A small history of wenyi
Document Type
Book chapter
Source Publication
The Oxford handbook of Chinese cinemas
Publication Date
1-1-2013
First Page
225
Last Page
249
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Abstract
The concept of wenyi played a key role in the distribution and promotion of films in the period from the second decade of the twentieth century to the early 1930s. Unlike the negative connotations of triviality, self-indulgence, even puerile pursuits that the term tends to carry today, wenyi at the time promised a sophisticated, worldly experience. This chapter maps the trajectory of wenyi, clarifies its importance, including its shifting meanings driven by literary and political forces and, more crucially, places it in a fluid cultural environment of literary enlightenment and social reform. Though wenyi as a construct has followed different paths since the 1960s, around 1930 it was a robust way to classify and describe cultural products and consumption. By revising wenyi’s history during the first decade of China’s full-fledged film production, we also find some of the exchanges between film and literature in this period.
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199765607.013.0013
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2013 Oxford University Press
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Additional Information
ISBN of the source publication: 9780199765607
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Yeh, E. Y.-y. (2013). A small history of wenyi. In C. Rojas & E. C.-Y. Chow (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of Chinese cinemas (pp. 225-249). Oxford: Oxford University Press.