The Oldest Survivor
In 1922, the first year of its existence, the Mingxing (Star) Film Company made three short comic films, all written by Zheng Zhengqiu and directed by Zhang Shichuan. The titles of these initial efforts were "The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai" (Huaji Dawang You Hu Ji 滑稽大王游沪记), "A Laborer's Love" (Laogong zhi Aiqing 劳工之爱情) and "Eerie Events in the Theater" (Da Nao Guai Juchang"大闹怪剧场). The most significant thing about these is that 80-plus years after its making, "Laborer's Love" still survives, making it the oldest Chinese motion picture in existence.
Unlike "A Couple in Difficulty," for which we have only second-hand sources to draw on, "A Laborer's Love" is a movie we can actually view, and from it draw our own impressions of what early Chinese cinema comedy was like.
As any reader of movie criticism or history knows, there is a considerable gap between reading written documents concerning a movie and actually viewing it on screen, and while this oldest surviving film is only 22 minutes in length – and 22 totally silent minutes at that – still, seeing it brings the same sort of satisfaction one gets from actually visiting some tourist attraction, rather than just viewing a travelogue.
By 1922, China had entered a period when the influences of the May Fourth Movement were spreading from its northern origins to south China, becoming more widespread and solidified as it progressed. The ideas of "laborer" and "love" had become fashionable, so the timing of this film was in keeping with the new cultural atmosphere of the May Fourth Movement. But to say that "Laborer" had a specific class intention is a specious argument.
[left, Carpenter Zheng and Miss Zhu get acquainted]
If the main character, a carpenter turned fruit-seller, had been considered a "laborer" before, he has now transformed himself into a small businessman. The father of the girl he is courting, a doctor whose main concern should be with saving lives and curing the sick, instead shows a high degree of selfishness, seeking only personal gain from the misfortunes of others. The owner of the tea water shop opposite, the few rascals we see hanging out in the street, the frequent patrons of the gambling club upstairs – not one of these could be considered a "laborer," nor do they appear to be dripping with sweat, under the stresses and pressures a manual worker would be subject to; rather, the movie shows us a typical urban marketplace setting. Among all this, Doctor Zhu's daughter is quite bold in her conduct: she wears jewelry; she is an unmarried female who goes out alone in broad daylight; during the carpenter's frequent comings and goings the two of them openly flirt with each other; and when he approaches her father requesting marriage, she not only makes no attempt to avoid the young man, she smilingly undertakes an inventory of his betrothal gifts, and even induces a fight in the tea water shop.
While "laborer" expresses an identity, intentional or not, the word "love" expresses a strong longing, for along with the concepts of morality and nationalism, the May Fourth movement also brought in the idea of "romance," a departure from the traditional patterns and outmoded conventions of Chinese society. "A Laborer's Love" also presented strongly the process by which the carpenter was successful in gaining "love."
As a "love story," the plot line is simple: carpenter-turned-fruit peddler Zheng falls in love with Miss Zhu, the doctor's daughter across the street, and discerning that she finds him an attractive prospect as well, he takes a selection of his best produce to her father and asks for her hand. But the doctor can think only of business, and replies that "one cannot exchange fruit for a wife. Only a man who can improve my business may marry my daughter."
[below right, noisy partying at the all-night club]
That night, as the disappointed Zheng tries to sleep, noise from the all-night club upstairs keeps him
awake, but gives him an idea. He alters the staircase from the club exit in such a way that he can make anyone descending the stairs fall to the ground and suffer sufficient injury to require medical attention. The resultant spike in business so elates the doctor that he gladly gives his consent for the young couple's marriage and declares how proud and fortunate he is to have so clever a son-in-law. Fans of Harold Lloyd's work should find this familiar: in Lloyd's short film "Never Weaken" (1921), a lovestruck young man contrives a scam to increase the business of his girl friend's doctor employer, although he does not actually cause the patients' injuries, as in this case. Given the popularity of Lloyd's movies in China at that time (second only to Chaplin's), it is conceivable that the makers of this film were inspired by his work of the previous year.
[left, the carpenter springs his trap; click on picture for larger image]
Students of silent film have noted in commenting on "Never Weaken" that Lloyd's character in this short is a bit more mean-spirited than the usual harmless, wide-eyed naifs of his other films. While Zheng's carpenter does inflict injuries on the club patrons, we earlier observe his ba
sic good nature in a scene where some children raid his fruit stand while he is away at the doctor's office, and while most of them flee, two very small children cannot get away. Zheng angrily starts to spank them, but their crying so moves him that he consoles the children with as much fruit as they can carry.
[right, Dad joyfully consents, as the bride-to-be blushes; click on picture for larger image]
The acting was another point of interest. As noted in an earlier article, the earliest Chinese productions had to rely on stage performers for casting. While there were only three credited roles in the film, "Laborer's Love" had a relatively large cast of extras, and it was obvious that some of these were non-professionals (looking into the camera was common).
Print quality was good, considering what it must have gone through to get to us 86 years later. The major shortcoming was the total lack of accompanying music, as watching in total silence detracted from the experience.
A Laborer's Love (1922) (Laogong zhi Aiqing 劳工之爱情)
aka: Romance of a Fruit Peddler (1922) (Zhi Guo Yuan 掷果缘)
Production studio: Mingxing. B&W. Silent, with Chinese intertitles. 22 minutes. Premiered October 5, 1922 at the Olympic Theater in Shanghai. DVD reviewed from Guangzhou Qiaojiaren Wenhua Co., Ltd., Region 6 coding. Also available on VCD from Dalian AV Publishers. Direction: Zhang Shichuan Screenplay: Zheng Zhengqiu. Cinematography: Zhang Weitao. Cast: Zheng Zhegu (Zheng the carpenter), Zheng Zhengqiu (Doctor Zhu), Yu Ying (Miss Zhu).
