Abstract: Griffith's influence on early Chinese films has recently been paid more and more attention by researchers. This article has searched extensively for historical materials from newspapers and magazines, and traced it back to the historical context of the first half of the 1920s. It is believed that Griffith played a pivotal role in the "sprouting era" of Chinese films. Because of the thought and art expressed in his films, the Chinese really accepted films and regarded them as educational tools. Griffith is not only regarded as a model of film art, but also an idol created for the emerging film discourse. Together with Hollywood culture, it is integrated into China's own social improvement program. This article reveals that the success of films such as "Lai Marriage" and "Seeing the Light Again" has produced historical effects in launching movie advertisements and newspaper film reviews. In circulation and interpretation, Griffith is like a dazzling video stage, deriving local film discourse, intertwined with the ideological trend of cosmopolitanism and nationalism, in which the intermediary role of text and literary tradition is like a kaleidoscope.
Keywords: Griffith Chinese film influence research image intermediary
1. Griffith's history and memory
In the Chinese film scene in the first half of the 1920s, Griffith (David Wark Griffith, 1875-1948) can be said to be full of glory. Newspapers often describe the grandeur of their films as "the alley is empty, all the rage", and even say that "all are honored to compete in the film of Griffith." It is obviously an exaggeration of the advertisement, but it has created Griffith's Chinese legend. Once upon a time, like in Hollywood, his name sank into the river of oblivion in China and became a historical relic. As Anderson’s research on place names in the old and new continents shows, collective memory is entangled with the national “imaginary community”, or, as Foucault said, the “seeing and not seeing” of historical records in printed matter is manipulated by the social power mechanism. In China in the 20th century, the collective memory of Griffith has gone through vicissitudes of life, and it has been tossed with the ideology of "revolution". In the orthodox film history of the 1960s, his name was eradicated along with American influence. Chen Li (1910-1988) published the book "Dianying Electric Shadow" in 1971, which was regarded as a classic in the history of Chinese film in the English-speaking world, but he was not very familiar with the situation of Ge Shi in China. When referring to the well-meaning Chinese film "Broken Blossoms", he was not without confusion and said that he did not know whether the film had been screened in China. (1)
In 1993, Professor Paul G. Pickowicz published the article "Reproduction of Melodrama and Chinese "May 4th" Film Tradition", discussing the close relationship between Hollywood and "May 4th". The movies of "Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School" are much more "modern" than the "May 4th" literature. (2) The article mentioned Griffith's grand occasion in China at the time. Of course, Griffith was also the main creator of the classic Hollywood narrative "melodrama" (melodrama). In 1996, Li Suyuan and Hu Jubin's book "Chinese Silent Movies", this grand occasion was more positively reflected. (3) Especially in recent years, as the memories of early movies have been unearthed, more and more attention has been paid to the Griffin, and the data mining has become more and more detailed, but it is not without regret that the generally based materials are nothing more than Zheng Junli's 1936 "Modern China". A passage from "A Brief History of Movies". (4) Among them, there is a considerable and incomplete list of Griffith's films released in China. The main problem is that "Way Down East" arrived in China in the spring of 1924 and got the wrong time. In fact, it was first shown in Shanghai in May 1922, and then in Tianjin and Beijing. Although only two years away, Griffith became popular in China, precisely during these two years. According to the film advertisement of "Shen Bao", 10 Geshi films were screened in various theaters in Shanghai from 1922 to 1924. The most prominent one was "Lai Marriage", which was screened five times before and after; "Reseeing the Light" (The Birth of a Nation), The Girl Who Stayed at Home, Orphans of the Storm, and The Love Flower have each played twice; Intolerance) is an old film re-screening; The Greatest Question and An Exciting Night were performed for three or four days each; and the residual tears were only screened for 3 days. Cut in the middle. (5)
As Zheng Junli said, there is no doubt that Chinese "romantic films" were influenced by Griffith, but I think that Griffith has a deeper and broader significance for early Chinese films. In June 1923, "Shen Bao" first published Griffith's photos, introducing him "as the most famous director in the American film industry today, and the originator of filmmaking. When Griffith was studying active films, the public regarded him as the most famous director in the American film industry. Movie drama is a kind of afterlife at the end of the palace, so it is often ranked behind the opera." (6) This view remains unchanged. Film historians have different opinions on Greg's works, but they all agree on the point that he transformed the film from "wishfulness" to "art". In fact, the concept of film in China also has this "transition" process, and Griffith has also played a key role.
The rise of the Chinese film industry in the early 1920s and the formation of the "director system" in practice are consistent with the conceptual recognition that film is a comprehensive art inseparable; and in the emerging film criticism, the works of Gregory have become a measure of film art. Ruler. Looking back at the 1910s, when Western-style cinemas replaced tea gardens and "five cents cinema", films entered a new cultural context; Hollywood quickly occupied a monopoly after World War I, and the Chinese film market also witnessed early Western films. The development of the film, from comic short films, detective serials to long feature films, finally brought Griffith's new film concept. In this process, Chinese people groping for movies in the dark is tantamount to blind men and elephants, and their experience can be described as arduous.
Regarding the relationship between Griffith and early Chinese films, this article is not limited to the level of "influence" or "reception", but discusses its meaning in a broader and more complex historical context. The so-called "context" means going back to history, but in the final analysis, a kind of "reconstruction" of memory is inevitable. For the early film history, the excavation and careful reading of historical materials had to be emphasized, but on the other hand, images are inseparable from words. It is also inseparable from the writing tradition, which may be the main feature of silent movies. Therefore, because of literary phenomena and shadows, this article looks at Griffith and his films from the perspective of text, literature and even culture, which may provide some reference for the study of early film history.
