Chinese Martial Arts Cinema: The Wuxia Tradition

Traditions in World Cinema

by Stephen Teo

The traditional martial arts genre known as wuxia (literally "martial chivalry") became popular the world over through the phenomenal hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). This book unveils the rich layers of the wuxia tradition as it developed in the early Shanghai cinema of the late 1920s and in the Hong Kong and Taiwan film industries of the 1950s and beyond. Stephen Teo follows the tradition from its beginnings in Shanghai cinema to its rise as a serialized form in silent cinema and its prohibition in 1931. He shares the fantastic characteristics of the genre, their relationship to folklore, myth, and religion, and their similarities and differences with the kung fu sub-genre of martial arts cinema. He maps the protagonists and heroes of the genre, in particular the figure of the lady knight-errant, and its chief personalities and masterpieces. Directors covered include King Hu, Chu Yuan, Zhang Che, Ang Lee, and Zhang Yimou, and films discussed are Come Drink With Me (1966), The One-Armed Swordsman (1967), A Touch of Zen (1970-71), Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004), The Promise (2005), The Banquet (2006), and Curse of the Golden Flower (2006).

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, China, Asia

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Stephen Teo is currently associate professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

He has done significant research work in the field of the Hong Kong cinema, and his research areas include other Asian cinemas, revolving around subjects of genre theory, film history, auteur studies, cultural studies, national cinema, and investigations into the literary and visual aspects of film theory.

Reviews

[RdWd · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of wuxia (martial hero/Chinese swordplay) film and speak little to no Chinese, you'll want to get your hands on Teo's The Wuxia Tradition, as it's the first English language book to investigate this unique Asian film form. And for the most part, it's a great read.

The West was largely introduced to wuxia by Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon and Zhang Yimou's Hero which were two films of mixed Chinese/multi-national production. For myself (and many others), this introduction lead me to discover a whole backlog of great flicks from the early 90s to the Shaw Brothers films in the 60s/70s. This book provides some much-needed backstory to the politics and histories of these studios and directors, whilst also delving back to wuxia's earliest incarnations in the 1920-30s. It details its rise in popularity as a film form, the subsequent ban by the Chinese government, which was then followed by a resurgence in the 60s before having its martial-arts throne usurped by the kung-fu craze. It then touches upon wuxia's millennial rebirth. Wuxia has taken many forms, and Teo has cleverly divided and named the eras and their characteristics. Take for example the following list with dates and example films: Shenguai Wuxia (1920s-30s) [Burning of the Red Lotus Temple], New School Wuxia (1960-70s)[A Touch of Zen], New Wave Wuxia (1980s-90s) [Ashes of Time] and currently Transnational Wuxia (2000s) [Crouching Tiger;Hidden Dragon].

There's also some in-depth academic literary/filmic readings of several texts. In some cases this academic stance sets the pace of the book a little off. For example, it's a shame that the last chapter is largely devoted to a reading of Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon and misses out information on the development of other wuxia flicks of the 2000s (though does reference them).

But on the whole, it's a concise effort to bring the western reader up to date on Chinese wuxia film, although I'm sure there's ample room for more analysis in good time.

[The Power Plant]

Book selected as part of the Fall 2020 Reading Room, in the context of the exhibition "Howie Tsui: From swelling shadows, we draw our bows"