China's Changing Ecocinema

Chinese ecocinema is a green discipline - both for the environmental issues it visualizes and the relatively short history it has. This dual characteristic presents both opportunities and challenges for the young, activist discipline. While it holds tremendous potential, it also grapples with its nascent stage. Despite attracting growing attention from audiences, scholars, and activists and witnessing an increase in creative and academic works, as well as a series of debates and actions in recent years, it struggles to engage with "mainstream" discussions or establish itself as a mainstream discipline. Additionally, it strives to engage in dialogue with global ecocinema. As a fledgling and dynamic field of artistic creation and critical research, Chinese ecocinema awaits scrutiny, reflection, and envisioning.

This chapter provides an overview and critical assessment of the state of the discipline by first investigating the historiography of Chinese ecocinema - scholarly efforts to construct an orthodox historical narrative of the discipline. Second, it explores the main debates within and across the discipline. Third, it examines the waves of ecocriticism that have shaped Chinese ecocinema and the social, political, and cultural conditions under which the discipline has developed. Finally, it offers a view of where the discipline is heading by highlighting some emerging trends. By doing so, it aims to advocate for more nuanced studies of Chinese ecocinema that engage more vigorously with global and planetary issues in general, and China's search for modernity in particular, thereby having a greater impact on reality, from policymaking to everyday life.