The important social changes in modern Chinese history are elaborated critically in many realist texts (including films). These works of Chinese self-representation and self-reinvention can be viewed as processes of (re)creating a cultural identity. They offer windows and insights into such significant events as the May Fourth new cultural movement, the communist revolution, and China’s transformation into the post-socialist era, in which people rethought their traditional values and conscious attitudes. These narrative works and films show a deep anxiety about as well as a profound ambivalence toward modern social changes, and at the same time, a strong sense of nostalgia for China’s past.