As mentioned in the last post, China's first full-length feature film (and first docudrama), 1921's highly successful "Yan Ruisheng" was soon followed by two more full-length features, both also critically and financially successful, and each marking some Chinese cinematic "firsts" of its own. This article discusses the second in this initial trio of full-length features, "Hai Shi" 海誓 (The Sea Oath). In addition to being China's first screen romance, it also marked the appearance of the country's first filmmaking couple, director Dan Duyu 但杜宇and his leading lady (and later wife) Yin Mingzhu 殷明珠.
No discussion of 1920s Chinese cinema would be complete without mention of Dan Duyu. Although the term auteur filmmaking, referring to film as an expression of the director's personal creative vision, did not begin showing up in film theory literature until the 1950s, Dan Duyu was an early auteur practitioner, certainly China's first. And while the term today most likely refers to a combination director-screenwriter, Dan Duyu went far beyond that, especially in his earliest movies.
[left, Dan Duyu in early career]
Dan Duyu was born Dan Zuling 但祖龄 in Nanchang, Jiangxi on September 19, 1897. His father died not long after, leaving his family in very modest circumstances. However, the future filmmaker showed sufficient artistic talent to get into an excellent art school, the Shanghai School of Fine Arts. He quickly established a career after graduation, becoming much in demand for his portraits of beautiful women for calendars, magazine covers and illustrations, etc. These earned him a good living, and 100 of these works were collected and published in a book, which sold well.
He acquired an interest in photography and movies, which led him to buy a movie camera from a French resident of Shanghai, then teach himself the basics of cinematography through experimentation. In 1920, he founded the Shanghai Yingxi (Shadow Play) Company which, coming between the Commercial Press's Motion Picture Section and the Mingxing Company, became China's second regular movie studio. In addtion to serving as studio head, Dan personally filled the multiple functions of director, cinematographer, film processor and editor. In addition, most of the first performers hired by the studio were Dan's own family members. The following year, Dan began working on a script for his new studio's maiden effort, a love story he titled "The Sea Oath." In a departure from the pattern of other Shanghai studio start-ups, this first production was not a short, but a 6-reel, full-length feature. Since Dan Duyu's home was the only real estate the Shanghai Shadow Play Company had, shooting was done outdoors in a vacant lot in the Zhabei district of Shanghai, taking nearly a year to complete.
Although "The Sea Oath" is lost, sufficient contemporary reviews remain for us to draw some conclusions. Reviews of the day were generally approving, although noting the film was a strange amalgam of styles, neither Chinese or Western: the characters all lived in Western-style houses, the rooms tastefully furnished in a Western style. The male characters, including the servants, all wore suits and leather shoes. Their life styles and habits were those of the West, divorced from the reality of Chinese life and society at the time. A common criticism was that the whole thing was muddled and amateurish, but this is understandable, given that nearly everyone associated with its making, from Dan Duyu on down, was a novice. But as a noble first effort it deserves praise, and is regarded by Chinese film historians as historically important.
[left, Dan Duyu in later carer, looking very Hollywood]
As mentioned earlier, "The Sea Oath" is a love story of the time-honored variety: boy-meets-girl, loses girl, etc. Fuzhu (Yin Mingzhu), a modern girl who believes in marital freedom of choice, meets a struggling young painter named Xuanqing (Zhou Zhanqin). They fall in love and exchange vows of commitment, but in order to obtain her family's approval, agree to keep their relationship secret until the young man's financial status improves. As part of their vows each swears to jump into the sea if the promises are broken. The young man's artistic career develops, but before they can make their engagement public, Fuzhu is tempted by the wealth of another man, and breaks off the engagement in order to marry the newcomer. At the wedding, she realizes her mistake and runs away, back to Xuanqing. Still hurt and angry at having been dumped, he refuses to take her back. Shamed and in despair, Fuzhu runs to the seaside to commit suicide, but the painter arrives just in time to save her. The lovers agree to forget what has happened, reaffirm their vows and marry.
[Saved in the nick of time, the lovers renew their oath]
Despite its lack of polish, "The Sea Oath" did well enough at the box office to establish Dan Duyu and the Shanghai Shadow Play Company as players in Shanghai's emerging film community. And while no discussion of 1920s Chinese cinema can overlook Dan Duyu, no mention of Dan Duyu can be complete without mention of his actress-wife Yin Mingzhu, the subject of the next posting.
Hai Shi (1922) 海誓 (The Sea Oath)
alternate English title: Swear by God
Shanghai Shadow Play Co. B&W. Silent. 6 reels.
Premiered January 23, 1922 at the Olympic Theater in Shanghai.
Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography, Art and Sets: Dan Duyu.
Cast: Yin Mingzhu (Fuzhu), Zhou Zhanqin (Zhou Xuanqing), Dong Liansheng (Fuzhu's cousin).
Also: Zhou Guoji, Dan Erchun, Chen Baoji, He Rongzhu, He Peiying.
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Dan Duyu Filmography (credits as director, unless noted)
1922:
The Sea Oath (director, writer, cinematographer)
Urchin (director, writer, cinematographer)
1923:
Abandoned Son (director, writer, cinematographer)
The Widow Wants to Remarry (director, cinematographer)
1924:
Younger Brother (director, writer)
1925:
Return to the Hometown (director, writer)
The Young Gentleman (director, writer)
1926:
Family Heirloom
Repayment
1927:
Yang Guifei (director, cinematographer)
The Spider Cave
1928:
The Diamond Case (director, cinematographer)
Young Swordsman
Lu Binhua Beats a Monster I,II
1929:
I Love You All, Sisters (director, cinematographer)
The Spider Cave II (director, writer)
1930:
The Leering Swordsman
The Case in the Studio
Tofu Master
Island of Beautiful Women I,II
1931:
Stranger in the Old House
Oriental Story
1932:
South Seas Beauty
Regrets
1933:
An Innocent Girl
1934:
Exercise
1935:
The Peach-Blossom Dream
Kids
The Night Before the Wedding
1936:
The Graduate
1937:
Shatter and Batter
1938:
Modern Spider Cave
1946:
The Pangs of Love (co-director)
New Arabian Nights
1948:
The Vagabond Master I,II,III
1950:
Panther-Head Hero Lam Chong
1952:
Playboy
The Moon Goddess
1953:
A New Wave Maiden
