Chinese Civilizational Symbols and the Artistic Practice of Chinese Western Films

Abstract Emerging from Xi’an, Shaanxi – a cradle of Chinese civilization – Chinese western films serve as a unique cultural vessel for the Chinese nation. Through their geo-spatial narratives, remediation of cultural memory, and symbolization of national ethos, they actively codify the cinematic semiotics system for Chinese civilizational symbols. Over four decades of evolution, Chinese western films have persistently explored and presented Chinese culture, gradually crystallizing into an artistic methodology that bridges tradition and modernity, the regional and the national. Chinese civilizational symbols in Chinese western films not only directly shape the ideological positioning of the films and converge the semiotic signifiers of cinematic imagery but also constitute distinctive stylistic markers of the genre. Their implementation in cinematic practice facilitates the formation of a unique representation of Chinese film culture. In the cultural journey of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the New Era, the reexploration, presentation, interpretation, and dissemination of Chinese civilizational symbols by Chinese western films have important practical value and far-reaching significance for shaping national cultural identity.