2. Looking back on the 1910s: Zhou Shoujuan's "Shadow Drama"
"Shen Bao • Free Talk" began serializing Zhou Shoujuan's (1894-1968) "Shadow Drama" in June 1919, and published 14 articles in January of the following year. "The angle of view not only witnessed but also actively responded to the transformation process of the world film from "following" to "art". From about 1914 onwards, Zhou Shoujuan has often patronized the movie theaters opened by foreign companies such as Victoria (Victorian Theater), Olympic Theater (Olympic Theater), and Apollo Theater (Apollo Theater). Novel", published in magazines such as "Saturday" and "Game World". "Shadow Drama" chronicles the films he has watched, one by one according to the types of detective, comic, romance and so on. As a "Saturday" writer who is famous for his "grief" novels, Zhou most appreciates literary films. He disagrees with those films that use agency settings to win or specialize in funny gimmicks, and for movie theaters to become the "night market of erotic desires" for young men and women. "Also had concerns, but he held an open attitude and fully assessed the entertaining nature of that type of film.
After several years of observation, he saw the trend of film development in the world and advocated it. At the beginning of "Shadow Drama":
The western name of the movie theater is Cinematograph, which prevailed in the European and American states in the 19th century, and it has become more and more prosperous today. Every city has many movie theaters, ranging from more than a thousand to dozens. Gai opens up people's wisdom, not only in novels, but also in movie theater. (7)
While advocating the educational function of film, it naturally produces the requirement for the development of local films. In contrast, Zhou said with emotion: "It is open like Shanghai, and there is never a Chinese movie theater or a Chinese movie theater.... It is not easy to desire the openness of the people's wisdom. I can't help but feel the connection with the development of European and American movie theaters."(8)
Near the end of 1919, Zhou Shoujuan watched Griffith's Hearts of the World and "Party of the World" (He translated as "Embarrassed") in the Victoria Theater. He was overjoyed and talked about three consecutive "Shadows" Griffith, the reverence is beyond words. Said "Heart of the World": "The plot is set, and it is amazing. Because I deeply admire the great courage and high thinking of Americans, this is enough to see the development of culture and art in the middle of the country." (9) Special introduction In addition to the content of "Party Facing Differences" and the theme of condemning political and cultural violence, he enthusiastically praised the creative motives of Geshi, which is out of universal concern for the history and destiny of mankind. Such an emphasis on "high thinking" is undoubtedly a powerful representation of his own proposal of "opening up people's wisdom" with movies six months ago. Griffith surprised him at this time and met his expectations for the movie. Zhou specifically pointed out: "The film produced by him has a purpose in order to impress people with a deep impression. It is not the case of a detective's feature film to dazzle people with a plot. The bloggers are laughing.” Although he admired Chaplin and Rock very much and introduced them specifically, he did not hesitate to compare them in front of Griffith, but he expressed his new understanding of movies: movies are not only Entertainment has potential in expressing ideas.
Zhou further introduced: "German's masterpiece Fansan: one is "Embarrassment", one is "Heart of the World", and the other is "The Birth of a Country". It has occupied the highest position in the film and theater circles of various countries." "The American Griffiths is a master producer in the film industry, and no one else can reach it. Like a lion who climbs up and screams, all the beasts are broken." (10) Such a high praise for Griffith, of course, conveyed from The information of the world film world is also based on his personal experience in these years. His explanation of the "purpose" of Gregory, the so-called "expects to be deeply impressed,", although general, it captures the characteristics of Greg's film that vividly portray the psychology of the characters, and of course it also implies that it is one of the same for the film. This understanding of "art" is in fact inseparable from a series of innovations in Greg's film technology.
Western-style cinemas continued to grow in the mid-1910s, and the tea garden that originally screened movies also disappeared. There was official intervention in the process of elimination. For example, in December 1909, the "Shenzhen" had a picture of "prohibition of movie theaters." The authorities prohibit it. (11) In addition, "Shen Bao" published in April 1912 Wang Dungen's "Shadow Theater" short article, which described the movie theater as foul, noisy, and chaotic. When he ran out after watching the movie, he said, "Remembering what he has suffered is nothing more than going back to hell." (12) In fact, the "Shadow Theater" in the "West of the Mud Ditch" mentioned in the article is actually It is the "Five Cent Cinema" called "Huan Xian". Judging from the disgust expressed by Wang, this kind of early concept of movie theaters as "after-hing" has come to an end.
