The Chinese Mirror

Chinese Film History Studies 2008

    This is a bibliography of Chinese language film history studies published in 2008.  No claim is made for its being complete, and if further publications from that year are found later, this list will be updated. Titles of books and articles have been translated into English, and abstracts are provided for those I have been able to examine personally.  In addition to their Chinese titles, most Chinese film journals and magazines carry an English title, and that is what is used here. Page numbers are given for articles I have actually examined while those lacking page numbers were taken from other bibliographic sources.

Books:

Feng, Qun.  The Godfather of Chinese Movies:  a biography of Zhang Yimou.  Beijing:  China Radio and TV Press, 2008.  ISBN 978-7-50435-629-1.

Hong, Fangyi.  Songstress at the Ends of the Earth:  Zhou Xuan and her songs.  Taibei:  Xiuwen: Information Technology Co., 2008.  ISBN 978-9-86673-870-3.

Hou, Xiaosan.  Movie Memories.  Beijing:  Bindings Bookstore, 2008.  ISBN 9787801068071.

----The author, a prolific writer on Chinese theater history and lore, is also a lifelong film buff though not an expert.  This is a compilation of his many articles on film published over the last 50 years.

Huang, Xiaoyang.  The Chinese Image:  a biography of Zhang Yimou.  Beijing:  China Press, 2008.  ISBN 7508048703.

Liu, Shu.   Pictorial Biography of Hu Die.  Beijing:  Literary History Press, 2008.  ISBN 7-50342-028-6.

_______.  Pictorial Biography of Jin Yan and Qin Yi.  Beijing:  Literary History Press, 2008.  ISBN 978-7-50342-029-0.

Mo, Mo.  Biography of Zhang Yimou.  Beijing:  China Radio and Television Press, 2008.  ISBN 978-7-5043-5629-1.

Qin, Xiqing.  European and American Films and Early Chinese Films (1920-1930).  Beijing:  China Film Press, 2008.

Qin, Yi and Liu Shu.  Pictorial Biography of an Eternal Beauty:  Qin Yi.  Beijing:  Literary History Press, 2008.

--Memories and photos from the personal collection of the 1940s-50s star (1922-    ), widow of matinee idol Jin Yan.

Shen, Ji.  Shanghai Movies.  (Shanghai Culture Series).  Shanghai:  Wenhui Press, 2008.   ISBN 9787807413721.

--Overview history of movies made in Shanghai (which means most of the pre-1950 Chinese output). Instead of the usual chronological arrangement, the several chapters deal with comedy, drama, martial arts, musicals, war movies, etc., although one notable omission is crime and detective films, a popular genre in China from the early 1920s through the 1940s.  The author is a native of Shanghai, and a long time screenwriter for studios in Shanghai and Hong Kong. 

Yip, Tim.  Red Cliff Film Art Notes.  Beijing:  Contemporary Press, 2008.

--The noted production designer relates the painstaking process that went into design for the 2008 epic 《Red Cliff》, from the earliest phase through to the end, and how he immersed himself day and night in researching China's Three Kingdoms period for the highest degree of historical accuracy, as well as closely relating the film's characters to their real-life historical counterparts.

Zhao, Shihui.  In Search of Old Movie Stars.  Shanghai:  Xuelin Press, 2008.  ISBN 9787807304913.

--Collected articles profiling classic era Chinese movie stars, published between 1981-2006 by a prolific author of popular film histories.  

Zhu Jie.  Chinese Motion Pictures Since the 1990s.  Beijing:  China Film Press, 2008.

Articles:

Chen, Gang  (Dept. of Literature, Beijing Film Academy).  "Lu Jie:  early Chinese cinema's 'Jack of all trades'" Film Art, No.4, 2008.

【Abstract】Researchers on Chinese film history usually focus heavily on those who actually made the movies, with a lack of attention given to those involved in the industry, but away from the set (e.g., movie magazine editors, producers, etc.)  The writer traces the contributions and influences of Lu Jie 陆洁 (1894-1967), a "Jack of all trades" who was a major movie figure over a 40-year career.
*
Chen, Lili (Dept. of Literature, Guangxi Normal University).  "On feminine conciousness in 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'."  Movie Review No.6, 2008, p.34.

【Abstract】The movie's focus on female role models is a relative departure from traditional swordsman films, and its narrative depiction of the maturation of Yu Jiaolong [Zhang Ziyi] views a female character from a uniquely female visual angle.  But while 《Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon》is filled with female consciousness, it is not a woman's film in the traditional sense.
*
Chen, Mo.  (China Film Art Research Center). "Family, nation, time and people in Zhu Shilin's early films."  Contemporary Cinema No.5, 2008, pp.73-78.

【Abstract】The early films of Zhu Shilin (1899-1967) are analyzed and discussed from the standpoint of four separate dimensions:  family, nation, time and people.   Never trendy, and even less radical, Zhu's films seemed to belong to an earlier time, but their deep cultural value amply displayed their director's talent.  As major representatives of the "humanistic film," the greatest shortcoming of Zhu's productions lay in their insufficient stress on human nature or the beauty of the human image.
*
________.  "The Life and Movies of Sun Shiyi."  Contemporary Cinema No.10, 2008, pp.30-36.  

