Shadow Magic
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Shadow Magic
''Shadow Magic'' () is a 2000 historical fiction film about the introduction of motion pictures to China during the early 20th century. The film was directed and co-written by Ann Hu. It was a US-China co-production starring Xia Yu, Jared Harris and Xing Yufei. The film was Ann Hu's directorial debut. The film was shown at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. , 71% of the 49 reviews compiled by Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with an average rating of 6.17/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Charmingly sweet, ''Shadow Magic'' captures the sense of wonder of audiences experiencing the world of motion pictures for the first time." Plot The film is set in Beijing, 1902, in the last years of the Qing Dynasty. A young portrait photographer, Liu Jinglun (Xia Yu), chances on a newly arrived Englishman, Raymond Wallace (Jared Harris) in the capital. Liu, a self-learner of rudimentary English, is keen on new technology and gadgets, while Raymond has brought along the la ...
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Ann Hu
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the Netherlands, particularly in the Frisian speaking part (for example, author Anne de Vries). In this incarnation, it is related to Germanic arn-names and means 'eagle'.See entry on "Anne" in th''Behind the Name'' databaseand th"Anne"an"Ane"entries (in Dutch) in the Nederlandse Voornamenbank (Dutch First Names Database) of the Meertens Instituut (23 October 2018). It has also been used for males in France ( Anne de Montmorency) and Scotland (Lord Anne Hamilton). Anne is a common name and the following lists represent a small selection. For a comprehensive list, see instead: . As a feminine name Anne * Saint Anne, Mother of the Virgin Mary * Anne, Queen of Great Britain (1665–1714), Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1702–07) ...
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Movie Camera
A movie camera (also known as a film camera and cine-camera) is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either on an image sensor or onto film stock, in order to produce a moving image to project onto a movie screen. In contrast to the still camera, which captures a single image at a time, by way of an intermittent mechanism, the movie camera takes a series of images; each image is a ''frame'' of film. The strips of frames are projected through a movie projector at a specific frame rate (number of frames per second) to show a moving picture. When projected at a given frame rate, the persistence of vision allows the eyes and brain of the viewer to merge the separate frames into a continuous moving picture. History An interesting forerunner to the movie camera was the machine invented by Francis Ronalds at the Kew Observatory in 1845. A photosensitive surface was drawn slowly past the aperture diaphragm of the camera by a clockwork mechanism to ...
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Tan Xinpei
Tan Xinpei (23 April 1847 – 10 May 1917) was a Chinese Peking opera artist who specialized in ''sheng'' roles. A disciple of Cheng Changgeng, Tan Xinpei was undoubtedly the most important Peking opera performer of his generation. Some of his audio recordings have survived. He was also the only actor in China's earliest film '' Dingjun Mountain'' (1905). More than 40 of his family members have, over seven generations, worked as Peking opera performers, including his son Tan Xiaopei, grandson Tan Fuying, great-grandson Tan Yuanshou, and great-great-grandson Tan Xiaozeng. In popular culture In the 1993 TV series ''Niu Zihou and Fu Lian Cheng'' (牛子厚與富連成), Tan Xinpei is portrayed by Peking opera artist Li Fuchun (李甫春). In the 2000 film ''Shadow Magic'', the character Tan Linmei is clearly based on Tan Xinpei. He is played by Peking opera artist Li Yusheng (李玉声). In the 2005 film ''Dingjun Mountain'' (定軍山), Tan Xinpei is portrayed by his great-gr ...
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Dingjun Mountain (film)
''Dingjun Mountain'' was a 1905 Chinese silent film directed by Ren Qingtai (任慶泰) a.k.a. Ren Jingfeng (任景豐), who was assisted by his cinematographer Liu Zhonglun (劉仲伦). This film, made by Beijing's Fengtai Photography (豐泰照相館),Hu, Jubin (2003). ''Projecting a nation: Chinese national cinema before 1949'', Hong Kong University Press, p 39. constitutes the first Chinese film ever made.Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei (1998). "The Fifth Generation" i''Encyclopedia of Chinese Film'' Taylor & Francis, p. 128. . The film consisted of a recording of Peking opera superstar Tan Xinpei dressed in the character Huang Zhong and singing some arie from the Peking opera of the same name. The play is a dramatised account of Battle of Mount Dingjun (219 AD) and based on an episode in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. The only print was destroyed in a fire in the late 1940s. In popular culture Two films tell the (fictitious) events leading ...