Before and after World War I, Shanghai had become a dumping ground for world films, and Western-style cinemas were the mainstream. This had an impact on local film production beyond ordinary imagination. Film historians attach great importance to the filming of "Difficult Wife and Difficult Wife" filmed jointly by Zhang Shichuan, Zheng Zhengqiu and Asia Company in 1913. They believed it was a success, and it became a mystery that Zhang and Zheng broke up with speculations afterwards. Indeed, as a feature film, in terms of genre, it was already in the leading position in the movie world where short comedies and detective series were popular at the time, and it deserves its place in the history of Chinese film. But the reality is that, just as the advertisement of "A Difficult Wife" emphasizes that it is one of the "improved new dramas", strictly speaking, it is almost a stage documentary. We don't know whether Asia has contacted Victoria and other movie theaters. If so, the result should be negative. Judging from the movie advertisements in English newspapers at that time, the films shown in 1914, besides other types, such as "The Three Musketeers", "Anthony and Cleopatra", "The End of Pambe City" Isometric feature films have appeared. Especially like How Heroes Are Made, which shows the legend of Napoleon's heroes, it is a French blockbuster. The advertisement reads: "The film is five-volume 800-foot-long, brilliant and majestic, showing Napoleon's marvelous military exploits. It was filmed by the best European technicians in sunny Italy." (13) Zhou Shoujuan was excited after watching it. That is, it was translated into "shadow novels", entitled "What a Hero", and published in "Game Magazine".
If it is difficult to enter the mainstream Western-style movie theaters, it is obviously technically inadequate. (14) Zhou Shoujuan's "Shadows and Dramas" is honest and unkind: "Five years ago, there were Asian film companies on the sea, as well as new drama crews from Jiujie, who acted in "The Black Book of Injustice" and a variety of short and interesting dramas. In the play, the women still pretend to be the actor in disguise, pretending to be full of ugliness, the plot is set, and they are not enough to be seen, and they are eliminated within a year. Holding the films of the major companies of EMI and Lin Fa is just like a little witch’s opinion." (15) "The Injustice of the Black Book" was directed by Zhang Shichuan and was produced in 1916. The filming method is similar to that of "A Difficult Wife". Zhou's comment is a bit snobbery, but it reflects his advanced vision, which was invaluable at the time.
In the following five or six years, until the advent of the three feature films "Yan Ruisheng", "Pink Skull" and "Oath" in 1921, Chinese films remained silent. Those pioneers included Zheng Zhengqiu (1888—1935) and Dan Du Yu (1897-1972), Guan Haifeng, etc., gradually realized that film is a complex system that can only be taught without a teacher. By watching foreign films, they can "steal" and learn. Dazzling, the path of exploration is even more difficult. At this time, no matter in terms of theory or practice, the traditional "shadow drama" view itself, new dramas and movies are experiencing confrontation, interaction and integration.
There are some materials in "Shadow Drama" that can illuminate some blind spots in this period, which is difficult to describe in this article. In his acceptance of Griffith, there is already an understanding of film from after-Xing to art. Although from the perspective of a literati, it represents the understanding of those pioneers. As a Chinese audience's not too late feedback to the world film industry, the value of "Shadow Drama" is that it has become a driving force for the development of local films. In fact, when local films appeared in the early 1920s, Zhou was enthusiastic to promote them. He presided over the "Shen Pao" supplement and opened a "Shadow Theater" column in the "Ban Yue" magazine, which is not to be ignored in promoting early film criticism. Characters.
3. Business and politics: Griffith and the advertising war
The advertisement for "Marriage Lai" appeared on the first page of "Shen Pao" on May 20, 1922. From then on, Griffith's Chinese legend began, and it also brought good luck to Chinese movies. Movie advertisements have a history of seven or eight years, and have never been crowded with theater advertisements. At the premiere of "Yan Ruisheng", the advertisement made was regarded as a good one, but it must not be compared with this time. (16) The film maker seems to have spotted Griffith's Chinese market. It is the Shanghai Grand Theater run by the Chinese that is full of challenges at the expense of advertising. The ad titled: "The world's best film before and after all", and introduced in more detail that the film was originally a literary masterpiece, and its operas have been performed repeatedly in the United States, and then said:
Until 1920, the world-famous film-making magnate Greif was specially compiled into a movie and circulated widely. The filming time took a full month of work, with a fee of up to US$800,000. The film length is 12,000 feet, divided into eleven majors. The project is so large that it is indeed a novelty in the film industry. Piancheng performed for the first time in the Forty-fourth Avenue Theater in New York, where celebrities and ladies rushed to visit. Ordinary seats are sold for ten dollars per person, and the viewers are amazed, and the performance lasts for 14 months without dissatisfaction with the seats. Later, the theaters of major cities in Britain and France performed successively, and every performance was filled with empty streets. The most popular film in the world should be the most. ...
This advertisement is more than six hundred words, from the tragic plot, the beautiful shooting to the superb performance of "The Weak Woman" (not yet named by Tilly Lin Ganxi [Lilian Ji Xu]). The so-called "unprecedented" in English is equivalent to words such as sensational, or thrill, and it often appears in advertisements in foreign movie theaters. The owner of the Shanghai Grand Theater is Cantonese businessman Zeng Huantang. When the Shanghai Grand Theater opened in May 1917, the advertising specifications and patterns in English newspapers were unprecedented, and later theaters such as Victoria and Aipulu followed suit.
Not to be outdone by foreign businessmen, the Carlton Cinema was completed the following year, claiming to have world-class facilities. In June, "Seeing the Light Again" was released. This is an old film, but it is recognized that it has made a huge contribution to the art of film. Carlton also fought an advertising campaign, which was announced in Chinese and Western newspapers. Although there is no front page in "Shenzhen", it still accounts for more than one-third of the entire movie version, and the cost should not be small. It looks much more atmospheric, unlike the advertising text of "Lai Marriage", which is densely packed and difficult to read. There is a picture in the upper right corner of the Ku Klux Klan war horse, the title is "The Earth Shaking American History Film". The explanatory text also has hundreds of words, and the font size varies. It is especially marked in bold: "Actors: 18,000 people; Horses: 3,000 horses; Set: 5,000 scenes."
