The Sacred Spectacle: Subverting Scepticism in Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee Films

Among the group of Hong Kong filmmakers who have transitioned into the mainland Chinese film industry, Tsui Hark brings years of experience depicting traditional Chinese beliefs and religion in films such as Green Snake and Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain, thus contributing significantly to mainland China’s new fantasy-friendly market. This chapter looks closely at the director’s three Detective Dee films to demonstrate how, through collage, the films’ visual and special effects (for example, the use of qinggong in traditional wuxia literature and films) subvert their own negative narrative framing of the supernatural and religion. This is preceded by a brief discussion of the history of the representation of the supernatural and religion in Chinese cinema, followed by a review of Tsui’s related oeuvre.