The Chinese Mirror

《Heng Niang》(1931)

    In earlier posts (e.g.《Ma Jiefu》,《Rouge》), we discussed the classic short story collection Liaozhai Zhiyi 聊斋志异 ("Strange Stories from Liaozhai"), a rich source of material for Chinese filmmakers over the years.  This 1931 silent production was based on another of the stories, and like《Ma Jiefu》, its Qing dynasty setting was transplanted to that of modern Shanghai, among the upper levels of its society.  While its two lead characters were both female, one-time matinee idol Zhu Fei was cast in the chief male role, that of a husband so besotten by his new concubine that he totally neglects his faithful wife.  This was supposed to be Zhu Fei's movie comeback, but it didn't work out, and he faded from sight, dying a few years later at the age of 32.

[left, newspaper advertisement for《Heng Niang》] 

  Heng Niang (1931) 恒娘 (Heng Niang)

    Lianhua.  B&W.  Silent.  7 reels.  Premiered June 20, 1931 at the Peiping Theater in Shanghai.  Producer:  Luo Mingyou.  Direction:  Shi Dongshan.  Screenplay:  Zhu Shilin, adapted from the story of the same name by Pu Songling (1640-1715).  Cinematography:  Zhou Ke.  Sets:  Fang Peilin.  Cast:  Zhou Wenzhu (Heng Niang), Tang Tianxiu (Hong’s wife, Madam Zhu), Zhu Fei (Hong Daye), Ye Juanjuan (Baodai), Chen Yitang (Di Yuanzhai), Chu Fang (Miao Zhusan).

    In spite of its more modern setting, like all Liaozhai stories this one has a supernatural component, in this case depicting the close interaction between a fox spirit and a woman.  And, as in other Liaozhai stories in which a fox-spirit is a major protagonist, Heng Niang plays the role of advisor to a human character, this time to a neglected wife named Zhu.  Madam Zhu and her husband Hong Daye used to be a happily married couple, and when her businessman husband decides to celebrate his financial success by taking a concubine, she accepts this as a successful man's due.   But when he dotes on the younger woman to the point of neglecting Madam Zhu, her ‘first wife’ status becomes threatened.  Madam Zhu tries desperately to win back her husband's affections, but none of her female charms appeal to him, the newcomer is all he cares about.  Madam Zhu grows so miserable that she would rather give up her preeminent household status as "first lady" to trade places with the concubine. Then an ordinary looking woman in her thirties appears unexpectedly and befriends Madam Zhu.  The stranger, named Heng Niang, advises the unhappy wife to take the exact opposite approach:  neglect her appearance, busy herself with household chores, refuse her husband’s amorous advances for as long as possible, and then unexpectedly groom herself in the most alluring fashion and display her charms to her husband. These combined tactics of self-effacement and playing hard-to-get work out as planned and Zhu is restored to her marital bliss.  Realizing that she has lost her exalted status, the concubine sadly leaves.  The mysterious Heng Niang also disappears, and it turns out she was a fox-spirit.  

[Neither of these two stills from the film are explained, but they both illustrate the popularity of the art deco style among Shanghai's fiscal and social elite.  Click on either image to view full size.] 

 

《Legend of the White Snake》(1926)

Bai She Zhuan (1926) (自蛇传) (Legend of the White Snake)
alternate title:  Yi Chuan Bai She Zhuan (1926) (义妖臼蛇传) (Legend of the Demon White Snake)

    Tianyi.  B&W.  Silent.  Direction:  Shao Zuiweng.  Screenplay:  Shao Shanke.  Cinematography:  Xu Shaoyu.  Cast:  Hu Die, Wu Suxin, Jin Yuru, Wei Pengfei, Wang Wukong.

    The legend of the White Snake and the Green Snake emerged from oral traditions, then in print, and in the modern era has been related numerous times through operas, stage plays, films and TV.  Of the several motion picture versions the most widely known and popular has probably been the 1993 Hong Kong production《Green Snake》, directed by Tsui Hark and co-starring Maggie Cheung and Joey Wong.  For a full synopsis of the complex plot, I refer readers to the Wikipedia article, which also has an extensive list of past productions.

