The Chinese Mirror

Cheng Bugao: First Generation Director

 [left, Cheng Bugao in early career]    

    Cheng Bugao 程步高（1898～1966) was born in 1898 in Pinghu, Zhejiang.  His early education was in private schools, after which he was admitted to Aurora University (震旦大学) in Shanghai to study journalism.  He began his involvement with film as a student, writing movie reviews for a Shanghai newspaper, and translating articles from Western journals introducing film technology.  He left Aurora without graduating and returned to Pinghu to teach at a primary school there until 1922, when he went back to Shanghai, intent on pursuing a movie career. After obtaining the necessary financial backing, Cheng formed the Dalu (Mainland) Film Company, and made his directing debut for his new studio in 1924, directing two feature films and two documentaries, which he used as a resume to gain entree to other, larger studios.  His big break came in 1928 when he was hired by the dominant Mingxing studio.  Over the next decade he worked closely with such other major figures as Xia Yan, Tian Han and Hong Shen, directing and/or writing more than 40 films, over 20 of them in a single 4-year period.  He was also one of the first Chinese filmmakers to make use of wax disc recording technology for dubbing sound onto silent films, assisting director Zhang Shichuan in making the first Chinese sound film, "Songstress Red Peony."  During the brief Sino-Japanese war in early 1932 he and a photographer went to the front lines and put together a documentary called "The Battle of Shanghai."   Some of his works in the 30s are regarded as classics of Chinese cinema's first golden age, such films as "Spring Silkworms" (1933), "Raging Torrent," "The Same Hatred," "Go Northwest" and "A Bible for Daughters" (1934), and "New and Old Shanghai" (1935).   During WW2 Cheng worked in Wuhan for the military, making morale-building shorts.  After the war he moved to Hong Kong, where he directed 20 more motion pictures for the Yonghua and Great Wall studios.  He retired in 1961 to devote his remaining   years to writing his memoirs, Yingtan Yijiu 《影坛忆旧》("Recollections of Film Circles"), posthumously published in 1983 by the China Film Press of Beijing. Cheng Bugao died in Hong Kong on June 20, 1966, following a career in which he wrote and/or directed some 60 motion pictures, many of them classics of Chinese cinema. 

[right, Cheng Bugao during his Hong Kong phase]    

A Forgotten Chinese-American Film Pioneer: Esther Eng

    Frank Bren, a Hong Kong-based researcher, has been doing considerable research on the early Chinese-American filmmaker Esther Eng.  Although she made nine feature films in the US and Hong Kong, only one is listed in the Internet Movie Data Base, and if she is remembered today at all, it is for her later career as a popular New York restaurateur. Frank recently published an interesting profile article about her in the HK edition of China Daily, in English, and we recommend it.

China's Emerging Young Women Directors

    At Cannes this past spring, New Zealand director Jane Campion spoke out about the dearth of women in film directing, urging that more women combat the "old boys network" she blamed for the heavily male domination of the profession.  As she put it, women directors "represent half of the population and gave birth to the whole world."  Or, as Chairman Mao wrote, "women are holding up half the sky."  I have read that only 6% of film directors are women, but I don't know if that means worldwide, or just the US, or what.  Earlier this year, Entertainment Weekly published its list of the "25 Greatest Active Film Directors," but not one woman was included.
     Women directors are more common in China, though still outnumbered by men; and while in the past the most accessible route to that profession has been graduation from the directing department of Beijing Film Academy, both men and women directors are now gaining access via other means. Several young women directors are now emerging to join the established pool of veterans in the Chinese film industry, some from acting, some from other fields, but whatever the source, the following six bear watching. (It will probably be seven soon, as acting star Vicki Zhao Wei recently completed her coursework in the Master's program at BFA, and I'm sure her first studio effort will follow before long.)

