I. Introduction
Until the 1950s, there was still a saying in the world: open the map of East Asia, you will find that China and Japan are connected by a special relationship, the japanese figure is like a fox, the Chinese figure is like a rooster, the rooster will be eaten by the fox sooner or later; on the contrary, Japan is like a meat bug, and the meat bug will inevitably be pecked by the rooster sooner or later. In short, whether Japan eats China or China eats Japan, in East Asia it can only keep one, not two, the so-called one mountain does not raise two tigers, and those who cannot live alone are also birds" (Jiang Lifeng, "Three Theories on Sino-Japanese Relations"). This statement is a reaction to the historical reality that Sino-Japanese relations in the modern history of East Asia have been at odds with each other as a result of Japan's aggression. So what kind of status quo is the Sino-Japanese relations in history, how such a Sino-Japanese relationship reacts among the people, and how the people imagine this in such aggression and aggression Chinese people, these have been reflected in Chinese films to the extreme, especially Chinese genre anti-war films!
2. Genre films
Genre films originated in the United States, is a unique film creation method in the heyday of Hollywood, in fact, is a standardization of art products, that is, according to the established requirements of different types of films created, it is not a summary or generalization of the laws of film art, its essence is a filming method, a standardized production standardization of art products. There are three basic elements of genre films: formulaic plots (such as the ghosts entering the village in Chinese anti-Japanese movies), stereotyped characters (such as hideous faces, murderous people, bloodthirsty, and innocent Japanese officers), and illustrated shapes (such as Japanese tanks and sabers that foreshadow war).
According to the psychological characteristics of the audience, the production of genre films takes a certain genre as the focus of production in a certain period of time, that is, the so-called "boom replacement" method is adopted. Its commercial nature makes it necessary for producers who invest in filmmaking to try to summarize the laws of filmmaking according to the needs of the market, and in this state, it is a choice to figure out the audience's preferences and make films according to the type that the audience likes. China's films, especially the "war films," operated in a way that particular time period was not at the behest of the "American" market or audience, but "Chinese." In the history of cinema led by the Chinese Communist Party, cinema has always been part of politics, even an important part. This "tradition" is "in the same vein from leading left-wing films to developing films in the Liberated Areas, to building the new Chinese film industry after 1949, to the Cultural Revolution, and even to the 21st century, which has undergone a turning point in the century."
Third, the three periods of film and television works
As neighbors with a lot of water, China and Japan have deep historical ties, and there is a huge gap between Sino-Japanese relations and china's relations with other neighboring countries, because the island country of Japan, which lacks its own resources, has shown expansion to the mainland from the beginning, and this has taken China with a large land area as the main target. Therefore, when China's national strength in modern times gradually weakened and Japan's national strength gradually increased, Japan immediately implemented its policy of continental expansion, which was manifested in the history of invasion of China in modern history for about 50 years from the Sino-Japanese War in 1894 to the end of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 1945. This dark, bloody half century has brought Chinese a pain that can never be forgotten, leaving an indelible historical imprint. Therefore, the image of Japan in China's modern and contemporary film and television works has a very distinct and more prominent feature than other foreign images, which reflects the Chinese's understanding of the times and the national spirit; moreover, the changes in the image of Japan in China's modern and contemporary film and television works also reflect people's continuous exploration and development of human nature, war, and ethnic relations.
The stage of society will inevitably reflect its historical trajectory in literary and artistic works, and the image of Japan in Chinese modern and contemporary film and television works also has a distinct stage, which can be roughly divided into three periods.
(1) Before and after "May Fourth" - demonizing the image of the other
After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War in 1894, after which Japan forced China to sign the first unequal treaty, the "Maguan Treaty", as a victor, Japan began a series of aggressive histories that were pressing on China step by step: the "September 18" Incident in 1931, Japan's iron hooves trampled all over China's three northeastern provinces; in 1937, the "July Seven Incident", Japan began a comprehensive war of aggression against China. Wherever the Iron Hooves of the Japanese invading army went, the houses were broken and the walls were broken, the people were hungry and cold, how many civilians were killed tragically, and how many anti-Japanese fighters died in battle. The atrocities of Japanese militarism throughout the war of aggression have left Chinese people with incomparably bitter and profound memories. Therefore, in the rather long historical period before and after may fourth, the image of the Japanese in Chinese film works was a thorough aggressor, a demonized image of the other, and was collectively called "Japanese devils".
