ALL3351: Martial Arts in Chinese Literature and Film

Investigation of the martial arts motif in Chinese literature and its cinematic descendants. Class materials include ancient stories about sage kings, assassin-retainers, lady knights-errant; recent blockbusters such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Hero," and "Kung Fu Hustle;" the careers and stardoms of Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and Jackie chan; and American animated films featuring martial arts themes, such as "Mulan" and the "Kung Fu Panda" series. While reflecting cultural transformations across history, these examples manifest a consistent poetics of emptiness, due to the genre's thematic preoccupation with resistance and transcendence, as well as its roots in Confucian-Daoist-Buddhist philosophies. In these regards, the martial arts genre, other than being a pop culture phenomenon, offers a meaningful gateway toward rediscovering the Chinese tradition's cosmopolitan potentials.