Description
This book addresses the development of film censorship in the Republic of China, and considers both the impact of film as a form of art and the institutional practices of different forms of film censorship. The rapid development of the film industry in the Republic of China came against the backdrop of difficult transition and transformation in modern China. In the mid-1920s, China’s film production was world-leading and the growth of the urban film market in the Republic of China was comparable to that of the world’s leading countries/world-leading countries. The question of censorship in the film industry – the idea of carrying forward films’ “positive” significance and limiting their “negative” significance –is an enduring topic in the film industry, the media and all social sectors and highlights the social and political ramifications of the issue. The development of film censorship closely followed the development of the Chinese film industry in the Republic of China. It focused on the moral themes of films, prohibiting martial arts film and religious films, and strongly reacted to foreign films which touched on the Republic of China’s cultural traditions and social reality. Combining expertise in political history and film studies, the author considers the origin of film censorship in the Republic of China, and the establishment of unified film censorship by the Nationalist Government. Offering insights into local practices of film censorship, including examples from Harbin, it addresses how the right to censor films was transferred to the Central Film Censorship Committee, and its evolution during the Anti-Japanese War, as well as the situation after the war.