Compared with the romance film type of "Lai Marriage", the advertisement of "Revisiting the Light" uses "history" as its appeal, and it has a huge momentum. It also uses Hollywood as a banner to show the strong position of foreign businessmen. The bold words also say that Carlton has signed contracts with several American film companies, and that all the expensive films produced by those companies are exclusively screened by this theater. There is also a list of the names of big-name director stars: Griffith, Chaplin (Charles Chaplin, 1889-1977), Tauglas Van Peng (Douglas Van Punk, 1883—1939) and his wife Manli Beckford (Mary Pickford, 1892—1979) puts a bracket after Manli's name, and specifically writes "the richest and most beautiful actress in the American film industry". Of course, Lilin Ganxi, who became famous overnight due to "Marriage Lai," is indispensable on this list.
Both "Marriage Lai" and "Seeing the Light Again" caused a sensation and were very successful at the box office. This advertising war is quite allegorical for the competitive model between the homeland and Hollywood. Actually speaking at the time, since the birth of the three Chinese feature films, the film sentiment has been soaring. Movie advertisements hit the front page for the first time, which means that the movie’s debut in China has suddenly become a noble identity. In fact, Chinese films have also been vigorous in the following two or three years, taking advantage of the momentum and making great progress. New film companies, new films, and new theaters have sprung up, forming a competition and consumption model with Hollywood. Under semi-colonial Shanghai’s politically disadvantaged conditions, local films abide by the rules of the game on the one hand, and compete fairly, on the other hand, they use local resources to try their best to open up space. By the end of 1924, "The Orphan Saves the Ancestor" came out, pioneering the creation of Chinese films. "Early Glory Landscape". (17)
Local films quickly entered the competitive system. Like Hollywood, movie companies such as celebrities have rental businesses, and one of the signs of success is their entry into foreign theaters. At the beginning of 1925, an author of "Film Magazine" happily said: "The "Song Bai Yuan" of the film department of the commercial library, which is older but has not made much progress, and the "Abandoned Wife", the female work of the Great Wall Company, have actually been appreciated by major theaters. It has been screened in Carlton and Victoria successively, and foreign theaters have opened Chinese films, and it is here to celebrate. It is the progress of self-made films that has made it so much so that it is extremely gratifying." (18) But some people don’t think so, and say sharply. : "The Chinese take refuge in the concession, resting their noses under the management of outsiders, and already feel ashamed in their hearts. If they are proud to ask for help from outsiders, I really don't know what position they are in." (19) Actually two people The authors all come from a patriotic standpoint, but they have different perspectives. For local films, entering the big theater is not only decent, but also because of the high ticket price and high profit. An obvious example is the "Orphan Saves the Ancestor" filmed by the star company, which has gained huge capital appreciation precisely because it was screened in various theaters, including Aipulu, Enpeya, Card and other foreign theaters. For Zheng Zhengqiu and others, this is a question of breaking Hollywood's monopoly and reclaiming "profit rights." On New Year's Day in 1925, on the occasion of the great success of "The Orphan Saved the Ancestor", the star company declared in the Lunar New Year advertisement of "Shen Pao":
In the past few years, American movies have almost been seen all over the world, and looking back at our country, it would be gloomy. The same person is not sensitive, creating a celebrity, and in the midst of the experience, it will be two years in an instant, "editing", "acting", "photographing", "washing", "printing", "receiving", "writing", "cutting", Has been able to do nothing with outsiders. And "The Orphan Saves the Ancestor" has received special commendation from the "Jiangsu Provincial Education Association", and also received various newspapers. The awards have been increased. Since the beginning of the show, it has been praised for nothing. Although the company is proud, it is also one of the best in the Chinese film industry. Good phenomenon too. However, my colleagues did not dare to be self-proclaimed, promote our art, and restore our country's rights and interests. This is the responsibility of this ambition, and I am willing to encourage it with my colleagues.
In "Projecting a Nation" (Projecting a Nation), Hu Jubin referred to the 1920s as the "commercial nationalism" period of Chinese films (20), which can summarize the characteristics of the time. It is true that the "independence" of celebrities who claim to be filmmaking is essential to national films, but the so-called "no hands on outsiders" is not without irony. In Shanghai in Shiliyangchang, local films are inevitably cultural hybrids. For example, Andrew Higson pointed out in an article discussing the concept of "national film" that Hollywood has penetrated into the popular imagination and national culture in European countries. Therefore, when claiming "national film", one should pay attention to the specific connotation of its definition. (21) Especially in the early 1920s, when Chinese films started, there was a tendency to pursue "Europeanization". Even Li Huailin, the editor-in-chief of "Film Magazine", believed that electronic copies came from Europe and the United States. Follow in the footsteps of the army and be an imitator.” (22) The most obvious thing is that a series of films, including "The Orphan Saves the Ancestor", "imitated" Taiwei chasing Aina in "Marriage by Lai". plot.
