{ "id": "epjtpfm3e7", "slug": "painted-skin-the-resurrection", "title": "Painted Skin: The Resurrection (画皮II)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "label": "Franchise and series entries as standalone works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries", "label": "Action, thriller, and crime series film entries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2010s", "label": "Entries released in the 2010s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2010s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2010s.action-and-adventure-entries", "label": "Action and adventure entries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2010s.action-and-adventure-entries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2010s.action-and-adventure-entries.alpha-l-to-y", "label": "Titles L to Y", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2010s.action-and-adventure-entries.alpha-l-to-y" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Franchise and series entries as standalone works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "label": "Franchise and series entries as standalone works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Painted Skin: The Resurrection (画皮II, Taiwan title 转生术) is Wuershan's 2012 Chinese fantasy romance sequel to Painted Skin, starring Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei, and Chen Kun; it earned 726 million yuan, ranking third in China for 2012, with a Golden Horse visual effects nomination.", "snippet": "Painted Skin: The Resurrection (画皮II, Taiwan title 转生术) is Wuershan's 2012 Chinese fantasy romance sequel to Painted Skin, starring Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei, and Chen Kun; it earned 726 million yuan, ranking third in China for 2012, with a Golden Horse visual effects nomination.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2010s.action-and-adventure-entries.alpha-l-to-y", "markdown": "# Painted Skin: The Resurrection (画皮II)\n\n**Painted Skin: The Resurrection** (画皮II; released in Taiwan as 画皮II：轉生術) is a 2012 Chinese fantasy romance film directed by Wuershan (乌尔善) and a sequel to the 2008 film *Painted Skin*, itself adapted from the story \"Huapi\" in [Pu Songling](https://www.edgepedia.org/pu-songling)'s Qing-dynasty collection *Liaozhai zhiyi* (聊斋志异). It stars [Zhou Xun](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhou-xun) as the fox spirit Xiaowei, Zhao Wei as Princess Jing, and [Chen Kun](https://www.edgepedia.org/chen-kun) as the general Huo Xin, with Yang Mi and Feng Shaofeng in supporting roles.[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/739) • [2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/COB1stAnnualCatalog.pdf) Released in mainland China on 28 June 2012, it earned 726 million yuan and ranked third in that year's Chinese box office.[3](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2023-07-22/A07/ycwb20230722A07.pdf)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / writers | Wuershan; screenplay by Ran Ping and Ran Jianan[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/739) |\n| Release | 28 June 2012, mainland China; 131-minute Mandarin production (132 minutes per the Golden Horse archive)[3](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2023-07-22/A07/ycwb20230722A07.pdf) • [2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/COB1stAnnualCatalog.pdf) |\n| Box office | 726 million yuan, third place in China for 2012; Baidu Baike lists 702 million yuan cumulative worldwide as of 26 April 2024[3](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2023-07-22/A07/ycwb20230722A07.pdf) • [4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E7%94%BB%E7%9A%AEII/52749?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |\n| Budget | 120 million yuan per the Yangcheng Evening News retrospective; IMDb lists an estimated CN¥150,000,000[3](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2023-07-22/A07/ycwb20230722A07.pdf) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2371411/) |\n| Principal cast | Zhou Xun (Xiaowei, the fox spirit), Zhao Wei (Princess Jing), Chen Kun (Huo Xin), Yang Mi (the bird demon), Feng Shaofeng, Fei Xiang (the Wizard)[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/739) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2371411/fullcredits/) |\n| Awards | 49th Golden Horse Awards Best Visual Effects nomination; 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards Best Cross-Strait Chinese Film nomination; Best Viewing Effect award at the 20th Beijing College Student Film Festival[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E7%94%BB%E7%9A%AEII/52749?