"Devil" is out of the "World Language New Saying Fangzheng". Originally, it was the name of the ancients for foreign tribes, but in modern times, with the invasion of foreign invaders, the word "devil" has gradually become a derogatory meaning, and has become synonymous with demons and ghosts, such as "foreign devils" and "red-haired devils". After the outbreak of the Japanese invasion of China, the word "devil" gradually evolved into a special phrase for Japanese soldiers. "Cliché" is a solidified view of the "other" embodied in a highly condensed way when a nation describes the image of a foreign country and a foreign race. The phrase "Japanese devils" not only vividly shows the murderous features and brutal acts of the Japanese soldiers during the Japanese invasion of China, but also reflects the psychology of ordinary Chinese people who hate and fear the Japanese soldiers. It was the collective imagination of ordinary Chinese people and even Chinese society for the entire Japanese during this period, and "Japanese devils" became synonymous with "Japanese" to a certain extent. The word "devil" in Japanese means "a child who does not look like his parents or a child who is born with teeth", which shows that the person who coined the word "devil" is proficient in Japanese, and its irony is even more self-evident.
The most thorough influence of this period on the collective imagination of society was film and television works. In 1935, Shanghai Dentsu Film Company produced the film "Children of the Storm" featuring the exiled youth in northeast China, which reflected the awakening and growth of intellectual youth in the context of the struggle for national liberation at that time, and also reflected the strong desire of the people of the whole country to unanimously demand resistance to Japan, showing the sadness of the destruction of the country and the death of the family and the unforgettable national hatred. In particular, its theme song "March of the Volunteer Army", with unrestrained revolutionary enthusiasm and passionate melody, sang the voice of the times, and its influence far exceeded that of the film itself, making the film audience of that year boil with blood, blowing the marching horn of the anti-war era, and since then it has resounded through the clouds, becoming one of the widely popular revolutionary songs, and has been loved by the people for many years. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the March of the Volunteer Army was thus determined as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China. In the 1938 film "Blood and Loyal Souls", the high brigade commander of the Nationalist Army went to the front line to kill the enemy. Before leaving, his father encouraged him to be loyal to the country and not to think of his family. Soon after, the hometown fell, the Japanese army raped and burned, and the old and young of the Gao family faced a strong enemy, vowed to die unyieldingly, and were all killed. Later, Brigadier Gao led the troops back to their hometown, and the Japanese army occupied the Gao family compound and stubbornly resisted. Not knowing the life and death of his family, Brigadier Gao was faced with the harsh reality that if he wanted to protect his homeland, he could not destroy the enemy and could not keep his homeland, so he resolutely made the choice that "for the liberation of the nation and the interests of the country, anything can be sacrificed" and ordered the destruction of his own house. In the fierce battle, he was unfortunately wounded, and still shouted that "the remaining soldiers and bullets must fight to the end", encouraging his subordinates to attack the enemy, while the Japanese Kou shouted "as long as it is Chinese we will kill". The film uses such a strong contrast between China and Japan, and calls on the Chinese people to abandon their illusions about the humanity of the Japanese people, to fight to the death, and to carry out the struggle to the end. The 1943 "Japanese Spy" exposed the heinous crimes committed by the Japanese invaders in the northeast. The Japanese army brutally killed Kasbu's young son, and Farnsberg provided evidence of the kidnapping to the court, and the court declared the japanese troops involved in the kidnapping innocent, which once again reminded Chinese to soberly do the war of death...
In all the anti-war films produced during this period, all the Japanese troops appeared in the form of demons and ghosts, they were vicious, murderous, bloodthirsty, and did nothing evil, from appearance, personality to behavior, all of which reflected animal nature.
In short, during the long historical period of Japan's invasion of China before and after May Fourth, the image of Japan in Chinese films has always been a demonized image of the other. The construction of this image fully reflects the ravages and sufferings suffered by the Chinese nation in that long historical period, and also reflects the national spirit of the people working together to resist aggression with all their might, and at the same time reflects the understanding and exploration of chinese filmmakers on the spirit of the times and self-worth.