In a sense, the "nationalism" of Chinese films originated from the "commercial" advertisements of this period, appealing to the magic of words. For example, the eight words "edit", "play" and "photo", which are specially marked with quotation marks above, are extremely expressive. Each word represents an independent production department, which means the maturity of local movies from concept to practice. When local movies emerged, Hollywood culture also came to light, and it quickly became a daily consumption in the city. In newspapers and magazines, I talked about everything that happened in Hollywood, including introducing how to make movie advertisements in a variety of ways. However, Chinese youths are out of blue, playing the patriotic card in movie advertisements. Needless to say, Chinese-owned theaters, such as the movie version of "Shen Pao" on March 14, 1923, are almost half-page marked in large letters: "Hua Shang Hu Jiang Movie Theater", screened Chinese films such as "New Nanjing". What’s more interesting are those foreign theaters, such as the New Ellen Film Theater in Remas on January 31, 1923. When the Commercial Press’s "Fatty Wife Soup" was opened, the advertisements specifically marked: "Breakthrough", "China Self-made movie". When Chinese films are shown, they also attract national films.
Of course, foreign businessmen do this by commercial means. In Shanghai cinemas, New Helen has a lower grade. The patriotic sentiments of local audiences like this, which contain a basic film criticism and consumption model, have been formed at that time, that is, the general movie audiences are keen on it. At the same time, I am full of expectations for Chinese movies. Although I can say that it is not as good as Western movies, I always say that it is good to be able to shoot this way in the "budget era" of Chinese movies. As someone wrote in the "Shen Pao": "The psychology of spectators is attracted by the'Chinese homemade films', and they are quite welcome. They are unwilling to criticize harshly in order to discourage the interest of the producers and make naive Chinese films. It’s also a place of depravity.” (23) Some people say that it is like the “initial work” of commercial shooting. (twenty four )
In this paradoxical mode of competition and consumption, the biggest anxiety and the most success of Chinese films lies in maintaining the audience’s expectations for Chinese films. The first condition is to improve the status of the film, make it the center of urban culture, and make the audience. With continuous expansion, only in this way can local movies come to life. Even those films such as "A Difficult Wife" and "Pink Skull" can be taken out of the library and shown in rotation in various theaters to realize the recovery of capital. Under such circumstances, the Chinese are in need of a fable about the film itself, so Griffith came to it, and the Chinese film became mature, and in turn borrowed the East Wind of the Griffiths.
4. Griffith and the film public discourse
From 1922 to 1924, film launched a new piston for print capitalism. For a time, newspaper columns and magazines, including professional titles such as "Movie Magazine" and "Movie Magazine", appeared in the world, as well as a large number of leisure publications such as " "Game Magazine", "Saturday", etc., they have already promoted movies. These newspapers and magazines have opened up different public spaces for different readers, but to a large extent they communicate with each other and form the discourse of the film. Griffith is a co-created spectacle, like a center of discourse coordinates, its vertical and horizontal lines are intricate. Nationalism and cosmopolitanism are intertwined with issues such as race and gender, images and literature.
Although the film layout of "Shen Pao" is quite limited, in the past two or three years, because the film suddenly became fashionable, it did an excellent job of enlightenment and can't wait to make up lessons for the Chinese. In addition to cooperating with theaters for publicity, it mainly introduces Hollywood film culture, serialized "American Film News", "A Review of Film Industry", "History of Shadow Theater Invention", etc. Papers such as "and Skills" are also introduced. A lot more is about the life history of Hollywood directors and actors, accompanied by his and their photos, from artistic features to anecdotes, from personal character to clothing, disguise, and travel habits. This is undoubtedly building a Hollywood myth, making it a part of the urban dream.
Griffith's films have been screened in Shanghai in large numbers, and its reputation is unparalleled in Hollywood. But his name is not an absolute hit. For example, his later work "A Night of Horror" was only released for 3 days, and there were no comments, and there was no response. Indeed, most of the madness caused by the Griffin in China is connected with "Lai Marriage". During this period, in the movie column of "Shen Pao", there were two introductions about Griffith with photos, and of course his movie theories. The photos of the heroine Lilin Gish (1893-1993) appeared five times before and after, and even the actor Richard Barthelmess (Richard Barthelmess, 1895-1963) also appeared four times.
Griffith’s Chinese legend, of course, is that he himself won the fierce competition in Hollywood, on the other hand-from the perspective of consumption-is also a surplus, that is, the production of spiritual surplus value on Griffith. In the Chinese scene, he is even called the "Holy", adding a round of halo on his head, although it was Gan Xi and Bethelmus who won with him. In these trinity, his light can't help being concealed by Gan Xi beside him.
The one who called Griffith the "Holy" was Cheng Bugao (1906-1966). His "Griffith Success Story" was serialized in the 1924 "Film Magazine", and the opening remarks said:
Griffith has the honorary title of the world's number one film director, and in the world of directors, he is an old man, and his opponent is only today's famous director, Rex Ingram. In the history of film, he is another important person. With the birth of Geyinger, the film gradually moved from the naive age to the adult age, and it became the fifth major industry in the United States, and then became the universal hobby of the world, and even more advanced art, the inventor, Ai Disheng , Also unexpected. Since "Marriage Lai" arrived in Shanghai, the name of Ge's family has been very much in Shanghai, and his director's wrist has been worshipped by most. (25)
The article mentions Grignard's competitor Ingram, which is interesting. Among Hollywood directors, Yin is also a good player, specializing in large-scale blockbuster films of history and love. His "The Secret History of Lu Gong" and "Heroes of Sons and Daughters" have been screened in Shanghai successively and received rave reviews. However, he was inferior in front of Griffiths, and even "Film Magazine" made a special comment for him, sorry to say that he was left out because of his "favorite" Griffith. However, Chinese film critics also have their own reasons. Some think that everything that can be found in Yin's films can be found in Ge Shi, but Ge Shi's style is more lively and compact, and more heart-warming. This may be related to the fact that Griffin is good at expressing the distinct themes of good and evil, and ideologically, it can more resonate with Chinese audiences.
