Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: A Reaction
As a culture writer, a Chinese person, and a comics nerd, I’ve had a deep interest in the character of Shang-Chi, and the way he has been used over the last half century. I’ve written about him in the build up to Marvel’s first Asian led movie, but now that I have seen the film, and had a chance to really digest it, I’ve got a lot to discuss.
Posted in Commentary and tagged china, Chinese, cinema, comics, culture, film, Ghost Month, kungfu, Mandarin, Marvel, MCU, reaction, Shang-chi, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, wushu, Wuxia
Chinese Monsters III: Gorgeous Ghouls and Saucy Spooks
And here is the finale of my mini article series on Chinese ghosts, with links at the end to more devilishly delicious reading on featured beings, if you wish!
Posted in Culture and tagged china, Chinese, culture, demons, Ghost Month, ghosts, Halloween, monsters, supernatural, Zhong Yuan
Hei Bai Wuchang: Soul Hunters From the Netherworld
During this Ghost Month, I want to look at a pair of gods who have continued to capture the Chinese imagination through the centuries, 黑无常 (“Hei Wuchang”) and 白无常 (“Bai Wuchang”), “Wuchang” being the Daoist term for god of the underworld.
Posted in Culture and tagged china, Chinese, culture, festival, Ghost Month, god, underworld, Wu Chang
Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal: the Adolescence of Contemporary Chinese Fantasy Cinema
The Chinese Lunar calendar doesn’t always match up with ours, and our festivals hardly ever overlap. Whilst the West gets all its gruesome ghosts and ghouls taking centre stage at the end of October, the biggest festival of the dead in China takes place half way through the seventh lunar month. This friday saw the end of Zhong Yuan (or Ghost Month http://snowpavilion.co.uk/zhong-yuan-ghost-month/), and to celebrate, here’s a review of 2015’s big fantasy monster movie, released internationally (but not in the UK yet) in August.
Posted in Commentary and tagged Attack on Titan, Bingbing Li, china, Chinese, cinema, culture, demon, demon slayer, DevilMan, fantasy, film, Frozen, Ghost Month, horror, Kun Chen, Labyrinth, Lord of the Rings, monster, Peter Pau, Shaw Brothers, Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal, Tsui Hark, Wuxia, Zhang Ji Zhong, Zhong Kui, Zhong Yuan
Zhongyuan: Ghost Month
When I talk about Ghost Month, what comes up in your mind? Are you now thinking of Dias de Muertos? You’ve got the right idea. This is the Chinese version. There are three traditional festivals of the dead on the Chinese annual calendar, known in Daoist terms, as 上元 Shangyuan, 中元 Zhongyuan and 下元 Xiayuan. Shangyuan, or Qing Ming, the Chinese Remembrance Day, takes place on the 4th lunar month (see my other article). Zhongyuan, popularly known as 鬼节 (“Guijie”) or 鬼月 (“Guiyue”) Ghost Month, takes place on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.
Posted in Culture and tagged china, Chinese, culture, customs, festival, Ghost Month, rituals, tradition, Zhong Yuan
Chinese Zombies: Why Do The Jiangshi Look Like Qing Officials?
Have you ever seen a Chinese horror film with zombies in it? I should like to clarify that by Chinese zombies I mean those stiff, lugubrious bluish green things that hop on two legs, with arms stretched straight out in front that so often get mixed up with Chinese vampires in the West. Have you ever wondered why these zombies tend mostly to be dressed in Qing official uniforms?
Posted in Culture and tagged corpse trainer, festival of the dead, Ghost Month, ghoul, horror, jiangshi, monsters, the undead, Zhong Yuan, zombies