(2) The early days of the founding of New China - the image of clownization and face
In the early days of the founding of New China, it was an era full of freshness, imagination, expectation, confidence and ideals in China's history. In this "age of innocence" when children grew up, Chinese history is desperately trying to get rid of everything that is considered "old" and to create a new ideal society. In this great impulse to create a new China, Chinese cinema has also ignited the fire of the ideals of new China's politics and art: on the one hand, it provides the Chinese people with ideological imagination, and on the other hand, it creates an aesthetic image for Mainstream Chinese politics. Among them, the anti-war film can be regarded as a strange branch, which innately satisfies the desires of the social ideology at that time, and the acquired world provides a rough exploration for the future development of Chinese film art. Therefore, at this time, the image of Japan in Chinese film and television works has undergone new changes. At this time, because China had just emerged from the difficult War of Resistance Against Japan, and the once invincible War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression had now won a perfect victory in the struggle of the Chinese people, the Chinese nation naturally gave complete hatred to Japan, which had brutally invaded itself, and what was given to it was the narcissistic psychology of the nation. This kind of narcissism is embodied in the anti-Japanese movies, which is the image of the Japanese soldiers clown and the face.
Many film and television works with the theme of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression filmed during this period are still talked about today because of their humor, such as "Guerrilla on the Plains", "Armed Workers Behind enemy lines", "Small Soldier Zhang Ga", "Chicken Feather Letter", "Tunnel Warfare", "Mine Warfare", "Railway Guerrilla", and so on. The images of Japanese soldiers that appear in them are all one-sided, comic-style, full of comedic colors: small eyes, Ren Dan hu, Luo circle legs, military hats hanging on both sides of the "ass curtain", a large saber on the back of the buttocks, accompanied by the classic "devils into the village" music, shrinking their heads, bending over, sneaking into the village. For example, the ghost in Mine Warfare is so stupid that he dug into a "booby trap" (his or someone else's feces) planted by a child; and it is such a failure- at the end of the film, the Japanese soldier officer is desperate and hallucinates, he faces a huge mine, and raises his Japanese combat knife in vain. In the film, there is also a situation where stupid devils can't find the tunnel entrance and can't do anything about the civilians in the tunnel. In "Little Soldier Zhang Ga", Zhang Ga captures the fat translator's real gun with a wooden gun. The Japanese soldiers portrayed in these films are generally stupid and murderous, and they only know how to purr with their mouths full of mouths... There are also Japanese officers such as Matsui in "Plain Guerrilla", Kobayashi in "Railway Guerrilla", Kameda in "Little Soldier Zhang Ga", and Yamada in "Tunnel Warfare", as the negative protagonists in the film, they also left a very deep impression on people, and further formed the image of the stupid Japanese invaders in the minds of Chinese in this period. Such film and television works of this period always ended with the fiasco of the Japanese soldiers and the laughter of the victory of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians, and the clown and cartoon-style Japanese image shown in it actually fully reflected the sense of victory and pride in the hearts of the Chinese people who won the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and established a new China. They no longer regard the Japanese invaders as terrible and invincible devils, but as "clowns" who are strong in the outside world and run amok on the surface, but will eventually be destroyed. Therefore, the clowned and comic-like Japanese image in Chinese film and television works during this period actually reflected the passion and high and optimistic spirit of Chinese after the founding of New China.
However, this kind of crunchy and facial-oriented image of Japan has also misled the Chinese people to a certain extent, causing the Chinese people to lack an objective, true, and profound understanding and understanding of Japan and the Japanese soldiers, because portraying the Japanese soldiers as cowards who are afraid of death is actually contrary to historical facts; and portraying the Japanese army as vulnerable and the victory coming so easily is obviously contrary to history, and at the same time it is impossible to explain the protracted, arduous, and cruel nature of the War of Resistance.
In short, because Chinese filmmakers in this period could not objectively understand and understand Japan, they retained and exaggerated The image of Japan's aggression in the imprints of history, as well as their inner hatred for the Japanese army, thus making the image of Japan in this period empty, uniform, and showing the characteristics of clownism and face.
