Women Through the Lens - Gender and Nation in a Century of Chinese Cinema

Tracing the history of Chinese cinema through the last hundred years from the perspective of transnational feminism, Shuqin Cui reveals how women have been granted a "privileged visibility" on screen while being denied discursive positions as subjects. In addition, her careful attention to the visual language system of cinema shows how "woman" has served as the site for the narration of nation in the context of China's changing social and political climate.

Placing gender and nation in a historical framework, the book first shows how early productions had their roots in shadow plays, a popular form of public entertainment. These films were soon supplanted by cinematic narratives meant to further the causes of social reform and strident nationalism. As Leftist filmmaking turned to the female image to signify a motherland suffering foreign invasions as well as domestic afflictions, gender and nation became inextricably intertwined in the cinematic representation of China.