From Jiang Rong to Jean-Jacques Annaud: An Ecological Rewrite of Wolf Totem

Zhai, Runlei

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-18634-0_5

Runlei Zhai³

Part of the book series: Chinese Literature and Culture in the World ((CLCW))

534 Accesses

Abstract

Based on Jiang Rong’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same title, Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Wolf Totem is an ecological rewrite. To better understand and evaluate the rewrite, this chapter adopts a comparative approach and argues that Annaud’s rewrite works as a trans-national and trans-cultural bridge in contemporary ecological discussion. It has impressive visual and audio effects and has done pioneering work in translating Chinese ecological and cultural ethics and aesthetics to the global audience. Yet, the translation is not perfect. It neglects the social and cultural backgrounds and fails to harmonize the eastern and western perspectives in the understanding of ecological issues. With both gain and loss, Annaud’s rewrite proves that the multicultural strategies are needed in contemporary ecological studies, especially trans-national and trans-cultural studies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Chapter: USD 29.95; Price excludes VAT (USA)

eBook: USD 89.00; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Softcover Book: USD 119.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Hardcover Book: USD 119.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

1.
Ren Shanshan, “Faguo daoyan Jean-Jacques Annaud tan dianying langtuteng: zhe shi yibu paigei quanshijie de dianying.”
2.
Qin Wan, “Jean-Jacques Annaud: changshuo Zhongguo hao, pengyou juede wozai daguanggao.”
3.
Ren, “Faguo daoyan Jean-Jacques Annaud tan dianying langtuteng: zhe shi yibu paigei quanshijie de dianying.”
4.
Ma Sheng-mei, “Sino-Anglo-Euro Wolf Fan(g)s from Jiang Rong to Annaud,” 87.
5.
Jian Rong, “Q&A: ‘Unlike the Wolf, Sheep Are Afraid of Freedom.”
6.
Jerry Varsava, “Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem: Toward a Narrative Ecology of the Grassland of Contemporary Inner Mongolia,” 286.
7.
Wolfgang Kubin, “Deguo hanxue quanwei lingyizhiyan kan xiandangdai Zhongguo wenxue.”
8.
Qin, “Jean-Jacques Annaud: changshuo Zhongguo hao, pengyou juede wozai daguanggao.”
9.
Ma, “Sino-Anglo-Euro Wolf Fan(g)s from Jiang Rong to Annaud,” 83.
10.
Jean-Jacques Annaud, “Shanghai Film Fest: Q&A with Director Jean-Jacques Annaud.”
11.
Ibid.
12.
Tang Yuankai, “Wolf Totem: Another Dances with Wolves,” 69.
13.
Ma, “Sino-Anglo-Euro Wolf Fan(g)s from Jiang Rong to Annaud,” 92.
14.
Jiang Rong, “Q. and A.: Jiang Rong on ‘Wolf Totem,’ the Novel and Now the Film.”
15.
Wu Jingming, Shengtai piping shiye zhong de ershi shiji Zhongguo wenxue, 394–399.
16.
He Chengzhou, “The Wolf Myth and Chinese Environmental Sentimentalism in Wolf Totem,” 787.
17.
Jiang, “Q. and A.: Jiang Rong on ‘Wolf Totem,’ the Novel and Now the Film.”
18.
Michael Martina, “French ‘Wolf Totem’ Director Says China Censors Gave Him ‘Carte Blanche.’”
19.
“Wolf Totem (2015) Box office Mojo.”
20.
Qi Shanshan, “Kua wenhua beijing xia jiyu wenxue gaibian de shengtai dianying piping—yi dianying langtuteng weili.”
21.
Stephen Schaefer, “‘Wolf Totem’ Leads Pack with Poetic Beauty.”
22.
James Kendrick, “Wolf Totem.”
23.
Dennis Schwartz, “Warns Us That an Old-Fashioned Way of Life is Passing to an Encroaching Civilization.”
24.
Jiang, “Q. and A.: Jiang Rong on ‘Wolf Totem,’ the Novel and Now the Film.”
25.
Laura Zhou, “Wolf Totem: Writer Blasts Hit Film over ‘Fake’ Mongolian Culture.”
26.
Peter Keough, “In ‘Wolf Totem’ it’s the call of the mild.”
27.
Maggie Lee, “Berlin Film Review: Wolf Totem.”
28.
Hu Zhihong and Hu Tiantian, “The Integration of Ecocriticism and Comparative Literature—A Win-Win Academic Strategy,” 105.
29.
Katie Walsh, “Movie Review: Gorgeous ‘Wolf Totem’ Includes Lesson That Still Ring True.”
30.
Jiang, “Q. and A.: Jiang Rong on ‘Wolf Totem,’ the Novel and Now the Film.”
31.
He, “The Wolf Myth and Chinese Environmental Sentimentalism in Wolf Totem,” 789.
32.
Li Xiaojiang, Wolf Totem and the Post-Mao Utopian: A Chinese Perspective on Contemporary Western Scholarship, 75–76.
33.
Jiang, “Q. and A.: Jiang Rong on ‘Wolf Totem,’ the Novel and Now the Film.”
34.
Jiang, Wolf Totem: A Novel, 62–63.
35.
Jiang, “Q. and A.: Jiang Rong on ‘Wolf Totem,’ the Novel and Now the Film.”
36.
Ibid.
37.
Jiang, Wolf Totem: A Novel, 470.
38.
Judith Shapiro, Mao’s War against Nature: Politics and the Environment in Revolutionary China, 1.
39.
Qin, “Jean-Jacques Annaud: changshuo Zhongguo hao, pengyou juede wozai daguanggao.”
40.
Ibid, 341.
41.
Ibid, 508.
42.
Jiang, “Q. and A.: Jiang Rong on ‘Wolf Totem,’ the Novel and Now the Film.”
43.
Hu and Hu, “The Integration of Ecocriticism and Comparative Literature—A Win-Win Academic Strategy,” 105.
44.
It has to be pointed out that in the original novel, Jiang Rong uses “it” to refer to the wolf cub. Yet, in the English translation, Howard Goldblastt changes “it” into “he” to show the wolf cub’s importance. This chapter chooses to use “it” in the hope of being faithful to the original novel.
45.
Jiang, Wolf Totem: A Novel, 496–497.
46.
Ibid, 497.
47.
Ibid, 499.
48.
Ibid, 503.
49.
Jiang, “Q. and A.: Jiang Rong on ‘Wolf Totem,’ the Novel and Now the Film.”