【Abstract】Sun Shiyi (1904-1966) was one of the most versatile and multitalented men of his time. While usually categorized in cinema references as a writer and composer, Sun was also a film theorist, editor, director and planner, and was known in publishing as a translator, editor, publisher, journalist, educator and entrepreneur.  Outside of the movie and publishing communities, he was a revolutionary, an undercover CCP member and activist, and a high-ranking special agent.  This article concentrates on his movie career. 
*
Chen, Shan (Lecturer and doctoral candidate, Beijing Film Academy).  "Theoretical foundation of Chinese films in the silent era".  Film Art No.2 (2008), pp.102-109.

【Abstract】 The 1920s saw the emergence of the first generation of Chinese movie theorists, who went beyond acquiring a grasp of Western movie thought and imported cultural materials, and worked together to build a firm theoretical foundation for China's motion picture development.  In addition to these Western influences on China's early filmmakers, some trailblazing Chinese monographic and periodical publications are discussed, notably the writings of Hong Shen, the father of Chinese screenwriting and China's first Western-educated filmmaker.
* 
_______.  "The Structure of Film Historiography:  historical study of Zhongguo Dianying Fazhan Shi." Film Art No.6 (2008), pp.101-109.
*
Cui, Yi.  "Movie images of three major Chinese cities"  Popular Cinema No.12 (2008), pp.48-51.

【Abstract】 Examines the role played by Chinese movies in molding the public's images of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

《Resentments》(1926)

    Although Hu Die had one previous screen appearance, in 1925's "Battle Exploits," she wrote In her memoirs that she considered "Resentments" to be the true start of her movie career, as it was her first role of any substance and led to more lead roles and eventually stardom.  After the small part in her first film, in which she had only a few brief scenes, the future "Empress of Film" was feeling frustrated and beginning to question whether she had made the right career choice.  She credited her film school classmate Xu Qinfang and the latter's husband Chen Kengran at their Youlian studio for restoring her confidence by casting her with the lead in this movie, which led to lead roles with larger studios, and eventually the top spot at Mingxing.

Qiu Shan Yuan (1926) 秋扇怨 (Resentments)
literal English title:  Autumn Stirs Up Resentments

    Youlian.  Silent.  8 reels.  Premiered January 10, 1926 at the Palace Theater in Shanghai.  Direction and Screenplay:  Chen Kengran.  Cinematography:  Zhou Ke.  Cast:  Hu Die (Shen Liqiong), Wen Yimin (Xu Yuhui), Xu Qinfang (Chen Shuzhen), Lin Xuehuai (Wu Yi), Zhao Diansheng (Chen Wenyi), Yuan Yijun (Mother Chen), Zhao Jingxia (Tang Biying).

[a faithful wife, abused and betrayed]

     Xu Yuhui, the scion of a wealthy family, is having an affair with a woman named Tang Biying, and when he flaunts the extramarital relationship his wife Shen Liqiong tries to drown herself.   Her cousin Wu Yi jumps in and pulls her out, but the exertion causes them both to collapse on the river bank.  Lawyer Chen Wenyi and his sister, Doctor Chen Shuzhen, are passing by, and she revives the pair. The Chens take Liqiong and Wu Yi back to their home.  When Wu learns why his cousin attempted suicide, he urges her to stay with the Chens rather than return home. She stays for a while, and by the time Liqiong leaves she and Shuzhen have become good friends.
     Trading in rice is one of Xu Yuhui’s business interests, and when the area is stricken by drought, producing a shortage of rice and considerable hardship for the common people, he exploits the situation by raising his prices unreasonably.  One day when Shuzhen comes calling to see how Liqiong is doing, Yuhui makes advances to the doctor which she rejects.  His resentment at this festers, and when he learns Shuzhen and Wu Yi are planning to go riding together, he tampers with her horse’s saddle so that it will throw her during the ride.  When she falls and is slightly injured, Wu Yi takes her to the nearest house, seeking help.  The isolated farmhouse turns out to be occupied by a thug named Ma Chenglong.  He overpowers Wu Yi and locks the couple in the attic, but the captives escape through a skylight.    
    During the time that Liqiong had stayed with the Chens, she and Wenyi developed a strong mutual attraction.  But despite his repeated declarations of love for her, she always declined, believing it her duty to remain with her husband in spite of his adultery and abuse. When Shuzhen and Wu Yi return and tell what has happened to them, Wenyi starts an investigation.  He finds that a servant had seen Yuhui tamper with the saddle.  For Liqiong this is too much and she turns against Yuhui.  When he is brought to trial she tells the whole story of his past misdeeds.  By now, Ma Chenglong has been captured.  Ma also testifies, stating in court he was hired by Xu Yuhui to lock up the couple.  Xu Yuhui is sentenced to prison, and after he is taken away his mistress Tang Biying takes as much of his wealth as she can carry and flees.  Sitting in his prison cell, Xu Yuhui recalls how good Liqiong had been to him and is filled with regret.  He repents his actions too late.
     
