The Variations of Lyricism: On Cinematic Adaptations of Shen Congwen's Works in the 1950s

Abstract: In the 1950s,filmmakers in Hong Kong made two films,Cui Cui and Golden Phoenix,based on Shen Congwen's two stories Border Town and Guisheng.On the one hand,the adapters inherited the characteristics of the original works,constructing an ideal social view of "rural China" on the screen,on the other hand,both films rewrote the motif,style,as well as the ideological connotation of Shen Congwen's works.During the cross-regional dissemination,the adapters replaced Western Hunan as Northern China,showing the cultural complex of the immigrant filmmakers in Hong Kong.In order to fit the cross-media transition from literature to film,the adapters used the melodrama way to strengthen dramatic conflict and moral clash,thus making the adaptions deviate from the style of the original works furtherly.The adaptations of Shen Congwen's works reflected the multiple and complex reference of commerce,politics and culture during the cultural Cold War,and showed the strong influence of modern Chinese literature on Hong Kong culture and cinema in the mid-20th century.