    But until then, the following are emerging:  [click on any photo for larger image]

1.  Greatest reputation:  Xu Jinglei (徐静蕾).    

    Xu has the strongest reputation for directing accomplishment among this group.  Since making her screen acting debut in 1997's "Spicy Love Soup," the first of over 30 acting credits, Xu moved behind the camera in 2003 with "My Father and I," and has since then directed and/or written two more big screen productions, the most lauded being 2004's "Letter from an Unknown Woman," which she produced, directed and wrote, adapting her screenplay from the Austrian novel Brief einer Unbekannten by Stefan Zweig (1881-1942).    Critics have applauded her talent for directing the overall production, and not just herself (a problem often encountered by actors-turned-directors).   But while her films have been critically successful, none to date has matched that acclaim at the box office.  For her next film, due out next year, Xu reportedly will turn from artistic creations to something more commercial, so time will tell.

2.  Tops at the box office:  Jin Yimeng (金依萌) [left].

     Musician, cartoonist, and holder of a Master's degree in directing from Florida State University in the US, Jin Yimeng returned home to direct the romantic comedy "Sophie's Revenge," produced by and starring Zhang Ziyi.  "Sophie" dominated the Chinese box office for weeks following its August 14 release, doing over US$14.5 million in its first month.  Jin is also reported to have a laid-back, low-key personality, making her easy to work with.  But the big question mark is whether she can follow up her smash first effort with a second hit.  

3.  Most temperamental:  Yu Feihong (俞飞鸿) [right]. 

  Western filmgoers who saw 1993's examination of Chinese mother-daughter relationships, "The Joy Luck Club," may also recall Yu Feihong.  She played the younger Ying Ying, the movie's most tragic figure, a young mother so distraught by her abusive and philandering husband she accidentally drowns their baby boy.  Yu (who also uses the name Faye Yu) has turned to directing, and her first effort is "Eternal Beloved," a romantic, historical ghost story.  In addition to directing and acting the female lead, Yu also co-produced, and adapted the screenplay from a popular Chinese novel.  In an interview, Yu referred to herself as "schizophrenic," and admitted losing her temper on several occasions with her actors, both men and women. Whether this will affect her directing career or the willingness of others to work with her remains to be seen. 

4.  Youngest:  Yang Ziting (杨紫婷).

     Still in her 20s. Yang gained considerable attention by her promotional campaign for her first directing effort "Chungking Beauty."  She had a batch of sexy photos taken of herself on the set, in various brief costumes, then uploaded these to the internet.  The film hasn't been released yet, but she has already gained it considerable attention by her boldness and sex appeal. 

[left, Yang Ziting in about the only one of her publicity photos I can include here without triggering parental control software all over the planet]

5.  Most controversial:  Li Yu (李玉).  

    TV host-turned-film director Li has made many films, but her last effort "Pingguo" (苹果) [Apple aka Lost in Beijing] certainly drew attention, as it gained her and the film's producer a two-year suspension in China for supposedly pornographic content, plus exhibiting it uncut at the Berlin International Film Festival.  Although heavily cut for the Chinese market, it still hasn't been released there, dooming it as a money-maker despite having garnered several awards at various international festivals.  Li's next project is unannounced, but she has indicated in interviews she intends to continue pushing the censorial envelope. 

6.  Most literary:  Yin Lichuan (尹丽川). 

     Yin Lichuan came to movies from another art form -- literature.  One of China's most prolific young poets, she also published a best-selling collection of short stories in 2001 and a novel in 2002.  After studying at the ESEC film school in France, Yin returned to China to try her hand at directing, with 2007's "The Park." She flashed a bit of temper at one press event when she said the critics who dubbed her the "beautiful director" did so because they were "afraid of talented women." Yin made another film last year, but currently there is no news of forthcoming projects. 