     [right, ready to testify against her faithless and criminal husband]

Zhang Zhizhi (1901-1970)

     Zhang Zhizhi (章志直), born in Changzhou, Jiangsu in 1901, came to motion pictures from a stage  background.  After several years of acting experience, he entered motion pictures in 1926 with the Tianyi studio, and had his first leading role in 1926's "Movie Actress."  His film career ranged from 1926-1965, and although a leading man early on, he soon became typecast as a heavy.  Unlike fellow movie bad guys Wang Xianzhai and Sun Min, whose characters were usually more subtle in their evildoing, Zhang, a large man with a menacing mien, was typically cast as a thug, a strongarm mob enforcer, etc., as well as such negative Chinese stereotypes as tyrannical landlords, warlords, etc.     

    Many of his more than 180 movie roles were in the best films of China's classic era, including:  "Movie Actress" (1926); "The Flirting Scholar" (1927); "Southern Heroine" (1930) (as Qian Siying's foe); "Goddess" (1934) (as the petty gangster who gains control over Ruan Lingyu); "The Big Road" (1934) (as the traitorous landlord); "Go to Nature" (1936); "Song of a Loving Mother" (1937); "Sunrise" (1938), "Mulan Joins the Army" (1939), "The Fisherman's Daughter" (1943); "Spring Dream in Paradise" (1947); "Homecoming Diary" (1947); "Long Live the Missus" (1947), and "Stage Sisters" (1965).

    For someone who was so familiar a screen presence for so many years, little is written about Zhang Zhizhi.  He died October 29, 1970, during the Cultural Revolution era, as did so many others from the Shanghai film community.  His last movie role was in Xie Jin's "Stage Sisters" (1965), ironically also the last film for 1940s-50s star Shangguan Yunzhu, who was driven to suicide during that cruel and chaotic decade, but it is not recorded whether Zhang was also a victim of the Cultural Revolution or if his death just coincided with it.

Qian Siying: From "First Heroine" to Movie Clan Matriarch

      When movie critics and scholars discuss the modern classic, Wong Kar Wai's "In the Mood for Love" (2000), the actors most mentioned are, understandably, its two stars, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung.  But another one left out of the discussion should be noted:  the elderly actress playing the Amah, who had also appeared in Wong's "Days of Being Wild," as the maid for Leslie Cheung's adoptive mother.  This actress, Chin Tsi-Ang (钱似莺), was seen in more than 180 films and countless TV productions during the mid-1960s-early 2000s, acting a variety of minor supporting roles, bit parts or as an extra, usually as a major character's mother or grandmother, maid or housekeeper, even a brothel madam and in at least two instances, an elderly hitwoman.  She was a well-known and beloved figure in the Hong Kong movie community, where many of its biggest stars referred to her as "Mama Hung" (Hung being her married name).  When she died in 2007 at the age of 98, among the many public tributes to her was this one, from director Wong Kar Wai:  "Mama Hung's life story is a glorious page in modern Chinese movie history, and I am very saddened to hear of her death.  In the days I worked with Mama Hung, I always admired her spirit of enthusiasm and dedication to filmmaking.  She was a totally optimistic elder, as well as a friend and mentor to younger performers, and we will always miss her."    But it is unlikely that many fans of Chinese films outside of Hong Kong were aware that this prolific character actress was actually a pioneer of Chinese movies, who as Qian Siying (the Mandarin pronounciation of her name), was the first martial arts heroine.  We have already met such silent era heroines as Fan Xuepeng, Wu Lizhu, Xia Peizhen and Xu Qinfang, but Qian Siying is recognized as "The First Heroine" by Chinese film historians, because she made her first screen appearance in that sort of  role in 1925, while the others began doing those roles in 1927 or 1928.  Qian Siying also stands out in that she was the only one of those mentioned who trained in martial arts before she became an actress, and in fact from childhood.
 
    Qian Siying was born in Shanghai in 1909, and shortly after her birth her parents consulted a fortune teller, a common practice at the time.  The seer warned them their little girl would die early unless she was raised as a boy.  So they dressed their daughter in boy's clothes and encouraged her to take up boys' pastimes, like sports.  She was avid about sports, and at age 8, disguised as a boy, she was admitted to the all-male Chin Woo Athletic Association (精武体育会), where she excelled at martial arts.  In 1925, when she was 16, an old friend of her father's, businessman Zhang Puyi (张普义), visited the Qian home.  Zhang had just taken the plunge into the growing movie industry by starting a new film company and hoped to persuade Mr. Qian to invest in it.  The first film from the new studio -- the Langhua Film Company -- was to be an action film called "Nanhua Meng"《南华梦》[South China Dream], and when he met his friend's athletic young daughter Zhang immediately recognized her talent potential.  Mr. Qian was at first opposed to this, for while he was interested in investing, he was appalled at the thought of his daughter becoming an actress.  But as Zhang pointed out, how could he turn down an old friend, especially if it would help his new business, one in which Mr. Qian himself would have a financial stake?

