Failed Animation, Limited Theory: Feminist Reflections in a Transnational Context

Articles, Research Center

Download PDF By Karen Redrobe I write with some informal responses to three questions posed by Daisy Yan Du as part of her invitation to give a lecture in the Association for Chinese Animation Studies’ series: “Why did Animating Film Theory [published in 2014] not cover China or Chinese animation? A gap for future scholars? … Continue reading Failed Animation, Limited Theory: Feminist Reflections in a Transnational Context →

Is There a Chinese New Wave in Animation? An Examination of Student Animation in China

Research Center, Short Essays

By Jingyi Zhang The beginning of the millennium was important for Chinese animation. It not only began the rejuvenation of the Chinese animation industry, which embodied “the promise of the modernization of Chinese visual culture,”[i] but also saw the creation of a surprising range of works that can be categorized as independent animation. Additionally, it … Continue reading Is There a Chinese New Wave in Animation? An Examination of Student Animation in China →

Taiwan Animation: From Subcontractor to Creator

Research Center, Short Essays

By Qiu Liwei; translated by Yixing Li This essay reviews the evolution of Taiwan animation, from the golden age of overseas subcontracting in the 1980s, to the creation of original content in the early 21st century, and the market orientation in the current age. The focus of this discussion is the interdependence and balance between … Continue reading Taiwan Animation: From Subcontractor to Creator →

Animating Space: Towards a Poetics of Chinese Animation, Ph.D. dissertation, by Panpan Yang, University of Chicago, USA, August 2020. 286 pp.

Dissertation Reviews, Research Center

By Yiyang Hou Panpan Yang’s PhD dissertation, Animating Space: Towards a Poetics of Chinese Animation, fosters a dialogue between cinema studies and the study of visual art. In this study, Yang offers an interdisciplinary and critically-engaged examination of the poetics of Chinese animation from the 1920s to the present. Taking the history of Chinese animation … Continue reading Animating Space: Towards a Poetics of Chinese Animation, Ph.D. dissertation, by Panpan Yang, University of Chicago, USA, August 2020. 286 pp. →

Animation, the Obsolescence of the Image, and the Disappearance of Hong Kong Architecture

Research Center, Short Essays

By Yomi Braester In this essay I hope to provoke scholars of animation into considering the role of time, both cinematic time and historical time. Like other genres of the moving image, animation often has at its core the disappearance of the image — an anticipated, even planned obsolescence. I examine here works exhibited as … Continue reading Animation, the Obsolescence of the Image, and the Disappearance of Hong Kong Architecture →

The History of Chinese Animation (volume 2), edited by Sun Lijun. Routledge, 2022. 220pp.

Book Reviews, Research Center

By Jifeng Huang The History of Chinese Animation, edited by Sun Lijun, makes a considerable contribution to English language scholars who are interested in Chinese animation. In the first volume of this book, Chinese animation in the embryo stage (before 1930), the early stage (1931–1948), and the socialist era (1949–1977) are linearly instructed. The second … Continue reading The History of Chinese Animation (volume 2), edited by Sun Lijun. Routledge, 2022. 220pp. →

The Evolution of Early Chinese Animation Teaching Materials

Research Center, Short Essays

By Yang Zeyu; translated by Jessica Morris During the early stages of Chinese animation, teaching materials were developed according to the needs of those working in the field. With ideas derived from filmmaking practices, these teaching materials standardized operations and the direction of progress in animation, as well as reflected the diverse theories held by … Continue reading The Evolution of Early Chinese Animation Teaching Materials →

The New Generation in Chinese Animation, by Shaopeng Chen. Bloomsbury Academic, 2021. 304 pp.

Book Reviews, Research Center

By Hui YAN Chen Shaopeng’s recent publication The New Generation in Chinese Animation is based on his PhD dissertation, which Isabel Galway kindly reviewed in 2018. His book follows the general layout of the dissertation. The first chapter, the introduction, provides the historical background of NGCCA, the acronym for “New Generation of Chinese Cinematic Animation” … Continue reading The New Generation in Chinese Animation, by Shaopeng Chen. Bloomsbury Academic, 2021. 304 pp. →

The History of Chinese Animation (volume 1), edited by Sun Lijun. Routledge, 2022. 326pp.

Book Reviews, Research Center

By Thomas William Whyke and Joaquin Lopez-Mugica  Sun Lijun’s edited book The History of Chinese Animation, volume I, is a readable and analytical lengthy study of the artistry, commercial and technical aspects of Chinese animation. It constitutes one of the standout contributions to the English language scholarly field on the subject matter. The long-standing development of … Continue reading The History of Chinese Animation (volume 1), edited by Sun Lijun. Routledge, 2022. 326pp. →

What is Lost Moving from “Shanzhai” to Global: On the Video Game Genshin Impact (2020)

Research Center, Short Essays

By Yasheng She What does it take to transcend a national border to be globally recognized, and what are the responsibilities of being on the global stage? I will attempt to answer these two questions in my analysis of three incidents surrounding the open-world roleplaying game Genshin Impact (2020). While video game is distinct from … Continue reading What is Lost Moving from “Shanzhai” to Global: On the Video Game Genshin Impact (2020) →