This is a collection of translations of Chinese film theory. By using translations rather than summaries, "Chinese Film Theory" provides readers with an introduction to the issues current in China's film circles. It includes eighteen chapters written by a broad range of writers - from established scholars to young people at the beginning of their involvement in film in China. The collection indicates a trend away from the study of external qualities of film and toward a study of the film itself. The volume has been organized so that major issues are interrelated; thus, the book comprises an ongoing debate of film theory issues, progressing from earlier to most recent issues, following the debate concerning the relationship of film to literary arts, and looking at the debate over the relationship of film to culture. The book concludes that for the time being, debate has virtually ended because of the political situation in China.