“Bifurcated History” and Rewriting Chinese Film History

Abstract The concept of “bifurcated history” proposed by Prasenjit Duara can be a reference for rewriting Chinese film history. It is necessary to begin from the perspective of historical consciousness to reconstruct the framework for writing Chinese film history and to enrich the writing of national cinema history. On this basis, this article analyzes four paradigms currently present in Chinese film studies, with the aim of addressing two persistent dilemmas in the writing of Chinese film history – namely the “rupture of time” and the “division of space.” It seeks to move from “plural film histories” to a “bifurcated film history”, ultimately exploring a path for rewriting film history that achieves a “unity of diversity”.