List of figures . . x
List of contributors . . xi
Editorial note . . xv
About Hero . . xvi
Acknowledgements . . xix

Foreword . . xxi
Introduction . . 1

PART I - Changing discourses of national identities and heroism . . 11
1 The political narrative(s) of Hero . . 13
2 Recycled heroes, invented tradition and transformed identity . . 27
3 Ruthless tyrant or compassionate hero?:   Chinese popular nationalism and the myth of state origins . . 43
4 The king, the musician and the village idiot: images of manhood . . 53

PART II - Transformations of cultural perception, genre and stardom . . 63
5 Twenty-first century women warriors: variations on a traditional theme . . 65
6 On tian xia ('all under heaven') in Zhang Yimou's Hero . . 78
7 Hero: rewriting the Chinese martial arts film genre . . 90
8 "Would you rather spend more time making serious cinema?": Hero and Tony Leung's polysemic masculinity . . 106
9 Fifteen minutes of fame: transient/transnational female stardom in Hero . . 121

PART III - Local vs. global: deconstructing global Chinese blockbusters . . 133
10 Camp pleasure in an era of Chinese blockbusters: Internet reception of Hero in mainland China . . 135
11 North American reception of Zhang Yimou's Hero . . 152
12 Heroic music: from Hunan to Hollywood and back . . 169
13 Visual effects magic: Hero's Sydney connection . . 184
14 Towards a global blockbuster: the political economy of Hero's nationalism . . 198

Filmography . . 212
Chinese Glossary: selected Chinese names and terms . . 217
Chinese dynasties at a glance . . 222
Index . . 223