CALIFORNIA STATE UN:VERSITY, NORTHRIDGE CINEMA IN THE REPUBLIC PF CHINA A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Mass Communication by Barbara Baa Tang May, 1975 The thesis of Barbara Bao Tang is approved: California State University, Northridge May, 1975 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT v ~··"······~················ Chapter I. EARLY HISTORY OF CHINESE CINEMA (1896-1931) 1 The Pioneer Age •...... 1 The Founding of Chinese Cinema . 6 The Silent Film 6 The Sound Film . 13 Footnotes for Chapter I 16 II. FILM PRODUCTION DURING THE SINO-JAPANESE WAR (1931-1945)...... 18 On the Eve of the War 18 During the War . .. 24 Film Production Behind the Line of Fire 24 Film Production in the Japanese Occupied Areas 28 Film Production in Hongkong 32 At the End of the War . 34 Film Production in Japanese Occupied Areas . 34 Film Production Behind the Line of Fire •• . 35 Footnotes for Chapter II ••.••..•.• • • 37 iii Chapter Page Ill. TRANSITION PERIOD OF CHINESE CINEMA (1946-1948) . 38 Film Production in Mainland China •• • • 38 The Governmental Studios .• . 38 Private Film Productions • 40 \ Film Production in Hongkong . 45 Footnotes for Chapter III .. 49 IV. THE FORMATION OF CHINESE CINEMA IN TAIWAN AND HONG KONG ( 1949-1961} . • . 50 Mandarin Pictures in Taiwan .. 50 Governmental Films in Taiwan . 50 Subsequent Development of Mandarin Pictures 53 The Taiwanese Dialect Pictures 56 Chinese Pictures in _Hongkong •. 58 Footnotes for Chapter IV . • . 65 V, TODAY'S CHINESE CINEMA (1962-1974) 67 Involvement of the Chinese Government 67 Film Productions of the Government-Managed Studios . ....•...•.••.. 67 Governmental Policies to Assist Civilian Chinese Film Production 71 The Golden Horse Award .. 73 Rapid Growth of Chinese Cinema in Taiwan . 74 Hongkong 1 s Age of Prosperity . 78 Footnotes for Chapter V . 84 VI. CONCLUSION . ' . " . 85 BIBLIOGRAPHY . • • . • • . • • • t • 88 iv ABSTRACT CINEMA IN THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA by Barbara Bao Tang Master of Arts in Mass Communication May, 1975 Because of China's distinctive historical background, the art of the cinema in China is quite different from that of Western coun­ tries, This study presents a general view of the character of Chinese cinema. Chinese cinema has a very close relationship with Chinese modern history. In the 19th century, foreign countries opened the door of ancient China, and since then China has been influenced by the West. Chinese cinema in particular, adapted a great deal from abroad, espe­ cially from the United States of America. So this study includes a comparative analysis of Eastern and Western cinema. Cinema art in some ways reflects aspects of social phenomena and cultural characteristics. In order to understand Chinese cinema, one should not ignore the background and changing phases of Chinese society. By including some mention of these, this study can contribute to the understanding of Chinese culture and society by other peoples. v World War II was a great shock to China, and alsoto Chinese cinema. Many famous Chinese cinematic professionals went to Hongkong, and created a Chinese Movie Center. Hongkong has subsequently played an important role in Chinese cinema history. After 1949, the Chinese government started to build studios and develop film companies in Taiwan. This was the beginning of another phase of Chinese cinema history. This study of the origins and the evolution of motion pictures in Taiwan, the Republic of China, is designed to contribute to the body of knowledge concerning the development of international mass communications. vi Chapter I EARLY HISTORY OF CHINESE CINEMA (1896-1931) The.Pioneer Age Who invented motion pictures? And when? In 140 B.C.~ more than two thousand years ago~ there was an Emperor of the Han Dynasty in China who had a beloved concupine~ Madame Lee. After Madame Lee died~ the king missed her very much and wished to see her ghost. A monk was called to the court to show his special talent before the king. That night the monk set up a camp and lighted candles. The king sat outside and could see only the shadow of a beautiful lady. The king sighed and said~ 11 Is it you or not? My dear, why are you walking so slowly? 11 Afterwards~ Chinese people called this kind of magic 11 Shadow Play. 11 Some people believe that this was the very beginning of the motion picture.1 That is also the reason why the word 11 movies 11 was translated into Chinese as 11 Electric Shadow 11 (Dianying). Real modern motion pictures in China were imported from the western world. Who brought motion pictures to China? When was the first time that the Chinese people had a chance to see movies? There isn't any certain answer for these questions. It may have been one of the several Lumiere cameramen-showmen who first brought films to China. 