TheAssassintellsthestoryofaswordswomanwhorefrainsfromkilling.HouHsiao-hsienastonisheshisaudienceonceagainbyupsettingalmosteveryconventionofthewuxia(martialarts)genreinthefilm.Thiscollectionofferselevenreadings,eachasoriginalandthought-provokingasthefilmitself,beginningwithonegivenbythedirectorhimself.Contributorsanalyzetheellipticalwayofstorytelling,Hou’sadaptationofthesourcetext(atalefromtheTangdynasty,alsoincludedinthisvolume),thefilm’sappropriationoftraditionalChinesevisualaesthetics,aswellastheconceptofxia(knight-errant)thatisembeddedinConfucian,Daoist,andBuddhistworldviews.Therearealsodiscussionsofthemuch-celebratedsonicdesignofTheAssassin:thenearlyexclusiveuseofadiegeticfilmscoreisastatementonthedirector’sbeliefincinematicreality.
UnderlyingallthechaptersisafocusonhowHoureinventsTang-dynastyChinaincontemporaryculture.ThemeticulouslyrecreatedeverydayrealityoftheTangworldinthefilmhighlightstheethnicandculturaldiversityofthedynasty.ItwasatimewhenSogdiantradersactedasimportantintermediariesbetweenCentralAsiaandtheTangcourt,andasaresultSogdianculturepermeatedthesociety.
TakingnoteofthevibranthybridityofTangcultureinthefilm,thisvolumeshowsthatthehistoricalopennesstonon-ChineseelementsisinfactanessentialpartoftheChinesenessexpressedinHou’swork.TheAssassinisagatewaytotheremoteTang-dynastyworld,butinHou’shandstheconcernsofthatpremodernworldturnouttobehighlyrelevanttotheworldoftheaudience.