 

Classic Era Interview: the making of "Women Skeletons"

[In a previous post, we discussed "Hongfen Kulou" 红粉骷髅 (Women Skeletons), a successful early Chinese movie, which in addition to being China's first screen detective story, was the first full-length Chinese feature based on a foreign literary work.  In the following interview, the film's director tells us of another, less happy, first for Chinese cinema – it was the first Chinese production in which one of its makers was killed during the filming. 
    Guan Haifeng 管海峰 was a veteran stage director when he made "Women Skeletons", his initial screen directing effort.  He had one previous screen-writing credit, adapting the popular stage play "Victims of Opium"  for the screen.  Despite the box office success of "Women Skeletons", Guan Haifeng continued to concentrate on the stage, making only four more movies.  As often happens with recollections that come many years after the event, some of Guan Haifeng's memories conflict with other Chinese sources we have used.  Since the actual film is lost and cannot be used as a defining reference, we have given each as written.  Full bibliographic information for this interview is at the end of the article.]

[above, director Guan Haifeng]

    "Women Skeletons" was one of the earliest Chinese full-length feature films, and although I was its director, so many years have gone by that I don't know if I can recall all the details, but this is what I do remember:

Hou Yao (1903-1942): a martyred patriot

    Although his life was tragically short, Hou Yao 候曜 (Cantonese:  Hau Yiu) was one of China's most talented and creative screenwriters and directors of the silent era.  (We will look at some of his specific films and contributions in future posts.)  Born in Panyu, Guangdong, in 1903, Hou originally trained for a teaching career.  But after graduating from Nanjing Normal School in 1922, and completing two years of graduate school, the attention attracted by his writings on film and drama led to his hiring in 1924 by the newly-established Changcheng [Great Wall] Motion Picture Company as director and head of scriptwriting.  In 1926 he joined the Minxin studio as chief writer and director, and head of its film school.  Later, he became the head of Minxin's Beijing branch studio.  In 1933, with the coming of sound, Hou moved to Hong Kong to join the emerging Cantonese movie industry.  In addition to continuing his writing, he founded the Wenhua [Culture] Film Company, which he managed until 1938 when he moved to the Nanyang [South Seas] studio.  In his writing and his film and theater work, he was an outspoken advocate of resistance to Japanese aggression, which put him on the enemy's most-wanted list.  Learning his life was in danger from enemy agents and collaborators in Hong Kong, he fled to Singapore, but when that city fell in early 1942 he was arrested by the Japanese army and publicly beheaded in the city's downtown, one of the many thousands of Singapore Chinese civilians slaughtered at that time.
*********************************
Filmography:
1924:
The Divorcee [aka Abandoned Wife]  (co-director, writer, original play)
1925:
Cupid's Puppets  (co-director)
Woman Picking the Stars [aka Between Love and Filial Duty]  (writer)
The Person in the Boudoir Dream  (writer)
1926:
The Hypocrite  (director, writer)
The God of Peace  (director, writer)
A String of Pearls  (screen adaptation)
1927:
The Cape Poet  (director, writer)
A Reviving Rose  (co-director, co-writer, original play)
Romance of the West Chamber  (director screen adaptation)
The Old Man in the Moon Divorces  (director, co-writer)
1928:
Mulan Joins the Army  (director, writer)
Romance on the Battlefield  (director, writer)
1932:
New Grievances in the Imperial Palace  (director, writer)
1933:
The Fool Pays Respects  (director, writer)
 1937:
The Desert Flower  (director, writer)
The Forces Withing  (original work)
Romance of the Pearl River  (director, writer, original story)
1938:
Incident in the Pacific  (director, actor, writer, original story)
The Purple Cups  (director, writer)
Fortress of Flesh and Blood [aka Provoking Father]  (actor, director, writer)
The Second Marriage of Madam [aka Son vs. Mother]  (director)
The Wrong Couple  (director)
Shaking Heaven and Earth  (director, writer)
Fallen Angel  (director, writer)
1939:
The Ugly Empress  (co-director, co-writer)
Master Keung  (co-director, co-writer)
Incident on Turtle Mountain  (co-director, co-writer)
The Filial Son and the Unworthy  (co-director, co-writer)
Daughter vs. Stepmother  (co-director, co-writer)
1940:
The Chinese Tarzan  (co-director, co-writer)

