Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

Chinese Reception of Magic Lantern During the Late Qing Dynasty: Study of the Name Change from Huandeng to Yingxi

Jiayin YuGoldsmiths, University of London*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper illustrates the changing of Magic Lantern’s Chinese name after its landing in China. Magic Lantern, as an ancient precursor of the modern cinema, experienced a long-term development that plays an increasingly important role in our modern life. The change of its Chinese name shows the Chinese perception of this apparatus. People neglected the alternative paths of “cinema” when the cinema becoming into an entertainment stereotype for the public. This paper will look back to the beginning of the perception history of this apparatus, rethink the history writing method, and try to discover an alternative approach to understand cinema.

Keywords: early cinema; media archaeology; magic lantern
Published: December 21, 2021
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/1/ICEIPI_216
Volume: CHR Vol.1
pp. 22-27
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