     《South China Dream》(later retitled to《Dreams of Women》)was released in two parts, 20 reels total, and the box office receipts were good enough to permit the studio to make two more action films in which Qian Siying again had important supporting roles.  But Langhua didn't last:  after making a non-action movie, a conventional romance, Zhang Puyi overreached by taking the bold step of sending a film crew on location to south China to make an historical epic about the Chinese revolution.  Not only was the film never finished, the expenses bankrupted the studio.

    But Qian Siying's supporting roles in Langhua's successful first three movies launched what would become a long movie career.  In 1928 she joined the Fudan Film Company, her first role for that studio being the female lead in《Baiyan Nüxia》《白燕女侠》[The Swallow Heroine], after which she starred in three more for Fudan the following year.  In 1930 she moved up a level to the Great Wall studio, making what became her representative work,《Jiangnan Nüxia》《江南女侠》[Southern Heroine], directed by Yang Xiaozhong and co-starring Zhang Zhizhi as her villainous adversary.  Qian's performance wowed audiences.  This also came out just as Shanghai studios were discovering the potential of marketing their product to Southeast Asia's Chinese community; Qian's emerging popularity there brought a steady stream of theater owners to Shanghai to buy copies of Qian Siying's films, regardless of cost.  She went on to make nine more action films for Great Wall and other studios, and since some of these were multi-parters, the actual number was about twice that.  The last of these was released in 1931, by which time the fervor for martial arts movies had cooled, so Qian moved into other genres, eventually making a seamless transition to sound films.

     In 1930, while making a 2-part silent for the Phoenix film studio, her director was Hong Ji (洪济), the younger brother of Hong Shen, "Father of the Chinese Screenplay."  Romance blossomed, and in time they were married. She continued making movies, took a year off to have their first child, then returned to the screen.  Hong Ji was not a major director, and except for two movies he made for Tianyi, the Shanghai forerunner to Shaw Brothers, most of his work was for poverty row studios.  After several years of dormancy, by the mid-1930s the Hong Kong film industry was reviving, and Hong Ji was offered the opportunity to create and direct for a new Hong Kong studio which would specialize in making Cantonese sound movies, to be called the Nanyang (South Seas) Film Company.  So after his actress-wife made her last appearance in a Shanghai production in 1935, the Hong family moved south.  Their original intent was for Qian Siying to continue her acting career in Hong Kong, but as the family grew (eventually 7 children, 5 boys and 2 girls), Qian decided her family committments demanded greater attention.  After making one movie in 1937 and another in 1941, she retired from acting, but continued her involvement by helping her husband with the business side of the studio.  Her husband, now known as Hung Chung-ho (洪仲豪 Mandarin:  Hong Zhonghao), went on to a major career, directing, writing and/or producing over 120 films between 1937-55, many of them of the martial arts genre.
 
 [left, now known as Chin Tsi-Ang, about the time she returned to movies] 

     In 1962 the Hong Kong government requisitioned their studio property for a development, and Hung Chung-ho died not long after.  Although she was now a widowed grandmother (she eventually had over 20 grandchildren and more than 10 great-grandchildren), the one-time martial arts heroine still felt the urge to make movies.  She had the connections, but when the matter of her age (now 53) came up, she smilingly replied she just wanted to get back into movies, and was willing to take "green leaf" roles (bit parts or extras) to do so.  So she did, specializing in the kind of older characters mentioned earlier.  Although she of course always played older women, often that of a major character's mother, the variety was such that one writer termed her the "mother of a thousand faces."  (Another dubbed her the "Goddess of Longevity.")  She went on to work in more than 180 theatrical films over the next five decades, the last being a 2002 romantic comedy《My Wife is 18》.  In addition, she appeared in numerous TV productions.  At the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1993, she was honored with a lifetime achievement tribute.

Matriarch of the Hong Movie Clan 

     As noted earlier, her husband Hong Ji/Hung Chung-ho was a younger brother of pioneer writer/director Hong Shen, and several of the couple's close relatives and descendants were involved with movies as well.  In addition to Hong Shen, youngest brother Hung Suk-wan (洪叔云 Mandarin:  Hong Shuyun) was a writer/director in Hong Kong, and his wife Yung Yuk-yi (容玉意 Mandarin:  Rong Yuyi) was a very popular Cantonese star in a career that spanned five decades.  

[right, an elderly hitwoman prepares to whack Stephen Chow, in 1990's "Mad Monk"]

     But while several members of the Hung clan became names only in Hong Kong, one grandson's name would be recognized by fans of Hong Kong movies worldwide:   Hung Kam-Bo (洪金宝 (Mandarin:  Hong Jinbao), or more familiarly, martial arts legend Sammo Hung.  She was justifiably proud of her eldest grandson, not just because of his success, but because of the difficulties he overcame in achieving it.  The "Fat Dragon" was never the ideal of an athletic build, but hard work got him to the top.  As his grandmother expressed it, "He suffered a lot as a child."

