[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-153889-en":3,"doc-seo-153889-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},153889,1374391974564,"Clementine","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/14000253aa45c000a9e?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1779874745381141002",8,"Research & Report","Treading on the Tiger’s Tail - Chinese Wuxia and Japanese Jidaigeki Action Films","The article examines how Chinese wuxia and Japanese jidaigeki action film traditions became entangled with state censorship during the 1930s and 1940s. It analyzes political conditions in 1930s China and wartime-to-occupation Japan and traces how filmmakers responded to restrictions through narrative and aesthetic redesign. Close readings focus on Bu Wancang’s 1931 wuxia film A Spray of Plum Blossoms and Kurosawa Akira’s 1945 jidaigeki Treading on the Tiger’s Tail, emphasizing solutions such as ostensible exactness, patriotic warriors, and swordless fights.","STUDENT PAPER 3   \nTreading on the Tiger’s Tail: Chinese Wuxia and Japanese Jidaigeki Action Films Reacting to State Censorship in the 1930s and 1940s  \nResearcher: Zerui Pan | Mentors: Dr. Geraldine Fiss & Dr. Daisuke Miyao  \nABSTRACT  \nThis article highlights the relationship between wuxia (martial heroes) and jidaigeki (period drama) action films and state censorship in the 1930s and 1940s. I first introduce readers to key East-Asian literary conventions that portray righteous warriors who incarnate their moral codes with swords. I then illustrate the political contexts in 1930s China and 1940s Japan which caused the popular film genres of wuxia and jidaigeki to become politically problematic and therefore strictly censored. I closely examine director Bu Wancang’s 1931 wuxia filmA Spray of Plum Blossoms and Kurosawa Akira’s jidaigeki 1945 film Treading on the Tiger’s Tail, investigating creative solutions each director found in order to release their respective films despite censorship pressures. There are three inventions both directors pioneered in their work, namely “ostensible exactness” in setting;“patriotic warriors” in characterization; and“swordless fights” in presenting spectacular action scenes. I argue that although these solutions failed to restore both genres back to their former popularity, Kurosawa’s film paved the way for the success of his world-class jidaigeki in the 1950s, and Bu’s wuxia led to the emergence of kung fu films in the 1960s. My critical analysis underscores the innovative creativity of Chinese wuxia and Japanese  \njidaigeki films while calling attention to the artistic and cultural legacies of these two popular cinematic genres. The comparison demonstrateshow film censorship may undermine or even destroy traditions that have a long history and deep cultural roots.  \nDetouring Censorship: Suppression, Creation, and Adaptation in Chinese Wuxia and Japanese Jidaigeki Films  \nBoth Chinese wuxia and Japanese jidaigeki are subgenres ofEast Asian action cinema that achieved peerless domestic popularity in the late 1920s and early 30s, respectively. They generated success not only by portraying righteous warriors that embodied their moral codes with swords but also by catering to the general public’s desire for justice and order in a turbulent time. However, these cinematic genres gradually lost their dominance in the domestic film industry during the 1930s. In 1931, the production of Chinese wuxia was prohibited by the Chinese nationalist government for promoting superstition and anarchy. Fearing the leftist elements in jidaigeki, the militaristic  \ngovernment in Japan also began to suppress its production in the mid-1930s, and jidaigeki films were strictly censored during the U.S. occupation period (1945-1952).  \nDirector Bu Wancang was a prolific Chinese director and screenwriter fully aware of the political hostility towards wuxia. He made substantial thematic and cinematographic changes to his wuxia filmA Spray of Plum Blossoms一剪梅(Yi Jian Mei, 1931) so that it might pass state censorship. The renowned Japanese director Kurosawa Akira also adapted a kabuki play into an unconventional “swordless”jidaigeki TheMen Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail虎の尾を踏む男達(Tora No O Wo Fumu Otokotachi, 1945) in order to release the film despite enormous censorship pressure from both the militaristic Japanese government and the U.S. Civil Information and Education Section (CIE). Both directors experimented with creative solutions to circumvent state censorship while keeping the aesthetic values intact and the political message undistorted. In this article, I demonstrate how both filmmakers place the fictional narration in areal historical background to advocate nationalism, change the conventional depiction of combatants in wuxia and jidaigeki from anti-authoritarian rebels to conforming patriots, and present swordless action scenes to circumvent contemporary censorship laws. Although none of these attempts succeeded in reinstating either","cbCaiosR4YM2zxuK","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiosR4YM2zxuK","pdf",1776627,1,9,"English","en",105,"# Abstract\n# Detouring Censorship: Suppression, Creation, and Adaptation in Chinese Wuxia and Japanese Jidaigeki Films\n# Burning of the Sword: The Wuxia Tradition and Its Decline","[{\"question\":\"How does the article connect wuxia and jidaigeki to state censorship in the 1930s and 1940s?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that political contexts in 1930s China and 1940s Japan made the genres politically problematic, leading to strict suppression and censorship. The article links these pressures to changes filmmakers made in storytelling and action depiction.\"},{\"question\":\"Which films are used for close examination, and why are they important?\",\"answer\":\"The article closely examines Bu Wancang’s 1931 wuxia film A Spray of Plum Blossoms and Kurosawa Akira’s 1945 jidaigeki Treading on the Tiger’s Tail. Each case illustrates creative strategies used to release films under censorship constraints.\"},{\"question\":\"What recurring creative solutions do the directors employ to bypass censorship?\",\"answer\":\"The article identifies three shared inventions: ostensible exactness in setting, patriotic warriors in characterization, and swordless fights in presenting action scenes. These approaches aim to preserve aesthetic values while altering political implications.\"}]","Treading on the Tiger’s Tail - Chinese Wuxia and Japanese Jidaigeki Action Films | PDF",1787883841,23,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":87,"head_meta":89,"extra_data":91,"updated_unix":28},"treading-on-the-tigers-tail-chinese-wuxia-and-japanese-jidaigeki-action-films","",{"@graph":36,"@context":86},[37,54,69],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/treading-on-the-tigers-tail-chinese-wuxia-and-japanese-jidaigeki-action-films/153889/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":63,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":64,"interactionStatistic":65},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":41,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-04","2026-08-28",true,{"@type":66,"interactionType":67,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":68},"ViewAction",{"@type":70,"mainEntity":71},"FAQPage",[72,78,82],{"name":73,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":75},"How does the article connect wuxia and jidaigeki to state censorship in the 1930s and 1940s?","Question",{"text":76,"@type":77},"It argues that political contexts in 1930s China and 1940s Japan made the genres politically problematic, leading to strict suppression and censorship. The article links these pressures to changes filmmakers made in storytelling and action depiction.","Answer",{"name":79,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":80},"Which films are used for close examination, and why are they important?",{"text":81,"@type":77},"The article closely examines Bu Wancang’s 1931 wuxia film A Spray of Plum Blossoms and Kurosawa Akira’s 1945 jidaigeki Treading on the Tiger’s Tail. Each case illustrates creative strategies used to release films under censorship constraints.",{"name":83,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":84},"What recurring creative solutions do the directors employ to bypass censorship?",{"text":85,"@type":77},"The article identifies three shared inventions: ostensible exactness in setting, patriotic warriors in characterization, and swordless fights in presenting action scenes. 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