China, Cinema: ‘Shaolin’ and ‘Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress’

So, did I see a Chinese film? I'm not quite sure. I suppose ‘country of origin’ all depends on your definition. It may be true of any film these days. Films are expensive to make and a producer seeks the widest possible audience. International collaboration blurs borders and smooths access to the global market. It also dilutes the national origin of a lot of movies I considered for this project, not just for China  but for any country with a smallish media market. You must doubt whether what you've seen presents an authentic national vision.

With China it may be particularly true. There are Chinese language film centers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore and then, of course, in China itself. A filmmaker can blend markets and talents producing something whose origin is far from clear. I had lots of choices but little idea what to choose.

I ended up with a romantic biography ‘Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress’ and a kung fu movie, ‘Shaolin’.

‘Shaolin’ was an easy choice. After a month in China we had seen lots and lots of kung fu movies - even if we could not understand them. Many of the hotels we stayed at only had one channel of English language TV - CCTV. Lots of state media news coverage on that channel. After a while you have had enough and even a Chinese language movie is better. We watched quite a few and picked up on some themes. Oppressers (warlords, Japanese, European imperialists) exploit hard-pressed Chinese common folk who eventually rise up, lead by an unassuming guy who just gets fed up and unleashes his kick-ass martial arts moves. China wins.

I chose ‘Shaolin’ because I wanted to see one I could understand. Turns out even without the subtitles I was not missing much. ‘Shaolin’ was pretty much true to form. Competing warlords battle until one loses all that matters (his family) and turns to the Shaolin monks for solace and refuge. His rival teams with the imperialists to enslave the peasants in the service of western greed. Finally, our hero reaches the limit, organizes the monks and villagers and strikes back.

I was reminded of the cowboy westerns of my youth. The same movie made over and over reinforcing themes that strike a chord with people’s self image. The good guys win. In the end everything will turn out right.

‘Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress’ was completely different. Netflix had it listed as a romantic comedy and though it was a romance, I must have missed the comedy. As an example of Chinese romantic comedy, I'm only sure of one of those three.

It was the work of an author-director born and raised in China. Like Jung Chang (see Wild Swans post) he lived the Cultural Revolution, then won a scholarship abroad (France) and never went home. The film is the largely autobiographical account of his time of ‘reeducation’ in the countryside. As such, it is an interesting portrait of those times and the people of that place. For many Chinese I met, that era is the central event of their lives. The upheaval, experienced directly, or by immediate members of their family, changed everything. Like the protagonist in ‘Balzac’ they struggle to make sense of it. Despite the hardship, it is what got them to where they are today. It does not seem like they perceive it as all bad.

The long view seems to be a very common perspective. ‘Balzac’ captures it. China seems to be living it.

China, Novel: Change by Mo Yan

I think I chose the right author, but I am not sure I chose the right book. Mo Yan is the pen name of, Guan Moye, one of China's most prolific and celebrated modern authors. The pen name is intended to be ironic.  It means ‘don't speak’ and he says it is a personal reminder that sometimes he says too much. The winner of numerous prizes and an author who sometimes runs afoul of the regime, he seemed like the perfect choice. But which book? He has written dozens.

I chose ‘Change’. Change is the Chinese contribution to a series of novels around the theme: ‘What was Communism?’ There is a Russian entry, a Cuban entry and of course this Chinese entry, among others. It sounded perfect, especially as Mo Yan has experienced nearly the entirety of the communist era in China. 

Change is the (semi autobiographical?) reminiscences of a country boy soldier with aspirations of becoming something bigger in life.

As such it tells his story and paints a picture of the dramatic changes he and China experience over the last 50 years. In that respect it was illuminating and useful. You get a picture of the nature of rural life - a life which seems quite remote from most of what I saw on my visit. We were mostly in the cities and even when we ventured out (to Yangshuo) I think we were only on the fringe of rural life. And even then, of rural life in 2011. That is a long way from what Mo Yan describes - the countryside of his youth.

Yangshuo country market

My disappointment with the book stems from my expectations: ‘What was Communism?’ Change is a series of snapshots of the China(s) Mo Yan experiences in his life thus far.  Change is an appropriate description for them, but they have little to do with communism.  When it comes to politics, in this piece it seems Mo Yan has followed his own advice (don't speak).  If Communism is a player in his drama, it is one that stays forever in the background and does not speak. I was hoping for something a little more overt.

China, Academic: Hard Road to Democracy, Roskin

Tian' an Men Square security

Hard Road to Democracy is Roskin's take on a sub topic of comparative politics, among a subset of countries. Its focus is somewhat narrow but he gets the bull's-eye for me in terms of my interest in the politics of China.

The title pretty much gives away his focus: how does a country become democratic? Well, obviously, there are many countries that have accomplished the transition - most of them in Europe and North America. Their transition is interesting, but in many respects idiosyncratic and hence not all that meaningful in understanding the process. They were the easy cases. In this book Roskin focuses on more difficult cases, democratization in the ‘Developing World’. He looks at Iran, South Africa, Brazil and China.

Hong Kong protest

In doing so, he examines the question I think is most interesting when considering the future of China. The simple question: “Is Hong Kong the future of China or China, the future of Hong Kong?” The complex question is whether economic liberalization will fuel demand for political liberalization. Does capitalism beget democracy? Roskin examines the record and then applies that to current Chinese trends.

His conclusion? The outcome is still up in the air. There are dramatic tensions at play. The Chinese leadership’s development of Shanghai as a financial center undermines Hong Kong's economic power. Can a weaker Hong Kong retain its liberty? There are signs it may not. At the same time, rising middle-class prosperity has been the precursor of pressure to democratize elsewhere (South Korea, Taiwan) and China is experiencing unprecedented growth in that class. How will it resolve? Stay tuned.