2 On August 11, 1896~ Shanghai (the future center of the Chinese film industry) had its first movie show at the Hsu Garden as part of a 1 2 variety show of magicians~ acrobats~ and a juggler with fireworks. 3 Thereafter, the Hsu Garden exhibited French movies for many years. The following year, James Ricalton came to China from America and brought some Edison films to Sh~nghai. At the Tien Hua Tea G~rden~ he showed his first film, then opened for business at the Chi Garden and Tun Chung Tea Garden. These were scenic documentary films~ as well as some newsreels. 4 Two years later, in 1899~ a Spanish showman, Gary Baker (or Glen Bocca?) showed films in Shanghai in a teahouse~ but they were old and simple and not well received by the Chinese audience. Baker gave up and turned over his films and apparatus to a friend, Antonio Ramos. 5 Antonio Ramos did such good business in the Ching Lien House~ that he brought in new fifteen-minute films from abroad continuously. This was the first time in China that there was a place to show movies regularly. 6 After this success, Antonio Ramos built the first movie theater in Shanghai, the Hua Kuo Theater. In January 1902, audiences in Peking saw their first foreign film in Fu Sho Hal1. 7 The next year, 1903~ a Chinese businessman named Lin Chu-shan brought back a projector and films from America. He showed those films at the Tien Lo Teahouse. He was the first Chinese who did film business in his own country. During this period~ some attempts were made to produce films in China, but these efforts failed because of two miserable accidents. In 1904, for the seventieth birthday of the Empress Dowager, the British Minister, Sir Ernest Mason Satow, presented her with an English film projector and several films. After three reels were shown, 3 the projector exploded. The Empress Dowager decided that showing films was bad luck, and she didn't allow any more films to be shown in the court. Just after this unpleasant experience, five Manchu offic~rs were sent in 1905 on a mission to Europe and America. One of them, named Tuan Fang, took home a film projector and films. While showing the films, an explosion of the projector killed the translator Ho Tza-hua. Understandably, these incidents left an unfortunate impres­ sion on Peking's upper classes.8 Despite these events, however, films became a very profitable business in Peking. They continued to be shown in the other big cities, and were extremely popular in Shanghai. During the period of World War I, many foreign film distribu­ tors came to China and started a lively competition. A Portuguese, S. G. Hertzberg and an Italian, A. E. Louros, built two movie theaters in Shanghai and the Japanese opened a Tokyo Motion Picture Theater. At the same time, English and Spanish businessmen also entered the film field, In the beginning, French films were the most popular in the Chinese film market. But after the first World War, American films began to flow into China. Comedy films starring Chaplin were welcomed by all audiences. In the meanwhile, some detective films that were shown were thought to have a bad influence on Chinese society. Several criminals admitted that they copied their crimes from those movies. The first dramatic Chinese film was produced by the Chinese in 1905. Jen Ching-feng, the owner of the Feng Tai Photography shop in 4 Peking, also invested in show business and got the idea to make his own films. With a French camera and German raw stock, Jen filmed his first production. It was also the first Chinese dramatic film, Tin Chun Mountain. 9 The film was adapte1 from the Peking opera and starred the famous opera performer, T'an Hsin-pei. Thereafter, the Feng Tai photography shop made several films, all based on the Peking opera, which were welcomed by Chinese audiences. In 1908, an Italian filmmaker went to China and shot .newsreel subjects, such as The Funeral of the Empress Dowager, The First Trolley Car in Shanghai, etc. The next year, the Asia Film Company was established by an American, Benjamin Polaski. Those were short films produced by the company in Shanghai and in Hongkong. Some of the titles were Widowed Empress, The Unfilial Son, Revealed by the Pot, and Stealing the Cooked Ducks. 10 On the night of October 10, 1911, the new revolutionary army pulled down the Manchurian Government and established a democratic China. A documentary film called War in Wuhan was made by a Chinese acrobat, Chu Lian-kui, with a foreign film company, the Mei Li Company. It was registered for a U.S.A. copyright in 1912, as The Chinese Revolution.