Chinese Film and Television

Author: Zhang Boqing
Editor-in-Chief: Yan Jinyan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-01-01
Features: Chinese cinema and television. Through conscious exploration and innovation, it utilizes the rich expressive forms of modern art to break through old models and achieve its own vitality, maturing the art of an era and transforming the tangible visual world into a real force of existence.
Excerpt: The Birth and Early Development of Chinese Cinema (1905—1948)
The period of the birth and early development of Chinese cinema spanned nearly half a century. The outstanding works of Chinese cinema during this time, in terms of ideological content, can be primarily divided into three types:
1. Family Ethics and Social Issues Films. Their peak period was from the 1920s to the 1930s. The former mostly drew on the lives of lower-middle-class citizens or petty bourgeoisie, reflecting familiar themes of romantic relationships, ethics, and domestic matters for the audience. The latter turned their gaze to society, courageously exposing the most severe and pressing social issues of the time.
2. Anti-War and Anti-Imperialist Films. Their peak period lasted from the early 1930s, following the Japanese imperialist invasion of Northeast China in the "September 18th Incident," until the late 1940s, depicting the Chinese people's struggle and resistance against invaders.
3. Real-Life and Social Reality Films. Their peak period was after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. The content primarily focused on confronting life, analyzing reality, anding the nation's crisis through the joys and sorrows of its characters.
Corresponding to these three types of films, the Chinese film industry、, around whom formed the first generation of film actors in China.
Family Ethics and Social Issues
Zheng Zhengqiu and Zhang Shichuan's short film 《》 pioneered the genre of family ethics drama. It was based on the feudal marriage customs of the Chaozhou region in Guangdong, telling the story of a young man and woman who were forced into marriage by their parents despite never having met. Another family ethics drama is China's long film 《》, which also tells the story of a wealthy young master who, due to opium addiction, entrusts his family fortune to his cousin. The cousin, malicious and deceitful, squanders the wealth entirely. The young master is driven out of his home, and his son dies from opium poisoning, while his daughter is forced into prostitution. One day, the young master encounters his daughter, but she is dragged away by a brothel madam. The father watches helplessly as his daughter is taken, tears streaming down his face.
Family ethics drama films often deliberately design a、 story, using a vertical structure and layered narrative to unfold the plot. They employ techniques from traditional novels and theater, such as misunderstandings and coincidences, to enhance the dramatic tension and conflict. However, the themes of these films are often superficial, and the characters' personalities are somewhat vague. Among the family ethics dramas of the time, 《》 stood out for its ideological depth and artistic quality. This film depicts a wealthy man who, after being misled by his nephew, suspects his widowed daughter-in-law of infidelity and banishes her. After leaving home, the daughter-in-law dedicates herself to raising her orphaned grandson. When the grandson grows up, he bravely saves his grandfather from a plot by the nephew. The truth is revealed, and the family is reunited. To some extent, the film exposes the internal conflicts within a feudal family and the hidden monetary relationships beneath familial norms. The personalities of the three main characters—the wealthy man, the widowed daughter-in-law, and the villainous nephew—are relatively distinct, and the film strives for a lifelike portrayal. Upon its release, it caused a sensation.