The Adaptation of Kuroiwa Ruikō's NoNoHana in 1920s China: Focusing on the Cinematization

Abstract

Kuroiwa Ruikō’s novel Nonohana was translated by Bao Tianxiao into Chinese, and its Chinese version Konggulan was widely popular with Chinese readers. In 1920s, mass culture production and consumption boomed in Shanghai. Under this background, Bao Tianxiao was invited by the Mingxing Film Company to have the silent film Konggulan adapted. In making the film, the producers tried to create a common space by depicting the events of the same era and rebuild the social moral order by telling stories that met the public’s aesthetic tastes. Entering the consumer stage, with the joint efforts of the Mingxing Film Company, major newspapers, and popular magazines, the movie Konggulan became the heated topic of that era. In addition, both commons and intellectuals got involved in this topic through movie appreciation and comments, which set off a Konggulan consumption boom. This is regarded as a typical example of the mass culture production and consumption boom in Shanghai in the 1920s.

Keywords

• Nonohana
• KongguLan
• Film
• Mass Culture
• Production and Consumption