The Development of Chinese Movies

In 1895, the world's first movie was born, and mankind's artistic creation and cultural ideals entered a new era of history. Born in 1905, Chinese film accompanied the process of world cinema and the revival of the Chinese nation, and with its distinctive national personality and aesthetic characteristics, it made brilliant achievements, forged a historical monument, and made unique artistic contributions to world cinema.

Folk Film Period

This phase lasted from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, represented by Chen Kaige's Yellow Earth, Zhang Yimou's Red Sorghum, and Farewell My Concubine and Alive. Chinese movies took the first step towards the world and began to receive international attention, achieving a series of awards such as the Golden Bear, the Golden Lion, the Palme d'Or, and Venice. The Chinese films of this period were set in feudal families and showed tragic stories of sin and punishment during the feudal dictatorship in China. These themes, although to a certain extent triggered misunderstandings about China among foreign people, led to more interest in China, and enabled the fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers such as Gong Li, Ge You and Zhang Yimou to grow up to become world filmmakers.

Independent Film Period

The mid-1990s to the end of the 1990s was the lowest period of the modern Chinese film industry, partly due to the overly strict censorship of the film industry by the Chinese government, and partly due to the onslaught of television culture. Against this difficult historical background, the 6th generation of Chinese filmmakers produced a certain amount of works from the perspectives of marginalized cultural gestures, the lives of the lower classes, and the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures, and achieved a certain level of success in major film festivals around the world. For example, "Bathing" and "Messy Hair".

The Period of Transnational Cinema

Since China's accession to the WTO in 2001, China's movie industry has entered a new stage of rapid development. The great progress of Chinese movies has brought them back to people's daily life. Last year alone, the overseas box office revenue of Chinese movies reached 1.9 billion, more than 2/3 of the domestic box office revenue (2.8 billion.) Chinese movies with classical themes, righteousness and chivalry themes, stories of heterosexual love, and martial arts sequences have won wide acclaim in the international market. Heroes, No Thieves Under Heaven, Night Banquet, and The City is Full of Gold are outstanding representatives of this period. At the same time, through the movie as a huge advertising vehicle, Chinese culture is also increasingly known overseas.