[right, a scene from《White Snake》; Wu Suxin is at the left, with Hu Die beside her] 

    But as the article explains, there are several endings to the legend, and unfortunately the surviving written records do not indicate which of those was used in this 1926 release, the first motion picture treatment of the legend.  What is known is that Hu Die played the White Snake, who transforms herself into a woman and falls in love with a human.  Early martial arts star Wu Suxin was the Green Snake, the White Snake's friend and protector, who unfortunately also has a knack for creating chaos.

《Oriental Stories》(1931)

Dongfang Ye Tan (1931) 东方夜谭 (Oriental Stories)
literal English title:  Oriental Night Chats

     Shanghai Yingxi.  B&W.  Silent.  Direction:  Dan Duyu.  Cast:  Yin Mingzhu, Wang Chunyuan, Yuan Congmei, Han Lan'gen, Chen Bin.

     No specific plot information available, but from contemporary newspaper ads, the literal title, and the costumes in its one surviving still photo, this film might have been an adaptation of the "Arabian Nights." 

《Guan Yin Receives the Way》(1928)

    Chinese written records do not go into much detail regarding this lost film, so we can't tell how fully it recounts the legend.  The Wikipedia article is a good start for further study, and a Google search will provide others.  It was another pairing of Lin Chuchu and Li Dandan, who worked so well together the year before in《Romance of the West Chamber》(1927).  

Guan Yin Dedao (1928) 观音得道 (Guan Yin Receives the Way) 

    Minxin.  B&W.  Silent.  9 reels.  Direction:  Qizishanren.*  Principal Cast:  Dong Pianpian, Lin Chuchu,Li Dandan.

*Chinese transliteration of foreign name.

    Legend of Miao Shan (妙善), a Zhou Dynasty (7th Century B.C.) princess who rejected an arranged marriage to a rich man and entered a nunnery.  However, her father, King Miao Zhuang, continued to have her persecuted, and finally succeeded in having her killed.  But the gods had her reincarnated as Guan Yin (Sanskrit:  Avalokitesvara), the goddess of mercy, to this day one the most popular deities in the Buddhist pantheon.

《The Cave of the Silken Web》(1927)

Pan Si Dong (1927) 盘丝洞 (The Cave of the Silken Web)

alternate title:  Xiyu Ji – Pan Si Dong (1927) 西游记-盘丝洞 (Journey to the West—the Spiders Cave)
alternate English title:  Spiders

    Shanghai Shadow Play.  Silent.  10 reels.  Premiered February 2, 1927 at the Palace.  Direction:  Dan Duyu.  Screenplay:  Guan Ji’an, based on a chapter in "Journey to the West," by Wu Cheng'en (ca.1505-1582).  Cinematography:  Dan Ganting.  Cast:  Yin Mingzhu (first spider spirit), He Rongzhu (man in white), Jiang Meikang (Xuanzang, or Tripitaka), Zhou Hongquan (Pigsy), Dan Erchun (Sandy), Xia Peizhen (second spider spirit), Chen Baoqi (Yellow Flower Daoist spirit), Wu Wenchao (Monkey),  Zhan Jiali (Sha Heshang). 

    During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the pious Buddhist monk Xuanzang (aka Tripitaka) is tasked by Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy - on instructions from the Buddha - with the mission of traveling to the "Western regions" and bringing back sacred texts.  He is accompanied on his quest by three disciples, Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy, plus a fourth character - the Dragon prince - who has taken the form of a white horse and carries Xuanzang.  These four characters are all serving as Xuanzang's protectors to atone for past offenses.  It is a dangerous journey through wild and rugged territory, and Xuanzang's party is under constant threat from various malicious spirits and demons who want to capture and eat the monk, in the belief this will bring them immortality.

[The spider spirits as they first appear to the travelers.  Click on any image to view full size.]   

    In the "Spiders" segment, the group arrives at a cave inhabited by seven beautiful women, who are actually spider spirits in disguise.  The women's attempt to seduce the travelers succeeds with the always-lascivious Pigsy, who lets down his guard enough for the women to capture Xuanzang, and then bar the others from the cave with their web.  But when one of the spider women conspires with her demon lover to cheat the others and keep Xuanzang all to themselves, it sets off an internal battle which gives the monk his opportunity to escape.