Bibliography

Annaud, Jean-Jacques. 2012. “Shanghai Film Fest: Q&A with Director Jean-Jacques Annaud.” Interview by Jonathan Landreth. Los Angeles Times, June 15. https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/06/shanghai-film-fest-qa-wolf-totem-with-director-jean-jacques-annaud.html. Accessed 12 July 2018.
———. 2015. Wolf Totem [Lang tuteng]. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Google Scholar
He, Chengzhou. 2014. “The Wolf Myth and Chinese Environmental Sentimentalism in Wolf Totem.” Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 21 (4): 781–800.
Article Google Scholar
Hu, Zhihong, and Tiantian Hu. 2016. “The Integration of Ecocriticism and Comparative Literature—A Win-Win Academic Strategy.” Cultural Studies and Literary Theory [Zhongwai wenhua yu wenlun] 35: 103–130.
Google Scholar
Jiang, Rong. 2008a. “Q&A: ‘Unlike the Wolf, Sheep Are Afraid of Freedom.’” Interview by IPS Correspondents. Inter Press Service, June 5. www.ipsnews.net/2008/06/qa-unlike-the-wolf-sheep-are-afraid-of-freedom/. Accessed 22 June 2018.
———. 2008b. Wolf Totem: A Novel. Trans. Howard Goldblatt. New York: The Penguin Press.
Google Scholar
———. 2015. “Q. and A.: Jiang Rong on ‘Wolf Totem,’ the Novel and Now the Film.” Interview by Amy Qin. The New York Times, February 26. https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/q-and-a-jiang-rong-on-wolf-totem-the-novel-and-now-the-film/?_r=0. Accessed 3 Mar 2018.
Kendrick, James. 2015. “Wolf Totem.” Qnetwork, December 22. www.qnetwork.com/review/3467. Accessed 2 June 2018.
Keough, Peter. 2015. “In ‘Wolf Totem’ It’s the Call of the Mild.” Boston Globe, September 10. www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2015/09/10/wolf/pSi7sI9tp3ViNrfHQfnIdM/story.html. Accessed 3 July 2018.
Kubin, Wolfgang. 2006. “Deguo hanxue quanwei lingyizhiyan kan xiandangdai Zhongguo wenxue.” Interview by Xin Ping. DW, November 26. https://p.dw.com/p/9R8g. Accessed 8 May 2018.
Lee, Maggie. 2015. “Berlin Film Review: Wolf Totem.” Variety, February 10. https://variety.com/2015/film/asia/berlin-film-review-wolf-totem-1201428207/. Accessed 23 May 2018.
Li, Xiaojiang. 2018. Wolf Totem and the Post-Mao Utopian: A Chinese Perspective on Contemporary Western Scholarship. Trans. Edward Gunn. Boston: Brill.
Google Scholar
Ma, Sheng-mei. 2016. “Sino-Anglo-Euro Wolf Fan(g)s from Jiang Rong to Annaud.” Ecozon@ 7 (1): 76–93.
Article Google Scholar
Martina, Michael. 2015. “French ‘Wolf Totem’ Director Says China Censors Gave Him ‘Carte Blanche.’” Reuters, February 1. www.reuters.com/article/us-china-film/french-wolf-totem-director-says-china-censors-gave-him-carte-blanche-idUSKBN0L51J820150201. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Qi, Shanshan. 2017. “Kua wenhua beijing xia jiyu wenxue gaibian de shengtai dianying piping—yi dianying langtuteng weili.” people.cn, June 20. media.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0620/c412970-29350688.html. Accessed 3 July 2018.
