Chinese Animation: Multiplicities in Motion, edited by Daisy Yan Du (lead editor), John A. Crespi, and Yiman Wang. Harvard University Asia Center, 2025. 464 pp. Harvard Contemporary China Series 21.

书评, 研究中心

By Yu Zhang Chinese Animation: Multiplicities in Motion marks a decisive moment in the institutionalization of Chinese animation studies. Emerging from the 2021 inaugural conference of the Association for Chinese Animation Studies (ACAS), the volume does more than collect essays: it declares the consolidation of a field. Published by Harvard University Asia Center, it signals that … Continue reading Chinese Animation: Multiplicities in Motion, edited by Daisy Yan Du (lead editor), John A. Crespi, and Yiman Wang. Harvard University Asia Center, 2025. 464 pp. Harvard Contemporary China Series 21. →

Anime’s Knowledge Cultures: Geek, Otaku, Zhai, by Jinying Li. University of Minnesota Press, 2024. 344 pp.

书评, 研究中心

By Cassandra Guan In Anime’s Knowledge Cultures, Jinying Li makes a compelling intervention into the fields of anime studies, digital media studies, and East Asian cultural studies. The book explores the rise of a transnational “knowledge class,” whose ethos appears in the more or less interchangeable figures of the geek, the otaku, and the zhai, through the … Continue reading Anime’s Knowledge Cultures: Geek, Otaku, Zhai, by Jinying Li. University of Minnesota Press, 2024. 344 pp. →

Reexamining the Independence of Independent Animation in China: Literature Review and Knowledge Gap from a Production Perspective

国际华语动画研究协会, 长篇论文, 研究中心

By Wang Yang and Guo Baoyi Over the past decade (2011-2024), the term “independent animation” 独立动画 has been widely applied in animation production, academic research, media reports, and festivals/exhibitions in China. However, due to an overlapped context of aesthetic and production perspectives, the definition(s) of “independence” 独立 towards independent animation is(are) still unclear and polysemous, … Continue reading Reexamining the Independence of Independent Animation in China: Literature Review and Knowledge Gap from a Production Perspective →

The Representation and Development of Fan Culture in Chinese Animation

长篇论文, 研究中心

By Mengxue Wei When discussing 21st-century Chinese animation, it is impossible to overlook the animated film Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015). The film’s journey was nothing short of legendary, grossing a total of 956 million RMB at the box office and convincingly proving the commercial viability of Chinese animation. Before the release of Monkey King: Hero Is … Continue reading The Representation and Development of Fan Culture in Chinese Animation →

Chinese Animated Film and Ideology, 1940s-1970s Fighting Puppets, by Olga Bobrowska. CRC Press, 2023. 184pp. Chinese Animated Film and Ideology: Tradition, Innovation and Interculturality, by Olga Bobrowska. CRC Press, 2024. 179pp.

书评, 研究中心

By Tze-yue G. Hu Both books are authored by Olga Bobrowska, a Polish animated film scholar, professor and festival director. Published consecutively in 2023 and 2024, the publications reflect her passion and interest in animation studies and how we may bring perspectives of “cultural studies, political science and sociology” into a somewhat marginal “niche” subdivision … Continue reading Chinese Animated Film and Ideology, 1940s-1970s Fighting Puppets, by Olga Bobrowska. CRC Press, 2023. 184pp. Chinese Animated Film and Ideology: Tradition, Innovation and Interculturality, by Olga Bobrowska. CRC Press, 2024. 179pp. →

Animated Slideshows and Creative Ecologies in Socialist China

国际华语动画研究协会, 长篇论文, 研究中心

By Jie Li Thanks to Daisy Yan Du’s invitation to lecture for the Association for Chinese Animation Studies Distinguished Lecture Series, I had the opportunity to extend an underdeveloped topic in my recent book Cinematic Guerrillas: Propaganda, Projectionists, and Audiences in Socialist China (Columbia University Press, 2023). The cover image (figure 1) is a 1966 … Continue reading Animated Slideshows and Creative Ecologies in Socialist China →

Frame after Frame, by Winnie Fu. Hong Kong Film Archive, 2006.

书评, 研究中心

By Isabel Galwey The subject of Hong Kong animation has increasingly attracted scholarly attention. Mainstays of Hong Kong animation like McDull have been researched and analyzed in depth; recent Hong Kong-produced feature animations including Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape (2019) and no.7 Cherry Lane (2019) have received international acclaim; and this year’s Maureen Furniss … Continue reading Frame after Frame, by Winnie Fu. Hong Kong Film Archive, 2006. →

Toward a Locational Theory of Chinese Animation

长篇论文, 研究中心

By Daisy Yan Du I wrote this short article in response to Prof. Karen Redrobe’s essay “Failed Animation, Limited Theory: Feminist Reflections in a Transnational Context,” published on the ACAS website on March 14, 2024. Her essay was based on an invited lecture she delivered in February 2024 for the ACAS Distinguished Lecture Series at … Continue reading Toward a Locational Theory of Chinese Animation →

Goral Flying: The First CGI Ink-painting Animated Feature Film in China

国际华语动画研究协会, 研究中心, 短文

By Chen Hailu; translated by Yixing Li The Shanghai Animation Film Studio only made four analog ink-painting animated films, including Little Tadpoles Look for Mama (1960), The Herd Boy’s Flute (1964), The Deer Bell (1982), and Feelings of Mountain and River (1988). Since 1988, the studio did not produce any ink-painting animated films because the … Continue reading Goral Flying: The First CGI Ink-painting Animated Feature Film in China →

Anime’s Knowledge Cultures: From Astro Boy to China’s Zhai Generation

研究中心, 短文

By Jinying Li In the first two decades of the 21st century, we witnessed a widespread cultural movement of geekdom that went global and mainstream simultaneously. While American media were announcing “it’s hip to be square” and “geek is chic,” their East Asian counterparts were embracing otaku and zhai as trendy labels to identify a … Continue reading Anime’s Knowledge Cultures: From Astro Boy to China’s Zhai Generation →