: The ‘Renewed’ Chinese Combat Film 199 Introduction Narratological Analysis of the Renewed Combat Film Combat Case Study – Devils on the Doorstep Conclusion 5. A Synthesis of the Chinese Combat Film Genre 275 Synthesis of the Chinese Combat Film Heroes, Enemies and Traitors of the Chinese Combat Film Genre Women of the Chinese Combat Film Genre Children and Families of the Chinese Combat Film Genre Landscapes of the Chinese Combat Film Genre Conclusion Conclusion 319 Bibliography 328 Films Cited 343 Chinese Glossary 346 Plot Summaries 347 Acknowledgments Firstly I would like to acknowledge my family; my parents, sister and both sets of grandparents, for all their generous support and encouragement not only within academic pursuits, but throughout all my endeavours. Much appreciation must go to my supervisor Dr. Yingchi Chu, who recognised my doctorate potential and the capacity for this study even as an undergraduate. Moreover I am grateful for her patient and prolonged guidance, which has steadily facilitated the formulation of this thesis. Thanks must similarly go to academic staff including Professor Horst Ruthrof for his insightful and impacting suggestions, as well as Associate Professor Jenny DeReuck, Dr. Mick Broderick and Associate Professor Terence Lee, who all provided assistance at various stages of candidature. Numerous sources contributed and facilitated materials toward my research, of which I am very appreciative. These figures include; Cheryl Miller, Karen Olkowski, Cosmos Videos and lastly yesasia.com, without whose services this thesis would have proved a much more time-consuming and difficult task. Thanks also to Cao Yanfen, Jeffrey, Judy, CREAM, Jacob DeHoog, and my two dearest friends, Joel and Nirguna. To all other family and friends throughout this process who patiently gave their support and encouragement I am truly grateful. Introduction This thesis details the progressive development of the combat film in China, locating particular trends and establishments of ‘generic’ variation. Concentrating on projections since the implementation of Socialist rule in 1949, this study gravitates towards an appreciation of cinema as a specific medium in China, one whose signification is embedded within wider praxes of discursive imagining. In order to facilitate an in-depth and impacting investigation into these themes however (to be enacted throughout the following chapters), some initial stipulations and conditions require consideration. In this manner, an account of foundational research elements is necessitated as an antecedent to my thesis argument. This chapter endeavours to address these queries, providing a framework to the critical and analytical examinations that follow. This includes, a brief historical description of the Chinese film industry with specific articulations of generic applicability; accounts of critical approaches to Chinese cinema and the location of my argument in reference to established research fields; a declaration of thesis questions, approaches and methodologies; as well as an overview of thesis structure and chapter delineations. Progressions of the Chinese Film Industry and ‘Generic’ Potentialities Since its commencement in China during the late Nineteenth Century, the cinematic industry has been engaged in a continual process of haphazard and often contrary development. As a parallel to the rapid social, political and 1 cultural transformations enacted within the nation since this period, the cinematic medium has endured continuous change and adaptation.1 To a large degree, it is precisely this tumultuous aspect of the industry that provides an excellent framework for a new style of ‘genre’ study, one that impacts on both the specific Chinese medium and genre criticism at large. Before this ‘generic’ form of approach can be applied however, a more progressive and intricate understanding of Chinese film history is required. The preliminary period of Chinese film history from 1895-1930 was characterised by developments in commercial and metropolitan areas, primarily located in the bustling cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. Predominantly frequented by foreign and affluent populations in its initiation, the industry correspondingly localised and by the 1920s was producing, distributing and exhibiting ‘national’ films.2 Chiefly regulated by mechanisms of commerce, finance and industry at the time, generic systematics emerged as an integral part of film categorisation and marketing. During this period the presence of martial arts, melodrama and comedy forms dominated film output.3 Thus, from this archetypal industrial era it is evident in terms of 1 As predominant theorist Dai Jinhua has summed up, “As a specific artistic medium with its own development, changes and evolution, Chinese film has its own peculiar history, and within that history, aesthetic concepts and creative principles of change”. To a greater extent it is precisely this element of continual change, occurring within a unique system that seems to be provoking such critical interest in Chinese cinema recently. Taken from an interview with Zhou Yaqin, ‘Rethinking the Cultural History of Chinese Film’, in Jing Wang & Tani Barlow (eds), Cinema and Desire: Feminist Marxism and Cultural Politics in the Works of Dai Jinhua. London & New York: Verso, 2002, p. 256. 2 For more information on this preliminary period of Chinese cinema scrutinize Jay Leyda, Dianying: An Account of Film and Film Audiences in China. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1972, pp. 20-55. And Marie Cambon, ‘The Dream Palaces of Shanghai: American Films in China’s Largest Metropolis Prior to 1949’, Asian Cinema 7, 2, 1995, pp. 34-45. 3 In seeking an expanded and articulate account of production origins and practices within this 1920s period, note Zhang Zhen, An Amorous History of the Silver Screen: Film Culture, Urban Modernity, and the Vernacular Experience in China, 1896-1937. PhD thesis, University of Chicago, 1998. 2 production, distribution and exhibition that the Chinese system prescribed to an appropriated generic form. This premises the recognition of Western practices (in this case ‘genre’ differentiation) as an integral and embedded part of filmic discourse at the time. Equally significant however, were the prevalence of local and nativist adaptations in identifying and categorising the filmic medium. From the viewpoint of cultural alteration, the origins of theatre and puppetry from which cinema took the name dianying (shadowplay) were highly significant, and similarly characterised by conventional forms and popular types.4 During this era, as detailed by Lin Niantong and Hu Jubin, film within China was steadily translated and adopted as a specific cultural medium. The industry in its primary origins thus emerged in a composite form, both adhering to trends of foreign cinematic projection, whilst similarly imbuing filmic discourse with a sense of native cultural specificity.5 This fusion was nowhere more evident than in the predominance of generic structures and outputs (i.e. martial arts, melodramas, comedies, operas), simultaneously impacted by foreign and local 6 practices. 4 For integrated accounts of this progression see Mary
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