"The Success Story of Griffith" detailed the thought and art of Chuanzhu, but it went beyond the film and read like a "growth novel". In the article, it is described how the Griffiths started in the last minute, pursued ideals with perseverance, and continued to innovate in art, overflowing with genius, and rewarding the underachievers. This is the same as the purpose of promoting Hollywood culture at that time, not only to establish the lofty status of movies, but also to spread universal values, which is beneficial to social reform and the growth of youth.
As Cheng Bugao said, "The director's skill is admired by most." In this period, in theory, film was a noble and complex art, and it has become a consensus. Almost everyone has a set of opinions on what a movie is. Even if Griffith is not mentioned, he is also in the shadow when it comes to advanced photography techniques or performance skills. Indeed, under the conditions of competition between the strong and the weak with Hollywood, the Chinese have shown a kind of artistic enthusiasm. As expressed in the "Publication Ci" of "The World of Shadows" in 1925, filming is the "language of the world" and declared a kind of "cosmopolitanism" that contains the ideal of "university" of human beings. Griffith's continued influence can be seen from Tian Han's (1898-1968) speech in 1926. He said: "The recent big progress in movie theater is Griffith's invention of using literary methods or techniques to make movies." He also gave examples of five methods such as "close-up" and "fade in and out". (26) This example may confirm what the American scholar Miriam Hansen called "Vernacular Modernism", which means that the classic Hollywood narrative is universally applied to the world and brought liberating impetus to Shanghai silent films. It is commendable that she emphasized the level of national and cultural "perception" or "collective sensory mechanism" in the process of accepting "vernacular modernism". (27) This may be a link that needs to be strengthened in our early film research. But I feel that if I delve into the specific "perception" methods, I can find that this "vernacular modernism" is often deformed, or even an illusion.
Translating the word vernacular by "vernacular" is a problematic variant. If we misunderstand "vernacular", we will find interestingly that in Shanghai's acceptance of Griffith in the 1920s, " Classical Chinese and its closely related traditional classics played a vivid role. Writers like Tian Han in the "May Fourth Movement" explained Ge's "two-sided description" that is similar to the "montage" technique. example. Another similar example is the advertisement of "Lai Marriage" on "Shen Pao": "Watching this drama is like watching the Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions. The more you watch it, the more interesting it becomes." This appeared in the last two days of the film's release, and the studio seemed to find a kind of The rhetoric that is more attractive to the audience is likely to come from the feedback of the audience. Here, "like watching" is a kind of suggestion, not comparing "Lai Marriage" to "A Dream of Red Mansions". In fact, in the production of Griffith's "surplus value", it is first melted on the perceptual level and expressed through translation, and the engraving of text, literature and even culture is everywhere. The Griffiths produced in this way are not completely unrecognizable, but will be accompanied by some other things, in fact, it is nothing more than the mark of "Made in China". In the 1920s, the film industry was almost dominated by the "Mandarin Butterfly School". Just looking at the film's translation of the title shows the power of classical Chinese and also reveals the cultural interest and intentions of the school. For example, The Love Flower is translated into "The Filial Daughter Sinking Boat", the token of love is transformed into an ode to family ethics. Another example is TheGirl Who Stayed at Home, which is literally translated as "Girl at Home", but it is translated as "The Romance of the European War". History plus love is a formula that attracts audiences, because "Laid Marriage" and "Reseeing the Light" have been screened before, and now the title is used to typify the audience to package the audience's memory. When the film was screened in Beijing, it was translated into "Boudoir Moon", with more Beijing style characteristics. It is from the Tang poem "Poor Boudoir Moon, Grows Up in the Han Family Camp" (Shen Quanqi), which is faintly set off against the background of war. There is no real care in the beginning.
The earliest film reviews on "Shen Pao" also have a lot to do with Griffith. Carlton Cinemas played a trick during the screening of "Revisiting the Light", that is, soliciting film reviews from the audience. As a result, the first review was published in the newspaper. out. Film reviews are generally written through memories. When resorting to words, if there is a misunderstanding, it will cause the problem of how the perception system works. This kind of comments from ordinary viewers is a kind of public forum, and it has become a link between the different spaces between the newspaper and the cinema. Therefore, it is reminiscent of the term "national imagination" frequently used in modern literature research, and its root is related to Anderson's book "Imagination Community". Anderson believes that nationalism is deeply rooted in regional, language and historical memory, and the popularity of modern newspapers and novels has promoted the imaginative construction of the state system. (28) I feel curious about whether the "imagination community" can be separated from the film? That is, as in Shanghai in the early 1920s, film has become an important symbol of cultural modernity, and it calls for "recovering rights" in the competition with Hollywood. , The collective appeal of the development of local movies is linked with the new national imagination. How can the different public spaces between the cinema and the newspaper communicate with each other? In the special semi-colonial environment of Shanghai, how can the national imagination caused by the movie be involved in the complexity of the five places? Griffith's film provides Vivid example.