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |\n| Production | Ningxia Film Studio, Dinglongda International Culture, Huayi Brothers, and Kylin Pictures; produced by Pang Hong with Chen Guofu as supervisor[7](https://ent.sina.cn/star/tv/2012-07-19/detail-icesifvx4512748.d.html?from=wap) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe fox spirit Xiaowei escapes from an icy prison and believes a legend that she can be reborn as a human if someone willingly gives her a human heart. Princess Jing, disfigured and still in love with the general Huo Xin, believes that restoring her beauty will win his love, and agrees to trade her heart for Xiaowei's skin. The film frames this forbidden bargain as a tangle of desire across the boundary between human and demon: a demon becoming human, a human wanting to become a demon, and the question of whether a exchanged heart can carry true feeling.[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/739) Rotten Tomatoes' synopsis adds that Princess Jing dons a man's armor in her search for her true love.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/painted_skin_the_resurrection)\n\n## Literary source\n\nThe title story in *Liaozhai zhiyi* runs differently from the film. In Pu Songling's tale, the scholar Wang meets a solitary beautiful woman, shelters her in his study, and ignores his wife's warnings. A Daoist priest tells him he carries an evil aura; returning home, Wang peeks through a window and sees a hideous ghost painting a human skin with colored pigments, then donning it to become the beautiful woman again. The ghost later tears out Wang's heart, the priest destroys it and rolls up the painted skin, and Wang is revived when his wife swallows a beggar's phlegm, which turns into a heart in Wang's chest.[9](https://chiculture.org.hk/index.php/sc/china-five-thousand-years/2735)\n\nA 2017 study by Li Xueliang and Wang Guangfu in *Pu Songling Research* divides the tale into three events: the ghost seen through its painted skin, the heart-taking killing, and the rescue by filth, noting that versions of the first event appear repeatedly in earlier [Chinese literature](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-literature) while the third appears only in *Liaozhai zhiyi*. The authors hypothesize that the story secretly transmits Buddhist meditative practices, matching the skin-painting to the \"contemplation of impurity\" (不净观) and the phlegm-to-heart revival to a counter-practice called the \"feces method\" (秽迹法).[10](https://www.fx361.com/page/2018/0207/2866852.shtml) \"Huapi\" has become a widely recognized cultural symbol and has been adapted to film and television many times.[10](https://www.fx361.com/page/2018/0207/2866852.shtml)\n\n## Production\n\n**Director.** Wuershan was born in 1972 in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. He studied painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts before training in directing at the Beijing Film Academy, and worked as an award-winning commercial director before making short experimental films and the well-received independent feature *Soap Opera* (2004). His second film, *The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman* (2010), won him the Golden Horse Award for Best New Director in 2011, and *Painted Skin: The Resurrection* was his third feature.[2](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/COB1stAnnualCatalog.pdf) • [1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/739) Producer Chen Guofu, having recognized Wuershan's visual sensibility, offered him the *Painted Skin II* script; filming began in May 2011.[3](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2023-07-22/A07/ycwb20230722A07.pdf)\n\n**Crew and pipeline.** Because it was Wuershan's first commercial blockbuster, producer Pang Hong assembled a team that included supervisor Chen Guofu, cinematographer Huang Yuet-leung (黄岳泰, a nine-time Hong Kong Film Award winner), action director Tung Wai (head of the Hong Kong Stuntman Association), concept designer [Yoshitaka Amano](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoshitaka-amano), and the Oscar-nominated composer credited as Shi Tian Sheng Fan (石田胜范).[7](https://ent.sina.cn/star/tv/2012-07-19/detail-icesifvx4512748.d.html?from=wap) The 3D conversion was handled by Beijing-based Lingdong Liliang, which had worked on Hollywood films including *Immortals* and *Resident Evil*, while the remaining effects were split between two Korean and two Chinese companies.