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Intertitle
In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialogue intertitles", and those used to provide related descriptive/narrative material are referred to as "expository intertitles". In modern usage, the terms refer to similar text and logo material inserted at or near the start or end of films and television shows. Silent film era In this era intertitles were mostly called "subtitles" and often had Art Deco motifs. They were a mainstay of silent films once the films became of sufficient length and detail to necessitate dialogue or narration to make sense of the enacted or documented events. ''The British Film Catalogue'' credits the 1898 film ''Our New General Servant'' by Robert W. Paul as the first British film to use intertitles. Film scholar Kamilla Elliott identifies another early use of ...
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Banishment
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suffer exile, but sometimes social entities like institutions (e.g. the papacy or a government) are forced from their homeland. In Roman law, ''exsilium'' denoted both voluntary exile and banishment as a capital punishment alternative to death. Deportation was forced exile, and entailed the lifelong loss of citizenship and property. Relegation was a milder form of deportation, which preserved the subject's citizenship and property. The term diaspora describes group exile, both voluntary and forced. "Government in exile" describes a government of a country that has relocated and argues its legitimacy from outside that country. Voluntary exile is often depicted as a form of protest by the person who claims it, to avoid persecution and prosecut ...
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Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty for 47 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908. Selected as a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor in her adolescence, she gave birth to a son, Tongzhi Emperor, Zaichun, in 1856. After the Xianfeng Emperor's death in 1861, the young boy became the Tongzhi Emperor, and she assumed the role of empress dowager, co-empress dowager, alongside the Emperor's widow, Empress Dowager Ci'an. Cixi ousted a group of regents appointed by the late emperor and assumed the regency along with Ci'an, who later mysteriously died. Cixi then consolidated control over the dynasty when she installed her nephew as the Guangxu Emperor at the death of her son ...
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Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park (Beijing), Zhongshan Park, the sacrificial Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Beihai Park, and the Jingshan Park. It is officially administered by the Palace Museum. The Forbidden City was constructed from 1406 to 1420, and was the former Chinese imperial palace and winter residence of the Emperor of China from the Ming dynasty (since the Yongle Emperor) to the end of the Qing dynasty, between 1420 and 1924. The Forbidden City served as the home of Chinese emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political center of the Government of China, Chinese government for over 500 years. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and arti ...
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Fang Qingzhuo
A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fangs, which are part of the chelicerae. Fangs are most common in carnivores or omnivores, but some herbivores, such as fruit bats, have them as well. They are generally used to hold or swiftly kill prey, such as in large cats. Omnivorous animals, such as bears, use their fangs when hunting fish or other prey, but they are not needed for consuming fruit. Some apes also have fangs, which they use for threats and fighting. However, the relatively short canines of humans are not considered to be fangs. Fangs in religion, mythology and legend Certain mythological and legendary creatures such as dragons, gargoyles and yakshas are commonly depicted with prominent fangs. The fangs of vampires are one of their defining characteristics. The iconog ...
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Widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can sometimes be found on older gravestones. The word "widow" comes from an Indo-European languages, Indo-European root meaning "widow" and has cognates across Indo-European languages. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The term ''widowhood'' can be used for either sex, at least according to some dictionaries, but the word ''widowerhood'' is also listed in some dictionaries. Occasionally, the word ''viduity'' is used. The adjective for either sex is ''widowed''. These terms are not applied to a Divorce, divorcé(e) following the death of an ex-spouse. Effects on health The phenomenon that refers to the increased mortality rate after the death ...
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Fengtai Photographic Studio
Fengtai Photography Studio, founded by Ren Qingtai in Beijing, Qing dynasty, was the first Chinese photographic studio. It was also the earliest film production organization in China. It made at least eight Peking opera films, including '' Dingjun Mountain'', China's first ever film. Fengtai Photography Studio was located near a glass factory in southern Beijing. The business closed in 1909, when all machinery and equipment were destroyed in a fire. History Fengtai Photography Studio opened in 1892, the 18th year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign. The owner Ren Qingtai () was from Faku County in Liaoning Province. Ren's ancestors were allegedly relatives of Nurhaci, the founder of the Later Jin dynasty (later, the Qing dynasty). In his youth, Ren Qingtai went to Japan to inspect the industry there and study modern physics and photography. He believed that photography had a promising future in China. After returning home, he opened the first Chinese photographic studio in Beijing, t ...
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Li Yusheng
Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political technology." * Li Auto (Nasdaq: LI), a Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles * Liberal International, a political federation for liberal parties * Linux International, an international non-profit organization * Lyndon Institute, an independent high school in the U.S. state of Vermont * The Light Infantry, a British Army infantry regiment Names * Li (surname), including: ** List of people with surname Li ** Li (surname 李), one of the most common surnames in the world ** Li (surname 黎), the 84th most common surname in China ** Li (surname 栗), the 249th most common surname in China ** Li (surname 利), the 299th most common surname in China ** Li (surname 厉), a Chinese surname ** Li (surname 郦), a Chinese surname ** Li (surname 理 ...
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