Mysterious Buddha was one of the earliest commercial genre films made in post-Cultural Revolution China. Drawing influences from traditional Chinese popular literature of chuanqi，crime thriller， martial arts film and horror film , the film was a smash hit with domestic audiences. The significance of Mysterious Buddha lies not only in its pioneering efforts in reviving the martial arts film genre in the PRC，which is the primary focus of previous studies, but—more importantly—in its ability to reflect the containment of popular cinema and the subsequent ascension of elite film culture. The film was publicly denounced by many influential public figures but was authorized for swift production and release. lts haphazard treatment indicated the emergence of a new film bureaucracy, professional institutions , and their power balance against the changed political and cultural climate. This article re-appraises the 1980s' popular cinema and demonstrates the contested nature of nascent Chinese popular culture in the early 1980s.