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

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 aesthetic imagination in the past 50-odd years … 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) →

The Propagandist’s Palette: The Art of Manhua Magazine (1950-1960)

Articles, Research Center

Download PDF By Kelly Reiling In June of 1950, the magazine Manhua yuekan 漫画月刊 published its first issue in Shanghai. During the magazine’s lifespan, which lasted until 1960, Manhua yuekan and its cartoonists underwent periods of artistic suppression and expression, enacted by the newly-established Chinese government through a series of political campaigns. The consequences of … Continue reading The Propagandist’s Palette: The Art of Manhua Magazine (1950-1960) →

The Artisanal Sensorial, or Lei Lei’s Geometrical Regime of Animated Images

Articles, Research Center

Download PDF By Dong Yang The aura of contemporary art is a free association. –Nicolas Bourriaud, Relational Aesthetics In one of his later essays “Spinoza and the Three ‘Ethics,’” composed around 1990 and collected in the book Essays Critical and Clinical, Gilles Deleuze offers a mature and profound reading of Spinoza’s Ethics as a composite … Continue reading The Artisanal Sensorial, or Lei Lei’s Geometrical Regime of Animated Images →

A Brief History of Ink-painting Animation in Hong Kong

Research Center, Short Essays

By Ann Y. Y. Leung The world-renowned style of Chinese ink-painting animation emerged in 1960 with the release of Little Tadpoles Look for Mama, produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. In terms of art style, this animation studio released a similar animated short film, The Herd Boy’s Flute in 1963, and then Deer Bell … Continue reading A Brief History of Ink-painting Animation in Hong Kong →

The Father on the Moon (Yueqiu shang de fuqin), by Hu Xiaojiang. Guangzhou: Huacheng, 2021.

Book Reviews, Research Center

By Sean Macdonald    “Humanity is far from understanding itself. The turning point of civilization’s recklessly unrestrained exploration of the abyss of consciousness has been slow to arrive. Actually, we already know that Hell is our ideal way home (31).”[i]                                                              Hu Xiaojiang, The Father on the Moon Before I read this book, I was … Continue reading The Father on the Moon (Yueqiu shang de fuqin), by Hu Xiaojiang. Guangzhou: Huacheng, 2021. →

New Frontier of Digital Media and Entertainment: Exploring Entrepreneurship in the Chinese Digital Game Industry, Ph.D. Dissertation, by Gejun Huang, University of Texas at Austin, 2020. 179 pp.

Dissertation Reviews, Research Center

By Daniel Dooghan Gejun Huang’s dissertation seeks to understand how gaming entrepreneurship works in China. Rather than adopting a top-down approach through the analysis of government policy, Huang goes to the entrepreneurs themselves to learn how—and if—government and industry supports function as intended. The dissertation employs a dataset of 33 interviews with gaming entrepreneurs in … Continue reading New Frontier of Digital Media and Entertainment: Exploring Entrepreneurship in the Chinese Digital Game Industry, Ph.D. Dissertation, by Gejun Huang, University of Texas at Austin, 2020. 179 pp. →

Chinese Animation and Socialism: From Animators’ Perspectives, edited by Daisy Yan Du. Brill, 2022. 287 pp.

Book Reviews, Research Center

By Jason Cody Douglass Armed with a Type-38 rifle to protect herself from bandits, 16-year-old camerawoman Duan Xiaoxuan ventured into the countryside outside of Changchun with half a dozen fellow animators to complete research and preproduction for Thank You, Kitty (1950). Duan had already worked at the Northeast Film Studio for two years at that … Continue reading Chinese Animation and Socialism: From Animators’ Perspectives, edited by Daisy Yan Du. Brill, 2022. 287 pp. →