This course is to look at contemporary Chinese cinema as a visual art and to illustrate the ways in which it has been shaped by Chinese cultural, social and political tradition over the past three decades. Emphasizing on both film contexts and film texts, this course invites students to a broad cinematic analysis. In order to achieve such goals and inspire critical thinking, ten filmmakers and movies in diverse style and subject are carefully selected to cover a range of cultural, cross-cultural, intellectual, social, ethnic, and political issues. Students are required to watch an appointed film before each lecture and bring one or two questions about the film and Chinese culture into the class discussion. The Lecture-Discussion method is applied to provide a better understanding of both the development and pattern of Chinese cinema, and the culture exemplified in those films.