 

[left, in 1991's《Easy Money》with Cat III legend Amy Yip, sorely missed by this writer for a couple of good reasons] 

    
    She once jokingly told an interviewer who asked about her children that "Many of my children are big stars!"  Opening a photo album, she proudly displayed photos of herself with "sons" Chow Yun-Fat, Chin Han, Charlie Chin, Andy Lau, Stephen Chow, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Leslie Cheung, Ray Lui .. "And my daughters...":  Ivy Ling Po, Anita Mui, Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung, Carina Lau, Cecilia Yip, Angie Chiu ... "really a full house, a star-studded family, isn't it?"

[left, as Maggie Cheung's amah in《In the Mood For Love》 (2000)] 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[below, a proud grandmother with her action star grandson]

   

"I've Never Considered it Work"

     In her later years, Qian Siying was interviewed on several occasions by Hong Kong TV stations for her recollections of early movie-making.   In a 1994 interview for a TV special highlighting active elders, she said "After my husband died, and the studio shut down, I started off on a life of leisurely retirement, but soon discovered I wanted to continue in movies, so I went back and I've never stopped, and when I had a supporting role in《Mad Monk》with Stephen Chow, it meant I've had an almost 70-year movie career.  My children and grandchildren didn't want me to return to movies, saying it was too hard, and I didn't need the money.  But as I told them, making movies to me is fun, a kind of entertainment, and I've never considered it work."  (Two more TV interviews with her, conducted in May, 1997 and June, 1999, are archived at the Hong Kong Film Archive; since I'm not in Hong Kong and my understanding of Cantonese is minimal, I leave it to someone else to plumb those resources, which might be invaluable for students of early Chinese film.)

《Kick》(1928): the First Chinese Sports Film

     In a continuous timeline extending from the Opium War in 1840 to the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, China was in a position of weakness globally.  During that time, Western nations' growing strength and prosperity allowed them to focus more on such leisure activities as sports, and by the end of the 19th century they had revived the ancient Greek Olympic Games, and expanded them into international competition.  Around the beginning of the 20th century, Western sports began entering China, and the country's early reformers and revolutionaries commented favorably on the utility of athletic competition in strengthening the nation by improving the health of its people.  Motion pictures were also introduced to China about the same time, and these soon included sports films.
    However, during the whole period of Chinese cinema's growth and development, the output of Chinese sports movies was very limited.  Before October 1, 1949, the total number of full length feature (narrative) films produced in China was about 1,800.  Of that total only about 5 could be regarded as having sports as the main theme:   "Yijiao Tichuqu" 《一脚踢出去》[Kick] (aka "Tongxue zhi Ai" 《同学之爱》[Classmates' Romance], from Mingxing, written by Hong Shen and co-directed by Hong with Zhang Shichuan; "Er Dui Yi" 《二对一》[Two on One], also from Mingxing, written by Wang Ganbai, co-directed by Zhang Shichuan and Shen Xiling; "Jianmei Yundong"《健美运动》[Body Building], from the Shanghai Sound Film studio, written and directed by Dan Duyu; "Tiyu Huanghou"《体育皇后》[Queen of Sports], from the Lianhua studio, written and directed by Sun Yu; and "Po Lang"《破浪》[Breaking Waves], also Lianhua, written and directed by Guan Wenqing.

"Kick":  a neglected first

     "Kick," the first sports-themed Chinese feature, was shot toward the end of 1927.  Compared to "Queen of Sports" (usually considered the first sports film), "Kick" had more of a commercial flavor, but is usually overlooked by film historians because it came along a bit earlier and no complete version has been found to exist.  Historical Development of Chinese Film, in discussing the early work of Hong Shen, ignores the sporting element of "Kick," and dismisses it as being about "two young people from wealthy families who fall in love, break up over misunderstandings, then get back together; a story of a lovers' quarrel, nothing more." [1]
     In addition to long being ignored by film historians, "Kick" has not even been considered a sports movie.  This is due at least in part to its major flaw, the lack of integration between its two halves, with the love story paramount in the film's first half, and sports being only a minor part; in fact, the leading male character's athletic background is alluded to only briefly. The authors of History of Chinese Silent Film describe the love story as "tiresome," although they do recognize it as being the first Chinese movie to combine the themes of romance and sports.  [2]  This was not the first time it was described as a "love and sports" movie:  in his 1980 memoirs, Gong Jianong called it a "sports romance film." [5]  Although "Kick" was commercially successful, breaking Hong Shen's streak of critical successes which failed at the box office, it might have done even better (and had a more lasting reputation) if the sports aspect had been more prominent in the first half:  as it was, the male lead's background as a football (soccer) star was apparently mentioned only in passing in the first half.  "Kick" was also very timely:  in December, 1927, the Nationalist government in Nanjing established a national sports steering committee, changing the past situation in which sports were largely the concern of local and provincial level schools; now the committee and its various subcommittees were charged with providing leadership and management of sports on a national basis.
    In addition, there was an event earlier that year which had captured the interest of football fans in Shanghai:  a group of foreign expatriates formed a team to play against the Huadong [East China] Soccer Team of Shanghai.  Hong Shen thought this an excellent subject, and turned it into a movie co-starring Gong Jianong, who had starred in the sport in college.   Footage from the actual match was cleverly integrated with the fictional game scenes, for which the directors employed six cameras to shoot the on-field action simultaneously from different angles.  The original intent was to make Gong's character a striker (or forward) with an actual star of the Huadong team substituting for Gong to make the more difficult shots.  But this didn't work, because while Gong had an athletic body, he was noticably shorter and less bulked-up than his stand-in.  So they changed Gong's character into a goalkeeper and brought in the Huadong team's actual goalkeeper as the stand-in, shot only in long shots or from the rear.  The gates had been opened earlier to let those interested watch, and as it turned out, many of those in attendance thought the cameras around the field were filming a documentary, and they were witnessing an actual game.  The climactic game in "Kick" ends with the Chinese team coming from behind and winning in the last minute, which must have elicited unfeigned joy and enthusiasm from those in attendance who hadn't caught on yet.