Qin, Wan. “Jean-Jacques Annaud: changshuo Zhongguo hao, pengyou juede wozai da guanggao.” ifeng.com. ent.ifeng.com/idolnews/daxierenwu/special/dxrw024/. Accessed 15 Mar 2018.
Ren, Shanshan. 2015. “Faguo daoyan Jean-Jacques Annaud tan dianying langtuteng: zhe shi yibu paigei quanshijie de dianying.” China Daily, February 17. data.people.com.cn/rmrb/20150217/12. Accessed 29 Jun 2018.
Schaefer, Stephen. 2015. “‘Wolf Totem’ Leads Pack with Poetic Beauty.” Boston Herald, September 11. www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/movie_reviews/2015/09/wolf_totem_leads_pack_with_poetic_beauty. Accessed 12 June 2018.
Schwartz, Dennis. 2017. “Warns Us That an Old-Fashioned Way of Life Is Passing to an Encroaching Civilization.” Ozus’ World Movie Reviews, January 20. homepages.sover.net/~ozus/wolftotem.html. Accessed 3 June 2018.
Shapiro, Judith. 2001. Mao’s War Against Nature: Politics and the Environment in Revolutionary China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Book Google Scholar
Tang, Yuankai. 2015. “Wolf Totem: Another Dances with Wolves.” China Today 2: 68–70.
Google Scholar
Varsava, Jerry. 2011. “Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem: Toward a Narrative Ecology of the Grassland of Contemporary Inner Mongolia.” Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 18 (2): 283–301.
Article Google Scholar
Walsh, Katie. 2015. “Movie Review: Gorgeous ‘Wolf Totem’ Includes Lesson That Still Ring True.” Tribune News Service, September 14. www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/movie-review-gorgeous-wolf-totem-includes-lessons-that-still-ring-true/. Accessed 3 May 2018.
Wolf Totem. (2015). “Box Office Mojo.” Box office Mojo, December 31, 2018. www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=wolftotem.htm. Accessed 1 Jan 2019.
Wu, Jingming 吴景明. 2014. Shengtai piping shiye zhong de ershi shiji Zhongguo wenxue 生态批评视野中的二十世纪中国文学 (Ecocriticism Perspective of 20th Century Chinese Literature). Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Kexue Chubanshe.
Google Scholar
Zhou, Laura. 2015. “Wolf Totem: Writer Blasts Hit Film over ‘Fake’ Mongolian Culture.” South China Morning Post, February 26. www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1722433/ethnic-chinese-writer-criticises-fake-culture-forced-mongolians-hit-film. Accessed 3 July 2018.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Runlei Zhai

Authors

Runlei Zhai
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Chia-ju Chang

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Zhai, R. (2019). From Jiang Rong to Jean-Jacques Annaud: An Ecological Rewrite of Wolf Totem. In: Chang, Cj. (eds) Chinese Environmental Humanities. Chinese Literature and Culture in the World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18634-0_5

Download citation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18634-0_5
Published: 06 August 2019
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18633-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18634-0
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics