Abstract
Abstract Films such as An Orphan Rescues His Grandpa (Guer Jiuzuji, 1923), New Women (Xin Nüxing, 1935), Hibiscus Town (Furong Zhen, 1987), Nuan (Nuan, 2003), and Sister (Wode Jiejie, 2021) demonstrate that, over a century of development, Chinese cinema has crafted a distinctive and significant lineage of kuqingxi (苦情戏, tragic drama with Chinese characteristics). This lineage not only preserves but consistently maintains the kuqing (苦情, a literary and artistic style that signifies tragedy in China) narrative tradition intrinsic to Chinese storytelling, culminating in a unique national aesthetic and cultural experience. In accordance with the core essence of “school,” these family-themed works, which preserve the tradition of kuqing, have emerged as a deliberate and stable genre in Chinese Film School. The films, and their public reception, offer a reflection of China’s national character, emotional structure, and refined aesthetic preferences. It is the central theme of tenderness found within adversity, presented in these films, that conveys the values and spirit of contemporary China.
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