Credits and synopsis, from references 4, 5:

Yijiao Tichuqu (1928) 一脚踢出去 (Kick)
alternate title: Tongxue zhi Ai (1928) 同学之爱 (Classmates' Romance)

    Mingxing.  Silent.  11 reels.  Premiered June 21, 1928 at the Palace Theater in Shanghai.
Direction:  Zhang Shichuan, Hong Shen.  Screenplay:  Hong Shen.   Cinematography:  Dong Keyi.  Cast: Ding Ziming (Wu Ke), Gong Jianong (Zhang Cheng), Huang Junfu (Wang Xulun), Tan Zhiyuan (Wu Ke's father), Zhao Jingxia (Wu Ke's father's concubine), Gao Lihen (geology professor), Wang Mengshi (Zhao Renshou), Gu Youmin (Zhou Jian), Tang Jie (Li Sheng), Dong Xiangping (Huang Weishan), Zhang Minwu (child employee), Hu Shan (Miss C).  

[Gong Jianong and Ding Ziming as the lovers]
  

     Young college student Wu Ke meets and falls in love with her athletic classmate Zhang Cheng.  After the girl's father learns of their relationship, he expresses disapproval, because while he loves his daughter, he has always intended she would someday marry the son of his best friend, an arrangement she flatly rejects.   

    When the new school term begins, Zhang Cheng and Wu Ke are joyful at being together again.  But another student, Zhou Jian, admires Wu Ke, and begins scheming to break them up.  When Wu Ke is named to a committee planning a "people's school" to offer basic education to common people living near the campus, Zhou gets himself named to the committee so he can meet often with Wu Ke in planning.  Zhang Cheng jealously reproaches Wu Ke about spending so much time with the other man, but she allays his concerns by saying "Love is like a giant tree, and with its roots so deep in the earth, what harm can come from its leaves shaking?" 

    When Zhou Jian decides he cannot attract Wu away from Zhang, he initiates a plot to destroy his rival, beginning with a campaign to have Zhang put in charge of fund-raising for the project.  Zhang is honored to serve, but when his first fund-raiser, an art fair, doesn't bring in enough, Zhou Jian begins spreading a rumor the shortage was due to fiscal impropriety on Zhang's part.  Zhang is crushed by the fair's failure and the gossip.  Unable to bear seeing the boy she loves so unhappy, Wu Ke borrows 500 yuan from her father and gives it to Zhang Cheng to make up the shortage.

    The "people's school" opens, and while Zhang Cheng's reputation had suffered for a time, everyone is satisfied with how many students the school attracts, most of whom are young women who had never before had educational opportunities.  But now, Zhang devotes so much of his spare time to the school he sees Wu Ke less and less, and the two gradually drift apart.  In addition, some of the young women students at the school are openly flirtatious around Zhang, and he soon has an overblown ego.  One day, when Zhang is discussing organizing an outing with one of these women, Miss C, Wu Ke misinterprets the situation just as he had earlier, and cancels a plan she had to take Zhang to meet her father.  Zhang's best friend Wang Xulun visits Wu Ke to console her, then calls upon Zhang to try getting the couple back together.  Zhang Cheng not only expresses no regrets over the downward course of his romance, he has a falling out with Wang Xulun.  Zhang begins dating other girls, especially Miss C, and his active social life soon runs up debts he repays by borrowing.  Zhou Jian is one of his primary lenders, again with the objective of destroying Zhang's reputation and splitting him from Wu Ke.

[his preening and ego worry her]

      A soccer game is scheduled in which a team of foreigners will play a university team, and Zhang Cheng is named goalkeeper for the Chinese team.  On the eve of the match, Zhou Jian exerts his rights as a creditor and pressures Zhang Cheng to throw the match by letting in some goals; otherwise, he demands that Zhang repay his debt immediately.  Although Zhang's school spirit and national pride prevent his doing that, he is now so distracted with worry he doesn't play his best in the first half, and lets in two goals he should have stopped.  The crowd goes into an uproar and loudly jeers his poor performance.  In shame, Zhang at halftime asks the coach to put in another goalkeeper.  Disgusted at his incompetence and desire to quit, most of his new girl friends and even Miss C reject him and walk out.  Only Wu Ke remains, loudly cheering Zhang and encouraging him to stay.  Wang Xulun also goes to Zhang's side, and gives him a pep talk.  Spirit and confidence restored, Zhang gives an outstanding performance, blocking every shot the opposition tries.  The Chinese team rallies, at last takes the lead, and wins.  Everyone cheers Zhang loudly, including Wu Ke's father, who is in attendance.  Zhou Jian apologizes to Zhang and wishes Zhang and Wu all the best.  Zhang and Wu are reunited, this time for good.
  