[7](https://ent.sina.cn/star/tv/2012-07-19/detail-icesifvx4512748.d.html?from=wap) Pang Hong later stated that more than 550 crew members worked over 700 days and nights on the film, and he subsequently published a book, *Jubian* (聚变，缔造华语电影新标准), presenting the production as a new factory-style standard for Chinese-language cinema.[11](https://device.report/m/e21c83098495f3a748f21c6649ed61b2c5a5b4782c3def4270462751b89ffae2.pdf) Wuershan's practice of pre-visualizing effects-heavy sequences with animation previews began on this film; on his later *Fengshen* trilogy the animated previews ran to more than 200 minutes.[12](https://static.nfnews.com/content/202307/22/c7921974.html)\n\n**Aesthetic approach.** Wuershan described the film not as a historical picture but as \"Eastern fantasy\": the design drew on Tibetan, Central Asian, and northern nomadic cultural elements, building an imagined world rather than reconstructing history.[13](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2012-06-28/17593670978.shtml) A sequence in which Zhou Xun's character changes faces under visual effects was widely remembered by audiences for its mixture of horror and strange beauty.[3](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2023-07-22/A07/ycwb20230722A07.pdf)\n\n## Reception and box office\n\nThe film opened strongly: it took about 300 million yuan in its first four days, and commentators attributed the speed partly to the goodwill earned by the 2008 *Painted Skin*, whose story of a mistress, a forbearing wife, and moral erosion had resonated with many female viewers.[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E7%94%BB%E7%9A%AEII/52749?fromModule=lemma_inlink) At the time of its release it was described in English-language coverage as the highest-grossing Mandarin-language film in Chinese history[14](https://film-forward.com/star-reviews/painted-skin-the-resurrection) and as China's top-grossing domestic film.[15](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/painted-skin-the-resurrection/) A later industry retrospective notes that it held the annual Chinese box-office championship for about half a year before being overtaken.[16](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/UploadFiles/file/20200602/202006021006404505.pdf) Outside China the returns were small: IMDb records a worldwide gross of $2,455,359, of which $50,425 came from the United States and Canada after the 17 August 2012 American release.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2371411/)\n\nCritical response was divided between praise for the visuals and reservations about the story. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 83% Tomatometer from six critics and a 56% audience score from more than 500 ratings.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/painted_skin_the_resurrection) The *New York Times*'s Jeannette Catsoulis called it \"blindingly gorgeous to look at\" and praised the women's performances, while Calum Marsh in *Slant Magazine* dismissed it as \"a vaporous, watered-down frappe of a fantasy epic.\"[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/painted_skin_the_resurrection) The *Los Angeles Times* found the mix of fantasy, adventure, and romance \"a fussy, convoluted mess\" despite its hit status in China.[17](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-aug-16-la-et-mn-painted-skin-the-resurrection-review-20120817-story.html) John Semley in *NOW Magazine* credited the film's fusion of sensuality, swordplay, and demonology with wowing Chinese audiences while judging that much of its cultural specificity was lost in translation.[15](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/painted-skin-the-resurrection/) Douban users gave it 6.1 out of 10, based on 277,390 ratings as of 16 September 2024.[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E7%94%BB%E7%9A%AEII/52749?fromModule=lemma_inlink) At a [Peking University](https://www.edgepedia.org/peking-university) screening and seminar, scholars Rao Shuguang and Zhou Xing praised its combination of visual spectacle with industrial and humanistic concerns and its convincing sequel construction.[18](https://news.pku.edu.cn/info/7921/3026931.htm)\n\nThe film's awards record centers on its craft: a Best Visual Effects nomination at the 49th Golden Horse Awards, a Best Cross-Strait Chinese Film nomination at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards, and a win for Best Viewing Effect at the 20th Beijing College Student Film Festival.