[right, Yin Mingzhu as the leading spider woman]    

    Although adapted from one of China's most beloved works of fiction, Journey to the West (considered one of the country's four great classical novels), this screen treatment and its 1929 sequel are often mentioned by film historians as the sort of motion picture that led to the eventual enactment of China's "Film Censorship Act" a few years later.  While there were many other films that led to the censorship law, most notably the many martial arts fantasies adapted from modern popular fiction (e.g.《Burning of Red Lotus Temple》and its numerous imitators), this film and other adaptations from Journey to the West are somewhat unique in that they were derived from a great and respected classical novel.  After the 1929 sequel, there were subsequent big screen versions of the "Spider" episode in 1940, 1949, 1957 and 1967 (and several animated versions).  In recent years, the introduction of the TV miniseries format has led to various small screen versions.  Of the theatrical releases, the 1967 version (also titled《Cave of the Silken Web》) is widely available.  Blending humor, music and (typical of 1960s Shaw productions) plenty of scantily clad beauties, it is entertaining viewing.  There is a good review of the dvd here. 

[left, poster advertising the 1967 《Cave of the Silken Web》]

[right, dvd cover of the 1967 《Cave of the Silken Web》.

 

 

《The Cave of the Silken Web II》(1930)

Xu Pan Si Dong (1930) 续盘丝洞  (The Cave of the Silken Web II)
alternate English title: (Spiders II)

    Shanghai Shadowplay.  B&W.  Silent.  Premiered February 3, 1930 at the Palace Theater in Shanghai.  Direction and Screenplay:  Dan Duyu.  Cast:  Yin Mingzhu.  [no other credits available]

    This was a sequel to Dan Duyu's earlier version of the classical story of the spider women's attempt to trap the Buddha and eat him, in order to gain immortality.  Nearly all data on the film has been lost, other than the director and leading lady, Dan's actress-wife Yin Mingzhu (in the center of the accompanying photo, pointing).  

Some Good Articles from a Commercial Site

     The Chinese Mirror does not carry advertising, because it was conceived as an online counterpart of an academic journal, one that is popularized rather than scholarly.  However, we have no qualms about linking to commercial sites, especially when they offer something of historical relevance.  YesAsia.com, an online marketer of Asian entertainment products, has a supplementary section called Yum Cha!, which contains a considerable number (currently 122) of review articles dealing with various Asian filmmakers and film genres.  Two of the latter that relate directly to articles recently posted here are:  "The Heroic Tradition - Chinese Martial Arts Costume Epics" by James Mudge, which is exactly what the title indicates, and "Strange Stories from Chinese Movie Studios" by Mike Crandol, which discusses the available cinema and TV versions of Pu Songling's classic (and massive) Qing dynasty collection of short stories, Liaozhai Zhiyi 聊斋志异 ("Strange Stories from Liaozhai"), a rich source for Chinese filmmakers over the decades.
       Of course, one objective of these articles, written by experienced and prolific internet reviewers, is to entice the reader into buying the products discussed.  (There is an emphasis on currently available videos, and each of those mentioned is linked to a page which provides all the data needed to order.) But there is also a lot in them that could add to one's enjoyment and appreciation of the films.  So think of it as a well-done infomercial from which you might learn something.

《Ma Jiefu》(1926): the First of Liaozhai's "Strange Stories"

    One of the major Chinese productions of 2008 was《Hua Pi》画皮 (Painted Skin), nominated for two Asian Film Awards, and Hong Kong's entry for Oscar consideration.  "Painted Skin" is just the latest in a long line of theatrical releases, TV movies and miniseries which have drawn on that rich source of material, the classic (and massive) Qing dynasty collection of short stories, Liaozhai Zhiyi 聊斋志异 ("Strange Stories from Liaozhai").  Liaozhai (meaning "make-do") being author Pu Songling's name for his work studio.  Most of these are tales of the supernatural, relating the interactions of humans with ghosts, fox-spirits, flower fairies, etc. 
    The first of the Shanghai feature-length screen adaptations of one of the 491 "Strange Stories" was《Ma Jiefu》, a 1926 production which, while staying close to its literary source, set it in the present, in modern dress.  It was one of the first productions by the new studio formed by the merger of Baihe and Da Zhonghua, and one of its more successful.