Ghosts and the Desire to See
Ghosts and the Desire to See
This chapter dwells on the matter of ghosts and the psychological illusions preying on the mind of the male hero as the narrative progresses into the realm of the ghost story. A Touch of Zen begins with the proposition that the Chinese fort where the bulk of the story takes place is a haunted place and that the xia nü may be a ghost. This afforded Hu the means to delve into questions of superstition and belief in the supernatural. While A Touch of Zen is generally recognized as a wuxia film, Hu inducts a ghost story into the first hour of the film, the purpose of which is to prepare for the metaphysical exploration of the genre and the delivery of the “touch of Zen” towards the end.
Keywords: ghosts, psychological illusions, ghost story, superstition, A Touch of Zen, wuxia
Hong Kong Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
