Stephen Teo
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098152
- eISBN:
- 9789882207110
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098152.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
A Touch of Zen is one of the first Chinese-language films to gain recognition in an international film festival (the Grand Prix in the 1975 Cannes Film Festival), creating the generic mould for the ...
More
A Touch of Zen is one of the first Chinese-language films to gain recognition in an international film festival (the Grand Prix in the 1975 Cannes Film Festival), creating the generic mould for the crossover success of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon in 2000. The film has achieved a cult status over the years but little has been written about it. This first book-length study of the classic martial arts film therefore redresses its critical neglect, and explores its multi-leveled dimensions and mysteries. One of the central features of the film is the enigmatic knight-lady whose quest for revenge leads her to cross paths with a poor scholar whose interest in military strategy seals their alliance. The author discusses the psychological manifestations and implications of this relationship and concludes that the film's continuing relevance lies in its portrait of sexuality and the feminist desires of the heroine. He also analyzes the film's form as an action piece and the director's preoccupation with Zen as a creative inspiration and as a subject in its own right. As such, he argues that the film is a highly unconventional and idiosyncratic work which attempts to transcend its own genre and reach the heights of universal transcendence. He grounds his study in both Western and Chinese literary sources, providing a broad and comprehensive treatise based on the film's narrative concepts and symbols.Less
A Touch of Zen is one of the first Chinese-language films to gain recognition in an international film festival (the Grand Prix in the 1975 Cannes Film Festival), creating the generic mould for the crossover success of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon in 2000. The film has achieved a cult status over the years but little has been written about it. This first book-length study of the classic martial arts film therefore redresses its critical neglect, and explores its multi-leveled dimensions and mysteries. One of the central features of the film is the enigmatic knight-lady whose quest for revenge leads her to cross paths with a poor scholar whose interest in military strategy seals their alliance. The author discusses the psychological manifestations and implications of this relationship and concludes that the film's continuing relevance lies in its portrait of sexuality and the feminist desires of the heroine. He also analyzes the film's form as an action piece and the director's preoccupation with Zen as a creative inspiration and as a subject in its own right. As such, he argues that the film is a highly unconventional and idiosyncratic work which attempts to transcend its own genre and reach the heights of universal transcendence. He grounds his study in both Western and Chinese literary sources, providing a broad and comprehensive treatise based on the film's narrative concepts and symbols.
Stephen Teo
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098152
- eISBN:
- 9789882207110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098152.003.0007
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter wraps up the discussion with several conclusions on the film's lasting value and influences. The book begins by suggesting that A Touch of Zen is a subversive work because of its ...
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This chapter wraps up the discussion with several conclusions on the film's lasting value and influences. The book begins by suggesting that A Touch of Zen is a subversive work because of its feminist sensibility and sexual ambiguity. But by delivering a fantastic-marvelous conclusion that exposes one to the supernatural, the film appears to override the earthly human concerns of sexual roles and directs one to transcend them. One of the enduring conceits of the film is that Zen is basically identified as a feminine inspiration, symbolized in the form of the xia nü. The reality principle, which is that of human suffering and death, leads one to the Buddhist theme of redemption and transcendence. The Zen ending is a truly epic ending which reaches for that elusive object of universality, making the end section a highly subversive sequence.Less
This chapter wraps up the discussion with several conclusions on the film's lasting value and influences. The book begins by suggesting that A Touch of Zen is a subversive work because of its feminist sensibility and sexual ambiguity. But by delivering a fantastic-marvelous conclusion that exposes one to the supernatural, the film appears to override the earthly human concerns of sexual roles and directs one to transcend them. One of the enduring conceits of the film is that Zen is basically identified as a feminine inspiration, symbolized in the form of the xia nü. The reality principle, which is that of human suffering and death, leads one to the Buddhist theme of redemption and transcendence. The Zen ending is a truly epic ending which reaches for that elusive object of universality, making the end section a highly subversive sequence.
Stephen Teo
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098152
- eISBN:
- 9789882207110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098152.003.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
A Touch of Zen is one of the essential films of the Chinese-language cinema. It achieved a “double first”: it was the first Chinese-language film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival, in 1975, ...
More
A Touch of Zen is one of the essential films of the Chinese-language cinema. It achieved a “double first”: it was the first Chinese-language film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival, in 1975, and the first wuxia (martial chivalry) film to do so at an international film festival. In this detailed and concentrated study, this book shows why it considers A Touch of Zento be an essential film, and why it is Hu's masterpiece and how it is quite unlike other wuxia films that came before or after. It is also historically important in the modern development of the Hong Kong cinema as well as the Taiwan cinema. The book argues that its key significance is its subversive portrait of the female hero, and a concomitant sexual ambiguity infecting both the male and female protagonists.Less
A Touch of Zen is one of the essential films of the Chinese-language cinema. It achieved a “double first”: it was the first Chinese-language film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival, in 1975, and the first wuxia (martial chivalry) film to do so at an international film festival. In this detailed and concentrated study, this book shows why it considers A Touch of Zento be an essential film, and why it is Hu's masterpiece and how it is quite unlike other wuxia films that came before or after. It is also historically important in the modern development of the Hong Kong cinema as well as the Taiwan cinema. The book argues that its key significance is its subversive portrait of the female hero, and a concomitant sexual ambiguity infecting both the male and female protagonists.
Stephen Teo
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098152
- eISBN:
- 9789882207110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098152.003.0003
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter dwells on the matter of ghosts and the psychological illusions preying on the mind of the male hero as the narrative progresses into the realm of the ghost story. A Touch of Zen begins ...
More
This chapter dwells on the matter of ghosts and the psychological illusions preying on the mind of the male hero as the narrative progresses into the realm of the ghost story. A Touch of Zen begins with the proposition that the Chinese fort where the bulk of the story takes place is a haunted place and that the xia nü may be a ghost. This afforded Hu the means to delve into questions of superstition and belief in the supernatural. While A Touch of Zen is generally recognized as a wuxia film, Hu inducts a ghost story into the first hour of the film, the purpose of which is to prepare for the metaphysical exploration of the genre and the delivery of the “touch of Zen” towards the end.Less
This chapter dwells on the matter of ghosts and the psychological illusions preying on the mind of the male hero as the narrative progresses into the realm of the ghost story. A Touch of Zen begins with the proposition that the Chinese fort where the bulk of the story takes place is a haunted place and that the xia nü may be a ghost. This afforded Hu the means to delve into questions of superstition and belief in the supernatural. While A Touch of Zen is generally recognized as a wuxia film, Hu inducts a ghost story into the first hour of the film, the purpose of which is to prepare for the metaphysical exploration of the genre and the delivery of the “touch of Zen” towards the end.
