Abstract: What exactly constitutes the tradition of Chinese films in the past hundred years? Leo Oufan Lee defines it as “Social Realism” or “Critical Realism”. However, this view leaves aside another main thread in the history of Chinese films, namely, “romance of popular culture”. Indeed, romance films, as a major component of the romance of popular culture, often constitute the mainstream of Chinese films. By drawing on that rich legacy, Xie Jin, an influential film director, has developed a new variety of romance films in the style of “improved realism” rather than of the old “critical realism”. Viewed in the context of China’s culture and thoughts of the second half of the 20th century, Xie Jin’s films have been instrumental in educating and enlightening Chinese citizens for a civil society. From 1980s to the present, the creation of such high quality films as Hibiscus Town, Farewell My Concubine, Lifetimes Living, Lust, Caution, and 1942, shows both the vitality of “emotional experience” and “improved realism” and the vigor of “artistic legacy” and “civic enlightenment” in the contemporary world.

Key words:  Chinese films, artistic legacy, emotional experience, improved realism, civic enlightenment