The Others: Desire, Anxiety, and the Politics of Chinese Horror Cinema (1989-2015) DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Qin Chen Graduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2016 Dissertation Committee: Kirk A. Denton, Advisor Mark Bender J Ronald Green Heather Inwood Copyrighted by Qin Chen 2016 ABSTRACT This dissertation is a study of postsocialist Chinese horror cinema—namely, horror film of the period from 1989 to the present—and centers around the question of how Chinese horror films are responding to the dramatic changes China has experienced over the past three and a half decades. The return of the horror genre, which had been effectively banned in the Mao era, is a consequence of both market reforms and the social malaise and anxieties engendered in the radical social and economic transformations of this period. Through analyzing multiple issues in a large number of horror films in the framework of the Self/Other dichotomy from different perspectives of history, gender, class, and identity, this dissertation seeks to broaden our understanding of both postsocialist China and postsocialist cinema. ii DEDICATION To my beloved parents iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It has been a long road for me to reach this point. The dissertation would not have been possible without the advice, help, and support from many people. First and foremost, I wish to thank my adviser, Prof. Kirk Denton, an inspiring and understanding mentor, for his tenacious dedication and support offered during the course of my graduate studies, research, and dissertation writing. He read every draft of the chapters of my dissertation with patience and encouragement, and contributed insightful comments on my project. I also want to thank my committee members— Prof. Mark Bender, Prof. J Ronald Green, and Prof. Heather Inwood—who not only gave me invaluable feedback during my candidacy examination, but also have generously participated in every stage of the project’s transformation. Prof. Linda Mizejewski was of great help in the early stages of this work. The example she set in her own scholarship as well as in her course “Women and the Horror Film” has been an important influence in my approach to film studies. I am grateful to other mentors at the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures who contributed their expertise and enthusiasm, including Prof. Patricia Sieber, Prof. Meow Hui Goh, and Prof. Marjorie K.M. Chan. Thanks also go to Debbie iv Knicely and Steven Knicely for their immense help and support during my studies and works as a Graduate Teaching Associate at the Ohio State University. Prof. Dai Jinhua, my former MA advisor at Peking University, deserves special mention. Her insightful studies in multiple areas (gender studies, cultural studies, and film studies) not only offered me a good model of interdisciplinary research, but also directly contributed to this dissertation in many ways. As a Ph.D student in the DEALL, I have been lucky to benefit from the input and support of a number of colleagues and friends: Qiong Yang, Mengjun Li, Man He, Ziying You, Bo Zhu, Yifan Pai, Evelyn Huang, Kana Abe, and Litong Chen. Finally, I am forever indebted to my family for their unconditional love and support throughout my life. This dissertation is dedicated to my loving parents. v VITA 2003................................................................B.A. Chinese Literature, Peking University 2006................................................................M.A. Comparative Literature, Peking University 2010................................................................M.A. East Asian Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University 2008 to present ..............................................Ph. D Student, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS Co-authored book: Meiguo de feichang niandai 美国的非常年代 [The unusual times of America]. Zhengzhou: Henan renmin chubanshe, 2002. “Illusion and Disillusionment in the Name of the ‘Ghost’: A Study of Xu Xu’s ‘Ghost Love’.” In Fantômes dans l’Extrême-Orient d’hier et d’aujourd’hui [Ghosts in the Far East in the past and present]. Edited by Vincent Durand-Dastès and Marie Laureillard. Paris: INALCO Press. Forthcoming 2016. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: East Asian Languages and Literatures vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita ..................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x A Note on Romanization .................................................................................................. xv Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Trauma or Karma: Allegorical Moments and the Politics of Historical Memory ............................................................................................................................. 40 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 40 The Emergence of Horror in the Post-Mao Era ............................................................ 42 Negotiation between Commercialism and Ideology: Presentation of Historical Violence and the Politics of Chinese Rating System....................................................47 Thematic and Generic Innovations in The Lonely Ghost in the Dark Mansion………70 Ghost, Villain, and the Police: Innovations in Themes ........................................... 71 Story within A Story and Film within A Film: Innovations in Narrative Structures.. ....................................................................................................................................... 89 vii A Visual and Auditory Feast of Horror: Innovations in Form……………………97 Spectral Time and Haunted Mansion, Historical Trauma and Institutionalized Insanity………………………………………………………………………………..105 Conclusion....................................................................................................................122 Chapter 2: The Horror Cinema of Infidelity: Lust, Anxiety, and the Cultural Politics of Gender..............................................................................................................................126 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..126 Unfaithful Wives and Female Infidelity as Allegories………………………………130 Love Triangle, Concubine Culture, and Women as Cultural Capital………………..142 Femme Fatale and Virtuous Woman: The Monstrous-Feminine in the Horror Cinema of Infidelity ………………………………………………………………………….161 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...181 Chapter 3: Phantom of the City: Social Stratification, Alienation, and Ambiguous Others…………………………………………………………………………………...184 Introduction………………………………………………………………………......184 Urban Horror: Reconfigurations of Space and Power……………………………….187 Modernization, Urbanization, and Alienation……………………………………….211 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...233 Chapter 4: Eroticism and Exorcism: History, Identity, and the Politics of Erotic Ghost Films……………………………………………………………………………………236 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..236 viii History and Nostalgia: Li Han-hsiang’s The Enchanting Shadow…………………..242 Utopia and Dystopia: A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy and King Hu’s The Painted Skin…………………………………………………………………………………..256 Betrayal and Return: Remakes of The Painted Skin and A Chinese Ghost Story in the New Millennium……………………………………………………………………..285 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...…305 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..….309 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 314 Appendix: Filmography .................................................................................................. 337 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 The poster of The Lonely Ghost states that it is “China’s first horror movie with stereophonic sound” and “not appropriate for children” to watch............................ 53 Figure 1.2 “Not Appropriate for Children and Teenagers,” a warning before the movie begins. ............................................................................................................................... 54 Figure 1.3 The Lonely Ghost in the Dark Mansion was publicly showed on CCTV-6 (channel logo in the bottom right corner). ........................................................................ 56 Figure 1.4 Elementary students take the pledge that they would not forget national humiliation, and reinforce national defense, in memory of the Mukden Incident of 1931 ........................................................................................................................................... 62 Figure 1.5 A still of Red Cherry, in Film Stories Monthly 3 (1996)................................