The first major work on pre-1949 Chinese cinema written in English, Projecting a Nation represents an important contribution to existing discussions of both Chinese cinema and national cinema. Its historical research is based on sources that were previously not widely available, and therefore it is indispensable to scholars interested in Chinese film history. The book analyses the wide variety of concepts of Chinese national cinema between the early years of the twentieth century and 1949, and contrasts them to concepts of national cinema in Europe. Hu maintains that debates and questions about the status and meaning of the 'national' in Chinese national cinema are central to any consideration of cinema during this period, and addresses the issue of Chinese nationalism as being part of the complex history of cinema in the early modern Chinese nation.