‘Poet on a Business Trip’: An offbeat odyssey through Xinjiang with poetry
April is National Poetry Month, and we’re celebrating with a series of articles that looks at Chinese poetry, both past…
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The life and death of Chinese poetry’s mystical martyr
April is National Poetry Month, and we’re celebrating with a series of articles that looks at Chinese poetry,…
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The brief and scandalous film career of Madame Mao
Before she became the most powerful woman in China and imposed her vision of art and culture…
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‘City on Fire’: Behind the story and influence of Ringo Lam’s classic
City of Fire, the film that inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, is a masterclass in the Hong Kong crime…
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The tragic end of Shi Hui, Maoist China’s most promising actor-director
Persecuted and misunderstood, Shi Hui was one of many individuals swept up and destroyed by the Anti-Rightist…
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Film Friday: Taiwan’s gay-themed ‘Dear Ex’ touches on acceptance, love, and humanity
A pleasant surprise of a movie that’s arrived at the appropriate time.
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The People’s Republic of Desire, reviewed
A dark and provocative glimpse at China’s celebrity streaming culture
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5 classic Chinese New Year movies
Center image: All’s Well, End’s Well; clockwise from upper left: Rumble in the Bronx, The Chinese Feast,…
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The Unfinished Comedy: How a brave satire in Maoist China destroyed its creator’s career
In the 1957 satirical film The Unfinished Comedy, made during Mao Zedong’s Hundred Flowers Campaign, one…
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Hanshan: Investigating the life of Chinese literature’s most mysterious poet
The poet Hanshan 寒山, a name meaning “Cold Mountain,” ranks as one of the most eccentric and mysterious figures…
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Film Friday: ‘The Great Buddha+,’ Taiwan’s award-winning dark comedy, is worth the hype
Director Huang Hsin-yao’s satirical, sometimes bleak dark comedy focuses on class, political corruption, and religion in Taiwan.
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5 must-see Chinese movies of 2018
Five noteworthy Chinese movies from 2018, including from big-name directors Zhang Yimou, Jia Zhangke, and Jiang Wen.
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Zhang Shichuan and Zheng Zhengqiu: The unlikely duo who pioneered Chinese cinema
History now remembers Zhang Shichuan, a businessman, and Zheng Zhengqiu, an intellectual, as two of the key…
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Hopping Vampires and Beautiful Ghosts: A Brief History of Chinese Horror, Pt. 2
From killer butterflies and hopping zombies (in a movie nominated for Best Film at the Hong Kong…
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Hopping Vampires and Beautiful Ghosts: A Brief History of Chinese Horror, Pt. 1
Chinese horror films might not be internationally renowned — and indeed, they are frowned upon in today’s…
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