References:

    [1] Cheng, Jihua (程季华), chief editor.  Zhongguo Dianying Fazhan Shi《中国电影发展史》[Historical Development of Chinese Film] v.1.  Beijing:  China Film Press, 2d ed., 1981, p73. 

    [2] Li, Suyuan (郦苏元) and Hu Jubin (胡菊彬).  Zhongguo Wusheng Dianying Shi《中国无声电影史》[History of Chinese Silent Film].  Beijing:  China Film Press, 1996, pp251-2.

    [3] Gong, Jianong.  Gong Jianong Cong Ying Huiyilu 《龚稼农从影回忆录》(Gong Jianong's Movie Memoirs).  Taipei:  Biographical Literature Press, 1967.  v.1, p103.

    [4] Zhongguo Wusheng Dianying Juben《中国无声电影剧本》[Chinese Silent Film Scripts].  Beijing:  China Film Press, 1996.  v,2, p.1531. 

    [5] Zhongguo Dianying Dadian《中国电影大典》["Encyclopaedia of Chinese Films"].  Beijing:  China Film Press, 1996.  v.1 (1905-1930), pp192-3.

《Wild Flower Among the Weeds》(1930)

Ye Cao Xian Hua 野草闲花 (Wild Flower Among the Weeds)
alt English title:  Wildflowers by the Roadside 

    Lianhua.  B&W.  Silent, with dubbed song.  11 reels.  Premiered December 3, 1930 at the Palace Theater in Shanghai.  Direction and Screenplay:  Sun Yu.  Cinematography:  Huang Shaofen.  Lyrics:  Sun Yu.  Music:  Sun Chengbi.  Principal cast:  Ruan Lingyu (Lan Lilian), Jin Yan (Huang Yun), Liu Jiqun (Lan Mujiang).

     A young man, scion of a wealthy family, is musically gifted.  He diligently trains for a career as a concert violinist.  But he rebels when his parents announce their intent to arrange a marriage for him. He leaves to seek his own livelihood, and his talent soon gains him employment with a marching band.   One day on the street, he happens to hear singing from a lovely female voice, and discovers its source is a girl selling flowers.  He falls for her immediately, and after making her acquaintance finds she is the sole support of her blind father and younger sister.

[right, a violinist's playing moves a poor flower-seller and her family.  Click on images to enlarge]

    The young musician uses his work connections to get her an audition which leads to her beginning her own career, and she soon becomes a famous singer.  She returns his affection, but worries about his family's opposition.  When he tells his parents of his intention to marry the songstress, the family does everything they can to obstruct and end the relationship.   

[In love, but parental opposition gives her concern]

    At a time the young musician's band is playing in another city, the father secretly visits the young woman, and tells her he is convinced his son's true calling is to be a serious concert violinist, but involvement with the singer is impeding his progress and ruining what should be a glorious future.  He urges her to let his son go.  Confused, and convinced by her lover's father it is the right thing to do, she breaks off with the young man, who cannot understand the change in her.  After several more twists and turns in their relationship, the young musician learns the truth, convinces her that his career and his family are secondary to her, and all ends well. [right: reunited with his love, he describes to her their happy future] 

    The title in Chinese refers to a metaphor, meaning a man's having a casual romantic or sexual relationship with a woman other than his wife, a cousin to the old American expression "sowing wild oats." or the British "a bit on the side."  Its first literary appearance was in an erotic novel Ma Ling Road 《马陵道》(anonymously written, as was most classic Chinese erotica).  In the novel, a character who inquires "Where is the General?" receives the answer "He [has found] a wildflower among the weeds," meaning he was engaged in dalliance.  In time, the expression came to refer more specifically to a relationship with a prostitute.  In the movie, the father opposed the young couple's relationship because he believed a girl from so humble a background had to be a "wild flower," his son's casual affair of the moment, an infatuation that soon would pass.

[left, a violinist encourages a songstress]

    Writer-director Sun Yu acknowledged from the outset that his film was derivative, inspired by the 
classic French novel La Dame Aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils (1824-1895) and the American movie
"Camille". But Sun avoided the tragic ending of the novel, giving it a love-conquers-all happy ending in
order to mold its story into a reflection of his own ideals and hopes. While "Wild Flowers" begins with a
rejection of feudal tradition and ends with a celebration of love-based marriage, at its core it expresses
Sun's sympathy for the lower levels of Chinese society and his contempt for its class structure.

