ABSTRACT

This book examines Chinese films made and shown abroad roughly between the 1920s and the 2020s, from the beginning of the international exchange of the Chinese national film industry to the emergence of the concept of soft power.

The periodisation of Chinese cinema(s) does not necessarily match the political periods: on the one hand, the technical development of the film industry and the organisation of translation in China, and on the other hand, official relations with China and translation policies abroad impose different constraints on the circulation of Chinese films. This volume deals with the distribution and translation of films from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese diaspora. To this end, the contributors address various issues related to the circulation and distribution of Chinese films, including co- productions, agents of exchange, and modes of translation. The approach is a mixture of socio- cultural and translational methods. The data collected provides, for the first time, a quantitative overview of the circulation of Chinese films in a dozen foreign countries.

The book will greatly interest scholars and students of Chinese cinema, translation studies, and China studies.

chapter |15 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|19 pages

From Benshi to Subtitler

Translating Chinese-Language Cinema in/for Japan

chapter 2|15 pages

Transnational by Means of Hyperlocal

Sinophone Cinema in Singkawang (West Kalimantan)

chapter 3|17 pages

The Interlocking Cogs of Audiovisual Translation and the Socio-political Landscape

A Cultural Exchange between Korea and China

chapter 6|18 pages

Chinese Cinema at the Invitation of French Cinema Literati

Chinese Film Events and Festivals in France 1

chapter 8|18 pages

Patronage in Chinese Film Dissemination and Translation from 1971 to 1993

The German-Language Countries

chapter 9|19 pages

A History of Firsts

The Translation and Distribution of Chinese-Language Films in the United Kingdom

chapter 10|17 pages

Film Audiences as Context for Translation

Three Sketches of Chinese Cinema in the United States

chapter 11|20 pages

The Celluloid Road across the Pacific

Chinese Film Exhibitions in 1920s Honolulu