This award-winning review said: "The final ending, Peng En and Alice, Philip and Mao Lan, are all married, the author said: Peace and union, one and inseparable, now and forever." means'North and South One family, Hezhong Gonghe Shou Mianmian. 'Viewing the two bureaus of my country's north and south, harassment all the year round, no peace talks, I don't know when and when there will be a'seeing the light again' sun ear. "(29) Here, "reseeing the light" is cleverly misappropriated, and the history that took place in the New World is moved to China, although the desired "brightness" is the future tense. This kind of "imaginary community produced by watching movies" ", unfolds on the level of perception, extremely vivid. In addition, the English sentence is quoted from the subtitle commentary at the end of the film. The original text is Freedom at the beginning, meaning "free", but the author writes it as Peace, because it is translating There is no "freedom" in the middle. It should be said that the author's memory is wrong, and he is dominated by the strong desire for the unification of the north and the south in the text, which causes misunderstanding.
It is generally believed that "Reseeing the Light" has the flaws of racial discrimination due to its praise of the KKK, and the Gregs has been criticized for this. However, Chinese audiences were patriotic and misunderstood this point even more. They ignored the discriminatory performance of blacks in the film. They saw that the association caused by the Civil War was the separatism of the warlords of the Republic of China at the time and the threat of "co-management" by foreign powers in China. Therefore, I was very excited to see the white KKK screaming. For example, another film review said: "The blacks abused the whites, but the whites deliberately retaliated and cultivated their talents in secret, so they organized the Ku Klux Klan with thousands of members, so they rebuked the black soldiers. It is about restoring the freedom of the state. Regarding our country, foreign insults are still frequent. The theory of co-management is heard every day, and the people of our country are still dreaming, so this film can be used as a headshot." (3 0)
Carlton had already screened Griffith's "Remnant Tears" before "Reseeing the Light", which also involved racial issues. "Remnant Tears" tells a love story between a Chinese youth and an American girl, in which the British are brutal. The girl was abused to death by her father, and the Chinese boy shot and killed her father. In American movies at the time, Chinese were usually portrayed as sloppy, sloppy, and ugly, which has always aroused the anger of Chinese audiences. When he was filming this film in 1919, he had already learned his lesson and shaped an upright and compassionate Chinese. The "Remnant Tears" advertisement in the newspaper said that the "Chinese people are extremely kind" in the film, and used it as a selling point. "Shen Pao" also published a short review, and finally commented: "Thanks to the foreign films, wherever the people in our country are portrayed, Thailand is ranked among the gangsters, and this "Remnant Tears" is unique. It’s a great honor to perform a noble and pure love.” (31) The film critics at that time were not signed yet, but this kind of local audience’s opinion was not only helpful to Griffith’s image in China, but also in the film. The actor Berthamus, who played the role of a Chinese teenager, also won the hearts of Chinese audiences.
"Remnant Tears" is scheduled to be screened continuously for a week, but on the fourth day the advertisement announced that it will be suspended, only saying: "According to the clerk of the hospital yesterday, due to special reasons, it will not be renewed." The so-called "special reasons", according to It was later revealed that it was because the British people depicted in the film were extremely vicious and that the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Industry had banned performances. It was later shipped to Hong Kong, and it was also banned by the Hong Kong authorities. (32) This is about the earliest official inspection and deletion example in the history of Chinese film. In fact, the "noble and pure love" between Chinese teenagers and American girls in the film, according to the research of scholar Gina Marchetti, (33) is a deep psychological expression of the taboo in the sexual relationship between "yellow men" and whites. Of course, Reeves did not dare to go beyond. But for the Chinese in the 1920s, what they saw was superficial and they were already greatly satisfied.
A few months later, "Shen Pao" published an article by Rui Kai, let us know that when "Remnant Tears" opened on the first day, he was in a strong national sentiment and felt happy when he saw the Chinese boy shot and killed the wicked father. , I feel that "I can raise my eyebrows for my country." Speaking of the scene being screened that night, this scene was cut off, and the plot was therefore incoherent, making the audience bewildered. The screening stopped on the 4th day. "It is reported that outsiders have interfered, because the wicked father described in it is an Englishman, which humiliates the country. Anyone who is a citizen wants to be attacked. This also has the same heart as the people of our country. I hope that a movie about the Chinese will be shown in the future. If you can express the same disgust, and you don’t have to laugh at it anymore, it’s very fortunate.” (3 4) This passage was very interesting. The screening was suspended probably because the British audience saw it as “sullying the national body”. He said that everyone has patriotism. It just hopes to save others by oneself, respect other nations, and don't vilify the Chinese in the movie.
In short, Griffith contributed a lot to the rise of Chinese movies. In establishing the modernity of film art, he gave the Chinese film industry a certainty and brought competition power. What also pours the Chinese people is his personality charm, so he was built as a cultural icon. He himself is like a dazzling image stage of language indicators. With the changes of various backgrounds-commercial, political, and cultural, local film discourses are derived, in which the intermediary role played by text and literary traditions is like a kaleidoscope. The various poses not only show the enthusiasm of cosmopolitanism, but also arouse the consciousness of nationalism. As for the specific influence of Gregory on Chinese films, scholars have done a lot of research. (35) Although I think it is not only in the aspect of "romance films," films like "Resee the Light" have a deep historical dimension, perhaps for Chinese films. It has some kind of long-term impact.
The Chinese translation of Griffith is extremely inconsistent. This article uses "Griffith", and all translated names appearing in the quotations are based on the original appearance. This article is an international academic seminar on "History and Prospects: The Image Road Connecting China and Hollywood" jointly organized by the School of Film and Television of Shanghai University, the Ninth Shanghai International Film Festival, and the Film and Television Institute of China Academy of Art in June 2006. The conference speech papers submitted at the conference were properly revised after the conference.