(3) After the reform and opening up - a diversified and multi-dimensional image
The image of Japan in Chinese film and television works in the new era first reflects the continuation of history, because there are many "devil" images in it. From the cruel skinning of people in the 1980s movie "Red Sorghum", to the use of Chinese as a living specimen in "Black Sun 731", to the bloody, cruel and crazy slaughter of the city in "Nanjing Massacre" and "Zhang Chunru - Nanjing Massacre", these demonic ghost images fill the entire film, indicating that the war of aggression has indeed left too deep and too heavy wounds in the hearts of the Chinese people, and this evil memory and deep pain are bound to leave a longer-term echo in Chinese film and television works. Such film and television works also use realistic techniques to further restore the cruelty, violence and bloodiness of war. In the movie "The Sound of the Wind", all kinds of heinous cruel punishments, suppressed and distorted pictures, and eerie and low music make people heavy and breathless. From the perspective of promoting the normal development of Sino-Japanese relations, blindly demonizing Japan's image is not conducive to good-neighborliness, friendship, and cultural exchanges, but at present, the Japanese Government's evasion, concealment, and justification of historical issues, the Japanese leaders' constant visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, and the resurgence of militarist forces in Japan are all worthy of vigilance in China and even neighboring countries. As long as the Japanese Government does not conduct a profound reflection and reflection on that period of aggression, the shadow of war cannot be easily erased from the depths of Chinese's soul. The constant appearance and repetition of the demonized image of Japan in Chinese film and television works is a good proof of this.
In addition to the continuation of history, the image of Japan in film and television works is more of a breakthrough, reflecting the fundamental transformation from politicization and conceptualization to humanization and diversification. During this period, Chinese filmmakers began to think about the tentacles of thinking, breaking through the surface of war, and exploring the confrontation between people's fate and human nature in the state of war. Nanjing! nanking! Director Lu Chuan declared that he wanted to open up new horizons in the film and show more of the "human side" of Japanese soldiers. Although there are different evaluations of this from all walks of life, it reflects the efforts of Chinese filmmakers in the new era to shape the image of Japan: the "Nanjing Massacre" is narrated and presented from the perspective of Kadokawa, and the image of a Japanese soldier who has not lost his human nature and committed suicide by being condemned by his inner conscience, which is in great contrast with the image and narrative method of "Japanese devils" in traditional films such as "Tunnel Warfare" and "Mine Warfare". Although Lu Chuan himself said that he narrated from Kadokawa's point of view, he aimed to subvert the stereotypical memories of the "demonization", "clownization" and "face" of the Japanese soldiers in the previous anti-war film and television works, so as to create a humanized image of the Japanese soldier. Similar images of Japanese soldiers, such as "Bullfighting", portray a wounded Japanese signal soldier, claiming that "I am a student, I came to China for three months, I did not kill anyone... There is no reason for people to kill each other", and also took out a family photo and begged Niu Er to spare his life, and in exchange for Niu Er's forgiveness by curing the cow's illness. There is also Captain Ito in "Blood Lonely City" is a Japanese officer who is obsessed with Changde landscapes and intoxicated with painting, and when he leads a death squad to attack Changde and is killed, his paintings are incinerated with him. This has shaped us a Japanese officer who loves life. Jiang Wen's "The Devil Is Coming" has chosen a unique perspective to express the confrontation and confrontation of human nature in such a special background and special situation as war. All this makes us feel that the Japanese soldiers are also flesh and blood, have a certain conscience and love for the family, no longer stupid or cunning, killing people without blinking, they are full of respect and understanding for life.
In today's entertaining social environment, the spirit of national entertainment has also led some Chinese filmmakers to try to interpret japanese images in film and television works in other ways. From Zhang Jianya's "Sanmao from the Army", to Sun Min's "Smart Run and Wonderful Escape", to Feng Xiaoning's "Raise Your Hand", they all try to interpret the War of Resistance Against Japan in a comedic way, inject humorous comedic effects under the shadow of the cruel war, and bring the audience a relaxed and pleasant viewing experience. Together with the first two types of films, this kind of film brings a multi-dimensional display of the Japanese image in Chinese film and television works in the new era, reflecting the deep social psychology and the color of the times Chinese.