    The timing of 《Wild Flowers 》was just right for its success. The second full-length feature (after
《Spring Dream in the Old Capital 》) from the new and progressive Lianhua (United Photoplay) studio, it was
released just as the late 1920s fervor for swordsman fantasies had fallen off sharply. In addition, it was
the first starring role for Chinese cinema's future "Emperor" Jin Yan, and his first on-screen pairing with
Ruan Lingyu, a marquee duo that would soon become box office magic.

1930: Ruan Lingyu and Jin Yan Perform the First Movie Song

    By the end of the 1920s, sound film productions from US and European companies were rising rapidly, but for technical reasons the only talkies available to Chinese film fans were those from America.  However, some Chinese studios were able to utilize sound to a certain degree by accompanying their silent films with music.  This experiment may initially have been just a temporary expedient to please audiences, but it actually resulted in making movie songs widely popular, a trend which continued into the sound era.
     The first recorded movie song was a wax disk dubbed onto a 1930 silent, performed as a duet by its costars.  Ironically, the female half of the duo was an actress who never made a sound film -- China's greatest silent diva, Ruan Lingyu.  This was the first time Chinese audiences had heard the voices of Ruan and her co-star Jin Yan.   In the ensuing decade, the output of China's top composers became a standard part of popular music, and as in the West, provided a springboard for sheet music and recording sales as well as opening up recording careers for the actors and actresses performing them.

The golden age of film songs begins

    "Wild Flower Among the Weeds" may not have been one of Sun Yu's most important productions, even though it included such soon-to-be ingredients for success as the "Emperor" Jin Yan, and his popular leading lady Ruan Lingyu.  Fundamentally a remake of Dumas fil's "La Dame Aux Camélias" and the American film "Camille" the plot offered nothing new.  But the film is still memorable and noted by film historians if only for its having initiated a new cinematic era:  beginning with "Wild Flower," Chinese movies had their own music and songs.

    In discussing movie music, Isaak Dunayevsky (1900-1955), a prolific composer for Soviet movies in the 1930s and 40s, said that "Motion pictures, this great and popular art form, not only move forward with their songs, they also produce and popularize them."  Attracting the public's attention was not only the mission of movie music, but also its function, so movie songs became the best tool for popularizing those movies, and in turn the movies spread the songs' popularity.  The "Wild Flowers" selection "Seeking Brother's Words," was nothing outstanding in itself, a mourning for lost home and family, but its performance, particularly by Jin Yan (said to have a crystal clear voice in his youth), marked a milestone in Chinese film history as well as in his own career ladder.  (To give some flavor of what was popular in that past time and place, my own translation of Sun Yu's lyrics is at the end of this post with no guarantee of accuracy:  I don't usually do poetry.)

    "Wild Flower" came along more than a year prior to the actual start of China's sound movie era, but quickly became an unstoppable tide for China's entertainment media, igniting a wave of movie songs that strongly influenced that era's movie industry.  Two 1934 releases, "Twin Sisters"《姊妹花》starring Hu Die, and "Song of the Fishermen,"《渔光曲》starring Wang Renmei, featured songs which quickly caught the public imagination, and in turn gave an impetus to the market for these films.  Both films played to packed theaters, and many who saw the movies went right out and bought up the music.

    The success of these two, particularly "Song of the Fishermen," prompted filmmakers to focus on including a theme song in each major film, whether silent or sound, and the next few years brought such major movie songs as "Song of the Big Road" 《大路歌》 from "Da Lu" 《大路》[The Big Road], "Graduation Song"《毕业歌》from "Tao Li Jie"《桃李劫》[Plunder of Peach and Plumb aka Tragic Fate of College Graduates], and "Song at Midnight"《夜半歌声》from the movie of the same name.  But these are just a few of the most successful; there were many more popular songs paving the road to their film's commercial success.

    The general public in China today will usually recognize an old pop song when they hear it as being what in the West is called a "standard," although they may not know it was originally featured in a classic movie, let alone have an idea what that movie may have been.  This is true of audiences in the West as well:  many people will recognize such standards as, say,  "Thanks for the Memory" or "Night and Day," but how many could identify the movies that introduced them, without looking it up?  All they know is the song is a standard and has a nostalgic aura to it.    

    Although Chinese film music today is of a fairly high standard, there is a consensus among Chinese film historians that the 1930s were the Golden Age of Chinese film music, and no era since can compare to it.  I find this much like the situation with film music in the West:  for although an Oscar for Best Song is still awarded every year, when was the last one anyone would recognize?

"A Searching Brother's Words"

I left home to join the army
Returned to emptiness and desolation, my parents dead
Our home in ruins, the family tomb overgrown with weeds
My little sister wanders, homeless and destitute!

Ten years ago, home was like a jade palace
Now my little brother and sister are both homeless
I must find my brother, find my sister
And bring them home!

The windswept skies are gray, the snowflakes swirl around me
The nights are cold, but I still find voice to sing
My brother, can you hear my voice?
I scan the horizon, seeking the homeless!

Snowflakes fly, scattering the fallen blossoms
Over thousands of mountains, across ten thousand waters
I seek my brother and sister, and if it takes ten more years
We will be reunited, and give thanks to heaven!