The Chinese Mirror

Chen Zhiqing (1897 - ?)

 

   Chen Zhiqing (陈趾青) was an important early writer and director.  Little is recorded concerning him prior to 1926, when he joined the staff of "Silver Star" (银星) film magazine.  Later that same year wrote the adapted screenplay for the Guoguang (National Light) studio's "Buru Gui" 不如归 (Better Go Home).  The success of this film led to his joining the Changcheng (Great Wall) studio the following year as a writer-director, then the Changming studio in 1929.  In the early 1930s he turned increasingly to writing, and among the numerous works he authored were several books and articles on screenwriting.

Cao Yuankai (? - ?)

     Cao Yuankai 曹元恺, actor and writer.  Native of Chuansha, Jiangsu (now a part of metropolitan Shanghai).  In early youth, he and some friends started a small film study society, publishing a film magazine for which he edited and wrote articles commenting on cinema art.  These were popular with readers, and led to his joining the Guoguang (Light of the Nation) Film Co., making his first screen appearance in 1926's "Flowers of Shanghai."  Beginning in the following year he concentrated more on writing, and also directed one film.
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Filmography
1926:
Flowers of Shanghai                    (actor)

1927:
Strange Happenings Onstage      (actor, co-writer)
Wishful Thinking                         (writer)
Wusong Kills his Sister-in-Law    (writer)
1930:
Ghost of the Gold                       (director)
1935:
Three Daughters-in-Law             (writer)

Gao Lihen (1890-1982)

     Gao Lihen 高梨痕, actor, director and writer, was born September 25, 1890 in Zhuxi County, Hubei province.  As a young man, he was an active participant in the revolution which overthrew the Qing (Manchu) dynasty in 1911, then for two years edited a newspaper in Hankou.  During this time he became interested in theatricals, and in 1914 joined with Zheng Zhengqiu  and others in forming the Great China Dramatic Society, for which Gao acted from 1914-1923.  A supporting role in 1923's "Patriotic Umbrella" prompted him to enroll in 1924 in the China Film School established by Hong Shen, after which Gao joined the Tianyi Film Co. in 1925, then moved to the Mingxing studio in 1926, as both director and actor.  Not a leading man type, he nevertheless was a familiar on-screen figure in supporting roles during the rest of China's silent era, at the same time moving into writing and directing.  He had 23 acting credits and 46 credits as writer and/or director.  In 1937, Gao moved to the South Seas Film Company, the Tianyi studio's Hong Kong branch, and during World War II was involved with the resistance there.  After the war, he returned to Shanghai, and in 1954 joined the staff of the Museum of Literary History as a researcher, compiling and editing a great many materials on the history of theater and motion pictures in Shanghai.  Among his many publications were "Old Talks on the Shanghai Film Community" and "The Tianyi Studio as I Know it." He died in Shanghai, October 16, 1982, age 91.

[left, Gao Lihen as cinematic elder statesman/historian]

Yang Xiaozhong (1899 — 1969)

    One of China's earliest writer-directors was Yang Xiaozhong 杨小仲 , born Yang Baotai 杨保泰in December, 1899, in Changzhou, Jiangsu.  
    His father's early death prevented the future filmmaker from getting a formal education.  However, his mother had a love of reading which she instilled in her son, and for some years he pursued an informal education through extensive reading.  In 1916 he tested successfully into a work-study program operated by the Commercial Press, training for a publishing career.  After two years, he became a full time employee.  His mother, an avid fan of American movies as well as literature, again exerted her influence to get him interested in the new media.  When the Commercial Press established its Motion Picture Division he was eager to join the new unit.
    His chance came in 1920, when Yang was assigned to adapt Chen Chunsheng's script of the successful stage play "Yan Ruisheng"  for the China Film Research Society.  The movie version, filmed for the Society by the Commercial Press and released the following year, was China's first full-length motion picture, and a huge success.   At this point, Yang Baotai changed his name to Yang Xiaozhong and made a full transfer to the Motion Picture Division as a screenwriter.    
    In 1922, he prepared two more scripts for the Press, "The Predestined," released in 1923, and "The Good Brother," in 1924.    
    His first solo effort came in 1925, when he directed "Regrets for Drunkeness."  He took a bold step in casting the movie by selecting a group of teachers and students for the film roles instead of the experienced stage actors studios had been relying on to that point.  At the same time, he created models for background in some scenes and natural, outdoor scenery in others.  He also employed special effects to create such things as explosions, rainstorms, etc.  In China's earliest period of filmmaking, these were innovative measures.
     When the Commercial Press reorganized its Motion Picture Division in 1926, renaming it the Guoguang Film Company, Yang Xiaozhong was appointed Chief Writer, which carried responsibility for both writing and directing.  In that same year he made three films, "Mother's Heart," "Better Go Home" and "The Loafer."
    After the Commercial Press shut down its filmmaking activities in 1927, Yang Xiaozhong worked for a half dozen studios, writing and/or directing more than 30 narrative films as well as opera films in a filmmaking career that lasted into the 1960s.  After 1949, he also served as a trustee of the Chinese Film Workers Association and vice president of the organization's Shanghai branch.  He died in January, 1969 during the Cultural Revolution.  Although Chinese sources do not furnish the details of his death, so many of China's classic filmmakers perished during that decade it is very possible his passing was related to that.