Fourth, the reasons and effects of image formation
(i) "Demonization" stems from the hatred of Chinese people and the desire for freedom
Around the time of May Fourth, China was humiliated by Japan's strong aggression, and the Chinese at this time had a national progressive spirit and strong patriotic feelings because of the May Fourth New Culture Movement. China knows that if it wants to make progress, it must liberate China and drive out Japan. And Japan from the Sino-Japanese War in 1894 to the July 7 Incident in 1937 to the Nanjing Massacre, and the subsequent series of aggressions, brought great pain to the Chinese people, Chinese people hate it is deserved, this strong hatred and desire to drive away the "Japanese devils" desire, so that the director portrayed the demonized Image of Japan in the film: from snatching things, shooting people, to rape for almost no reason, crushing children, amputations, peeling, burial alive, collective poisoning, burning, shooting, The cruel means of making the neurastheated audience pass out seem to be not enough to express the "evil" of the devil. The reason for the "demonization" stems from the hatred of the Chinese people and the desire for freedom, and it seems that only such Japanese people can arouse the awakening of the Chinese people. Of course, such an image is one-sided, but such acts as the appalling Nanjing Massacre and the terrifying Nanchang germ warfare have really made the Chinese people suffer a lot.
This "demonized" image of the other is not only a restoration of the original face of the Japanese invaders, but also a method deliberately chosen by Chinese film directors during this period. Because at this critical juncture of national peril, they hoped to use this method to arouse the Chinese people to rise up against Japan. The times handed over the historical mission of resisting Japan and saving the country to the most effective, appealing, and influential mass communication media of the film, which made the Chinese filmmakers in this period consciously or unconsciously turn their eyes to the Invading Japanese Army and its ravaged land, and reproduce with hatred and hatred those demons who kill people without blinking, and the Image of Japan in these films will inevitably be a cruel and bloody image of the aggressor, reflecting the distinctive characteristics of the times.
In the creative environment with a strong political atmosphere, the film is "pan-politicized", and almost everything revolves around political intentions. It can be said that the anti-war films before and after May Fourth appeared in essence as a posture of serving China's politics, and it almost perfectly played the role of "tinder", guiding the Chinese people to abandon their illusions about the humanity of the Japanese people, to fight to the death, and to carry out the struggle to the end.
(2) "clownization" and "facialization" are manifested in the narcissistic psychology of the Chinese people after liberation and the typicalization of hatred for Japan
After the founding of New China, the Chinese regained their freedom and faced Japan with a new situation. At this time, China still hates the Japanese nation, but it is no longer so afraid: Aren't you Japan so strong, and you have not been driven out of China by us, and the Chinese people at this time are rejoicing and proud, from the previous complete fear of the Japanese military and civilians to the current complete disdain. At this time, the depiction of the Japanese nation in film and television works was also manifested as "clownization" and "facialization".
This clownized and facial image of Japan was also due to the fact that normal diplomatic relations between China and Japan had not been established during this period, and the Chinese people at that time basically could not obtain any information about Japan, nor could they directly contact or objectively understand the Japanese. For those who lived through that war, the tragic memory of history is still deeply engraved in their minds, and the Japanese in their minds are still the image of the invaders. In the early days of the founding of New China, the entire social life and culture and art were closely linked to politics and obeyed the needs of political propaganda and class struggle, so the film and television works at that time used exaggerated methods to defame the Japanese aggressors as much as possible, so as to better flatter the heroic and fearless anti-Japanese spirit of the Chinese military and people. In such a political and cultural environment and against the background of the era when there is no exchange and communication between China and Japan, the image of Japan in Chinese film and television works can only be a continuation of the Japanese view during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, showing the rigid characteristics of facial and formulaic.
The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was the longest and most arduous foreign war in China's modern and contemporary history. After the end of the war, we fell into an unhealthy state of narcissism into self-intoxication, of course, this narcissism is completely understandable, because after many years of war of resistance, Japan finally announced its unconditional surrender, and in such a state of disparity in the military strength between China and Japan, the Chinese people finally stood up and established a new China, and the sense of superiority of the Chinese nation naturally poured out. Therefore, because the creation of any director or screenwriter must be based on their own era, according to the psychological needs of the people in the era to create a character image. Therefore, the shaping of the role image also reflects the needs of the times and the psychological needs of the nation, and the preference for a certain role image also reflects the narcissistic psychology of the nation. Therefore, in the anti-war films of this period, there were such distinct "clown" and "face" images.
Narcissism is a sense of self-worth that arises through competent experience, a true feeling that you are worth cherishing and protecting, and a preference for a certain emotion or value. In our view today, whether it is stupid as a pig, cruel and cunning, hypocritical, or the image of a Japanese soldier full of humanity and conscience, this preference precisely reflects our national psychology at that time, the psychology of narcissism. Assuming that the former affirms its own fearless spirit and the belief in victory, the latter has illusions or self-intoxication, which can also be said to be a pathological white love. The film and television on the theme of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression shows the memory of the nation, reflects the psychological trajectory of the nation, and is of great significance for educating and guiding the broad masses of the people.
