@article{ART003239025},
author={LIU YAXIANG and Xu Yanzhou},
title={National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph},
journal={Journal of Chinese Language and Literature},
issn={1225-083X},
year={2025},
number={99},
pages={135-154}
TY - JOUR
AU - LIU YAXIANG
AU - Xu Yanzhou
TI - National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph
JO - Journal of Chinese Language and Literature
PY - 2025
VL - null
IS - 99
PB - Chinese Literary Society Of Yeong Nam
SP - 135
EP - 154
SN - 1225-083X
AB - This paper examines the differences in national spirit representation between two East Asian sports films: As One (2012, South Korea) and Ping-Pong: The Triumph (2023, China). Drawing on Jan Assmann’s theory of cultural memory and Fredric Jameson’s concept of national allegory, the study explores how table tennis—a sport highly symbolic in both countries—functions as a medium for shaping national identity and collective memory. As One constructs a “soft, empathetic nationalism” through intimate portrayals of female athletes, emotional reconciliation, and everyday interactions, emphasizing depoliticized, relational, and negotiated memory. In contrast, Ping-Pong: The Triumph employs a “failure–reform–victory” narrative underpinned by institutional discourse and visual rituals, reinforcing national faith and state legitimacy. The two films represent divergent cultural memory strategies: bottom-up emotional repair in the South Korean context, and top-down institutional consolidation in the Chinese context. These differences reflect broader national psychologies—South Korea’s post-Cold War healing of historical division versus China’s post-crisis reinforcement of national narratives.
By comparing the narrative and affective mechanisms in both films, the study reveals how sports cinema operates as a vehicle for emotional governance and cultural memory in East Asia, contributing to the discourse on visual nationalism and sports culture.
KW - 体育电影(sports film);民族精神(national spirit);文化记忆 (cultural memory);情绪政治(motional politics);乒乓球(table tennis);国家寓言(national allegory)
DO -
UR -
ER -
LIU YAXIANG and Xu Yanzhou. (2025). National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, 99, 135-154.
LIU YAXIANG and Xu Yanzhou. 2025, "National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph", Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, no.99, pp.135-154.
LIU YAXIANG, Xu Yanzhou "National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph" Journal of Chinese Language and Literature 99 pp.135-154 (2025) : 135.
LIU YAXIANG, Xu Yanzhou. National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph. 2025; 99 : 135-154.
LIU YAXIANG and Xu Yanzhou. "National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph" Journal of Chinese Language and Literature no.99(2025) : 135-154.
LIU YAXIANG; Xu Yanzhou. National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, 99, 135-154.
LIU YAXIANG; Xu Yanzhou. National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature. 2025; 99 135-154.
LIU YAXIANG, Xu Yanzhou. National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph. 2025; 99 : 135-154.
LIU YAXIANG and Xu Yanzhou. "National Spirit and Cultural Memory in Korean and Chinese Table Tennis Films: A Comparative Study of As One and Ping-Pong: The Triumph" Journal of Chinese Language and Literature no.99(2025) : 135-154.
