This is the first academic research about the historiography of China film history. The author spent several years in depth reading of relevant documents, in order to reveal the reasons through the complicated phenomena. Readers in the field of film study, whether beginners or senior researchers, can learn about the development of China film history in the past forty years. The writing method of the book is unique. Different from the linear mode of general academic history writing, it observes the historiography of China film history from different aspects, such as the historical concept, the research paradigms, the writing methods, and the oral history of film.

Tan Qiuwen is the senior editor of Journal of Contemporary Cinema, which is one of the top journals in cinema study in China. He is also the director of China Film Criticism Society, consultant of China National Film Museum, director of Theoretical Criticism Committee of China Film Association, and consultant of Guangdong Film Association. His research area is China film history.