Zheng Xiaoqiu (1910-1989): a lifetime devoted to Chinese film

    The history of motion pictures is littered with the (often) sad stories of child stars who faded after reaching maturity, and in too many cases were psychologically destroyed by the loss of that early stardom.  But some, like Shirley Temple, adjusted to adulthood and went on to a fulfilling life outside of movies; a few, like Jackie Cooper, Dean Stockwell and Natalie Wood, went on to successful adult acting careers; and of course Ron Howard is today one of America's top directors, with two Oscars to his credit.  In China, Zheng Zhengqiu went even further, covering the gamut of filmmaking in his nearly 80 year lifetime, from juvenile star of silents to marquee leading man in the early sound era, and then becoming one of the country's top directors, of both narrative films and scientific documentaries.

Liang Shaopo and "Stealing a Roast Duck" (1909)

    In our article about Li Minwei, "The Father of Hong Kong Film," we noted that his "Zhuangzi Tests his Wife" is often referred to as the first Chinese film shown outside of Asia.  This is true depending on, to paraphrase a recent U.S. president, what your definition of "Chinese" is.  "Zhuangzi," made in 1913, was the first motion picture wholly invested and made by Chinese people.  But the first Chinese film exhibited outside of Asia was an earlier production, 1909's "Tou Shaoya" 偷烧鸭 (Stealing a Roast Duck). 
    This comedy short was the first movie actually filmed in Hong Kong, and when it was later taken to the U.S. by Benjamin Brodsky and exhibited there, became the first Chinese film to be shown outside of Asia.   However, because the Asia Film and Theater Co. was an enterprise wholly owned by the Russian-American Brodsky, this and the other films made by his Asia Film studio in Shanghai and Hong Kong are considered to have been American productions, and the Li brothers' 1913 "Zhuangzi Tests his Wife" as the first Hong Kong movie.

The Beginnings of Film Literature: Hong Shen and the Screenplay

    The earliest Chinese movies were filmed without a script, just a story  outline, with the actors largely ad-libbing the progress of the plot.  This began to change at the beginning of the 1920s with the appearance of "Yan Ruisheng."  In addition to being China's first full-length motion picture, it marked several other "firsts."  Although filmed without a complete script, it was one of the first two Chinese films to have a published "synopsis."  This kind of synopsis consisted of two parts:  the first included a basic plot and the main characters and their actions; the second had "intertitles," which consisted of dialogues and explanations.  This was the model Chinese filmmakers followed until 1925.
    In that year, the Shanghai periodical "Eastern Magazine" (东方杂志) published the first screenplay in Chinese, "Mrs. Shentu" (Shentu Shi 申屠氏 ), relating the story of a woman seeking revenge on her husband.  It was never actually filmed, as the scenarist, a Harvard-educated young Chinese named Hong Shen 洪深 , was unable to obtain the necessary financial backing.  That is not surprising, considering the screenplay had 592 scenes in all, divided into 7 large sections.  But  it is still a landmark in Chinese movie history, as the first script to actually be a screenplay, including instructions for scene changes, camera angles, etc., and employing such new film terminology as "fade in," "pan," etc.  So although it never went before the camera, it took Chinese film history to a new stage by providing a new type of film literature, one intended for publication and reading as well as providing filming guidelines.

Yin Mingzhu (Pearl Ing): "Miss FF"

    With her bobbed hair, makeup, short skirt and rolled-down hose (and her obvious sexuality), the flapper image became the ideal for many young urban women in the 1920s, with Hollywood providing the template.  Through their roles in such movies as "Flaming Youth," "Rolled Stockings" and "Our Dancing Daughters," actresses like Louise Brooks, Colleen Moore, Joan Crawford and Clara Bow came to personify the flapper for the American public.  The flapper was a popular figure in 1920s Chinese film as well.  We have already met one of the Shanghai flappers, Great Wall studio's Yang Aili.  Another was Yin Mingzhu, who made her film debut in 1921 in "The Sea Oath," directed by her eventual husband, Dan Duyu.

1922: Dan Duyu and "The Sea Oath"

    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]