Spiritual Wonderings: A Study of Phantasmagoria in Early Chinese Cinema

Abstract

Abstract Phantasmagoria (幻景 huanjing) is a term commonly seen in historical materials on early Chinese cinema. In this thesis, “Phantasmagoria” is taken as the localization of Western cinema tricks in early China. According to sources, “phantasmagoria” is valuable and rich in content, although it has no clear definition. This thesis seeks to define “phantasmagoria” and through a comparison of Chinese and Western cinema investigate which Western cinema tricks were appropriated and eventually labelled phantasmagoria. This article takes phantasmagoria to be a Chinese term, the meaning and application of which carry the traditional cultural ideas behind the localization of cinema tricks.