(III) "Diversification and multi-dimensionality" exist in the steady development of New China
After the reform and opening up, China's political, economic and cultural construction have developed rapidly. Soaring China has regained its standing in the east of the world with a new attitude, its influence in the world has gradually increased, and its relations with Japan have also undergone many changes, from exchanges to cooperation, mutual understanding in dialogue, and gradually from reflection to maturity. The Chinese film and television works of the new era are also closely integrated with the trend of this era, and the image of Japan depicted in it also shows the characteristics of "diversification and multi-dimensionality".
Behind this creative posture, there is a kind of "universalism" value orientation that transcends the nation. This value orientation consists in casting an understanding at the conqueror or the aggressor, whose aggression becomes a helpless choice or a magnanimous act in the eyes of the invaded. This kind of attempt and exploration is very meaningful for enriching the image of Japan in Chinese film and television works, especially accurately and objectively reproducing the external image of the Japanese people, and looking at the inner spiritual temperament of this nation, because the Japanese nation itself is a nation with an extremely complex personality. Anthropologist Benedict once used the two images of "chrysanthemum and sword" to symbolize the contradictory character of the Japanese people and the duality of Japanese culture, believing that they have "the dual personality of rigorous self-cultivation and crazy venting". As for Japan, Chinese actually did not know much about it since ancient times, and most of what they knew was only the image described by others in a one-sided way; the Japanese have always been good at studying and studying China. Therefore, how to better interpret Japan should be a problem that we should think deeply about today, otherwise, we may inevitably face disasters again and repeat the mistakes of the past.
Therefore, the steady development of China is also slowly understanding Japan, re-developing Sino-Japanese relations, these performances in film and television works is slowly "diversified, multi-dimensional" image, these are also slowly recognized by China and Japan, I believe that with the joint efforts of the people of China and Japan, Sino-Japanese relations will further progress, and these corresponding in film and television works are the further maturity of "diversification and multi-dimensionality".
5. Conclusion
From the perspective of economic globalization and cultural pluralism, if we only blindly demonize and beastize japanese devils, we can only enhance the sense of revenge of the young Chinese generation, which is not conducive to good-neighborliness and friendship, and is not conducive to cultural exchanges. But on the other hand, the demonic image of the Japanese devils has been repeatedly described and intensified at home in order to arouse people's vigilance against the resurgence of Japan's right-wing militaristic forces. This is the inevitable result of a series of foreign policies caused by Japan's economic re-emergence. As the saying goes, "The tree wants to be quiet and the wind is not stopping." We want to forget the word 'devil', but the trend of 'devil' making a comeback and making a comeback makes us afraid to forget it.
For this image of the devil left by the previous generation, we can't help but feel different in our dealings with all aspects of Japan. We cannot but have mixed feelings about Japan's strength. We hope for the prosperity and strength of the surrounding countries, but when this kind of strength, which has seriously hurt us, is about to become a threat again, we cannot let the memory be dusted, and we need to put some salt on the unhealed national wounds (Yang Xiaolin. "Putting Some Salt on the Wounds of the Unhealed Nation: A Brief Analysis of the Image of Japanese Devils in Contemporary Film"), we need a devil image that speaks of our own wishes to express our love and hatred, and this negative image expresses such a wish: "We could have lived in peace and built a new world, in which life and dignity will be respected by all." Any barbaric atrocities and terrors are forbidden, no war of aggression can take place, and everyone on earth is a friend. (Purple Sun ending narration)
It is history that allows Chinese films to focus on the history of the Japanese invasion of China again and again, which is full of blood and tears; at the same time, it is also history that makes the image of Japan in Chinese film and television works more and more rich and objective. We pay more attention to the era in which the story is told than to the age in which the story was told. Looking back at the image of Japan in Chinese film and television works, from the demonization of the other to the rigid mode of clownization and facialization, and then to the current diversified and multi-dimensional description, this trajectory shows that the image of Japan in China's modern and contemporary film and television works is an image with staged changes under the influence of the collective psychology of the Chinese people, which not only reflects the complex process of change and evolution of Sino-Japanese relations, but also reflects the history and national spirit of the Chinese nation itself.