Notes:
(1) Jay Leyda (Chen Li), Dianying Electr ic Shadow (Cambridge and Mas s The MIT
Press, 1971), 32.
(2)Paul G. Pickowicz, "Melodramatic Repr es entation and the May Four th Tradition
of Chines e Cinema”in Ellen Widmer and David Der-wei Wang, eds., From May Fourth
to June Fourth Fiction and Film in Twentieth-Century China (Cambridge and Mass. Harvard
University Pres s, 1993).
(3) Li Suyuan and Hu Jubin, "History of Chinese Silent Films", China Film Publishing House, 1996 edition, p.148.
(4) Zheng Junli "A Brief History of Modern Chinese Movies", see "Chinese Silent Movies" edited by China Film Archive, China Film Publishing House, 1996 edition, p. 1398.
(5) The specific screening record "The Biggest Problem", February 19-23, 1922, Shanghai Grand Theater; "Lai Marriage", May 22-29, 1922, Shanghai; "Lai Marriage", October 1922 6-23, Shanghai; "Remnant Tears", February 9-21, 1923, Carlton Cinema; "Reseeing the Light", June 25-31, 1923, Carlton; "The Romance of the European War" , August 15-19, 1923, Shenjiang Grand Theater; "The Orphans in Troubled Times", October 1-7, 1923, Carlton Film Theater; "The Party Facing Differences" (ie "Despite Drugs"), October 1923 18-21, Shanghai; "The Party is the same against the different", November 2-8, 1923, Shen Jiang; "Lai Marriage", November 9-18, 1923, Shen Jiang; "The Filial Daughter Sinking Boat", 1923 12 Carlton on 26-29th; Lai Marriage, February 10-17, 1924, Shenjiang; Lai Marriage, February 18-24, 1924, Shanghai Film Theater; "The Orphans in Troubled Times" (1921), April 1-7, 1924, Shanghai; "A Night of Terror", April 28-30, 1924, Carlton; "Reseeing the Light", May 5-11, 1924, Shanghai; "The Romance of the European War", June 25-27, 1924, Shanghai; "The Filial Daughter Sinking Boat", July 31-August 3, 1924, Shanghai.
(6) "Report" June 2, 1923, 17th edition.
(7) "Shenzhen", June 20, 1919, 15th edition.
(8) "Shadow Drama" (2), "Shen Pao", June 27, 1919, 14th edition.
(9) "Shadow Drama" (11), "Shen Pao", November 18, 1919, 14th edition.
(10) "Shadow Drama" (14), "Shen Pao", February 12, 1920, 13th edition.
(1 1) "Declaration of Pictures • Local News" (November 25, the first year of Xuantong).
(12) Duan Gen "Shadow Theater", "Shen Pao", April 29, 1912.
(13) The North-China Daily News (September 8, 1919), p. 4.
(14) See Du Yunzhi's "Chinese Film History" Vol. 1, Taiwan Commercial Press, 1972 edition, p. 11.
(15) "Shadow Drama" (1), "Shen Pao", June 20, 1919, 15th edition.
(16) About the end of 1922, the film advertisements on "Shen Bao" gradually separated from drama and medical advertisements, see Li Daoxin et al. "Images and Influence-One of the Researches on "Shen Bao" and Chinese Films", "Contemporary Movies" No. 2, 2005, p. 69. (17) To use Lu Hongshi's term here, see "Chinese Film History 1905-1949", Culture and Art Publishing House, 2005 edition, p.15.
(18) Qingmin "Shanghai Movies", "Movie Magazine" Volume 1, No. 10 (February 1925), National Library Document Microfilming Center, "China Early Film Pictorial" (2), No. 38 5 pages.
(19) Same as (18), p. 583.
(20) Jubin Hu, Projecting a Nation Chinese National Cinema before 1949 (Hong
Kong Hong Kong University Press, 2003), 17-26.
(21) Andrew Higson, "The Concept of National Cinema", Screen 30. 4 (Autumn
1989), 39.
(22) Li Huailin, "Under the Light in the Editorial Room", "Movie Magazine" Vol. 1, No. 10, page 1, see "China Morning
"Illustrated Film Magazine" (2), p. 4 6 7
(23) Zhongyi "Talks on Chinese Self-Made Films", "Shen Bao • Hongbu Supplement" July 25, 1924.
(24) Lou Yiye, "Chinese Shadow Play Talk", "Minimal", No. 53 (June 13, 1923).
(25) "Movie Magazine" Volume 1, Nos. 1-9 (May 1924-January 1925).
(26) Li Tao, "After Hearing Tian Hanjun's Speech", "Chinese Silent Movies", edited by China Film Archive, pp. 498-499.
(27) [America] Miriam Bratu Hansen, "Fallen Women, Rising Stars, New Vision: Shanghai Silent Films as Vernacular Modernism", translated by Bao Weihong, "Contemporary Films" 2004 No. 1, pp. 44-51. See also Zhang Yingjin, "Reading Early Film Theory: Collective Sensory Mechanism and Vernacular Modernism", "Contemporary Film", Issue 1, 2005, pp. 29-34.
(28) Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities Reflections of the Origin and Spr ead
of Nationalism. Rev. ed. New York Verso, 1991.
(29) