Some Good Articles from a Commercial Site

     The Chinese Mirror does not carry advertising, because it was conceived as an online counterpart of an academic journal, one that is popularized rather than scholarly.  However, we have no qualms about linking to commercial sites, especially when they offer something of historical relevance.  YesAsia.com, an online marketer of Asian entertainment products, has a supplementary section called Yum Cha!, which contains a considerable number (currently 122) of review articles dealing with various Asian filmmakers and film genres.  Two of the latter that relate directly to articles recently posted here are:  "The Heroic Tradition - Chinese Martial Arts Costume Epics" by James Mudge, which is exactly what the title indicates, and "Strange Stories from Chinese Movie Studios" by Mike Crandol, which discusses the available cinema and TV versions of Pu Songling's classic (and massive) Qing dynasty collection of short stories, Liaozhai Zhiyi 聊斋志异 ("Strange Stories from Liaozhai"), a rich source for Chinese filmmakers over the decades.
       Of course, one objective of these articles, written by experienced and prolific internet reviewers, is to entice the reader into buying the products discussed.  (There is an emphasis on currently available videos, and each of those mentioned is linked to a page which provides all the data needed to order.) But there is also a lot in them that could add to one's enjoyment and appreciation of the films.  So think of it as a well-done infomercial from which you might learn something.