With the increasing popularity of the Chinese film industry, a large amount of foreign captial has been invested in the productions. Internationalization on this scale at both the production and consumption levels has raised the question of what constitutes "Chinese cinema". In this book the authors discuss the central topic of a national cinema and analyze the emergence of "transnational cinema" in Chinese film studies. Applying different methodologies and approaches, they explore the interrelations of national cinematic style, global capitalism, the evolution of the modern nation-state, cultural politics, censorship and gender identity. Among the film artists discussed are Cai Chusheng, Xie Jin, Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Ang Lee and Jackie Chan. The volume opens with essays tracing the early decades of the 20th century, through to the Mao era and the age of transnational capitalism. Other essays consider what have been the peripheral and marginalized traditions in relation to mainstream Chinese cinema.