[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E7%94%BB%E7%9A%AEII/52749?fromModule=lemma_inlink) • [1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/739)\n\n## Place in Wuershan's career\n\nThe film's success brought Wuershan recognition within the industry and favor with investors, and he followed it with *Mojin: The Lost Legend* (2015) and the planning of the *Fengshen* trilogy, which began formal shooting in 2018.[19](https://news.bjd.com.cn/2023/07/26/10508612.shtml) • [3](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2023-07-22/A07/ycwb20230722A07.pdf) IMDb lists the film's lineage as following *The Painted Skin* (1966), and its production companies as Kylin Pictures and Ningxia Film Group, with Well Go USA handling the subtitled American theatrical release.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2371411/) • [20](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2371411/companycredits/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [畫皮II：轉生術 Painted Skin: The Resurrection, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival archive](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/739)\n2. [UCLA Film & Television Archive, 1st Annual Catalog of Chinese Cinema (entry for 画皮 II)](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/COB1stAnnualCatalog.pdf)\n3. [乌尔善 用10年积累换《封神三部曲》开拍, 羊城晚报 (22 July 2023)](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2023-07-22/A07/ycwb20230722A07.pdf)\n4. [画皮Ⅱ（2012年周迅、陈坤主演的魔幻爱情电影）, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E7%94%BB%E7%9A%AEII/52749?fromModule=lemma_inlink)\n5. [Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2371411/)\n6. [Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2371411/fullcredits/)\n7. [《画皮2》幕后的故事 制片人庞洪专访, 新浪娱乐 (19 July 2012)](https://ent.sina.cn/star/tv/2012-07-19/detail-icesifvx4512748.d.html?from=wap)\n8. [Painted Skin: The Resurrection, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/painted_skin_the_resurrection)\n9. [《聊斋》笑天下可笑之人, 中国文化研究院·灿烂的中国文明 (马振方)](https://chiculture.org.hk/index.php/sc/china-five-thousand-years/2735)\n10. [李学良、王光福《〈聊斋志异〉中〈画皮〉篇的\"方术原型\"推定》, 蒲松龄研究 2017年3期](https://www.fx361.com/page/2018/0207/2866852.shtml)\n11. [《画皮》成功之处在于制定出了国产电影工厂化生产的\"新标准\"（制片人庞洪相关文献）](https://device.report/m/e21c83098495f3a748f21c6649ed61b2c5a5b4782c3def4270462751b89ffae2.pdf)\n12. [乌尔善 用10年积累换《封神三部曲》开拍, 南方+](https://static.nfnews.com/content/202307/22/c7921974.html)\n13. [《画皮Ⅱ》从画脸画皮到换皮换心, 新浪娱乐 (28 June 2012)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2012-06-28/17593670978.shtml)\n14. [Painted Skin: The Resurrection, Film-Forward (Christopher Bourne, 17 August 2012)](https://film-forward.com/star-reviews/painted-skin-the-resurrection)\n15. [Painted Skin: The Resurrection, NOW Magazine (John Semley, 16 August 2012)](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/painted-skin-the-resurrection/)\n16. [中国电影报相关产业回顾 (2020)](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/UploadFiles/file/20200602/202006021006404505.pdf)\n17. [Review: 'Painted Skin' sequel a jumbled mess, Los Angeles Times (16 August 2012)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-aug-16-la-et-mn-painted-skin-the-resurrection-review-20120817-story.html)\n18. [北大影视戏剧研究中心举办《画皮II》\"北大首映\"及研讨, 北京大学新闻网](https://news.pku.edu.cn/info/7921/3026931.htm)\n19. [专访《封神》导演乌尔善：用9年时间干一件事，值了！, 京报网 (26 July 2023)](https://news.bjd.com.cn/2023/07/26/10508612.shtml)\n20. [Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012) Company credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2371411/companycredits/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 2010s › Action and adventure entries › Titles L to Y*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/painted-skin-the-resurrection", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/painted-skin-the-resurrection.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Painted Skin: The Resurrection (画皮II)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/painted-skin-the-resurrection. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Painted Skin: The Resurrection (画皮II)](https://www.edgepedia.org/painted-skin-the-resurrection)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/painted-skin-the-resurrection](https://www.edgepedia.org/painted-skin-the-resurrection). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Painted Skin: The Resurrection (画皮II)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/painted-skin-the-resurrection. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Painted Skin: The Resurrection is Wuershan's 2012 Chinese fantasy romance sequel to Painted Skin, starring Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei, and Chen Kun; it earned 726 million yuan, ranking third in China for 2012, with a Golden Horse visual effects nomination." }