Early Chinese Film Adaptations Of Western Literature (1913-1931)

This doctoral dissertation studies early Chinese film (1913-1931) adaptations of western literature, and discusses and analyzes the intertextuality and influences between Chinese movies and the translation and public acceptance of foreign literature since late Qing Dynasy and early period of Republic of China. By such exploration, this paper denies the traditional assertion that the early Chinese films were nothing but arts of urban petty bourgeois, normally viewed as feudal, vulgar and under-developed, and argues instead that the early Chinese movies were a modern art for the public, which blended exotic cultures with Chinese indigenous cultures.The'foreign literary works'in the dissertation refer to the foreign novels which were translated into Chinese at the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century. As a source of literature, they exerted positive influences over the creation of early Chinese movies. The early Chinese films as discussed in the dissertation mainly refer to China's silent films created between 1913 and 1931. Asia Film and Theater Company pioneered in adapting the La Dame Aux Camelias of Alexandre Dumas Fils into a short documentary film. Several other exploratory films such as the'The Thief'and'Ten Sisters'were all short films based on foreign detective novels. In 1931,'Song Girl Red Peony', China's sound motion picture, was a great hit, signifying the end of the silent movie era. The period between 1913 and 1931 witnessed the ups and downs of the China's silent films, which were referred to as early Chinese films.After a careful selection and analysis of the representative authors and their works, the paper carries a theoretic generalization of the selection, methods and concepts of adaptations of foreign literary works in the period of early Chinese films. By case studying some specific adapted works and employing the cultural translation theories of Itamar Even-Zohar and AndréLefevere, the paper has attempted some theoretical analysis on the factors influencing the trans-cultural adaptation then from the 3 perspectives, i.e., audiences and motion-picture production companies, the pervasive ideology at the time of adaptation, the film poetics and aesthetics.After analyzing the trans-cultural adaptation in the above-mentioned films, the author proposes to put in suspension the traditional issue of'faithfulness'in adaptations but to understand the rewritten works as an established fact. This constitutes the author's starting point in understanding the intention of adaptation, the conditions for rewriting and the public acceptance and in analyzing the complicated factors that check and influence such adaptation of literary works. The rewriting for films shall not be simply understood as a pure language activity or art creation of crossing texts, literary genre or media. Instead, it should be viewed as a complicated social, historical and cultural phenomenon. It is preferable to address the intricate factors that lie behind the adaptation practices rather than to quarrel over the faithfulness or unfaithfulness in the code of adaptation.When addressing the significance of early literary adaptation, the author has referred to the theory of modernity and the'modernity'and'modernism'of spoken languages proposed by Miriam Hansen and Zhang Zhen. The author has reviewed and generalized the value and significance of progressiveness and modernity of anti-feudalism, the improvement of social environment, the equality between genders, the women's liberation, science, human rights, democracy etc.The dissertation argues that the early Chinese films which were rebuked as feudal and outdated by some traditional film history books were only the results of their times and of the right of speeches contained by ideology. Only when we jump out of the confining political and ideological framework can we unveil in a more practical and tolerant manner the value of modernity in early Chinese films. The value of early Chinese films shall be measured by modernity which is characterized by being scientific and progressive instead of being judged on a benchmark of revolutionary mutation to change the most fundamental perspective. Finally, the period of silent movies was regarded upon as the time when foreign literary works went through the largest ever adaptations in quantity, frequency and category. It serves as an inspiration to better understand the early Chinese movies'status of the production and creation, their international exchange with foreign cultures, their values and significance and the theories guiding the adaptation of films.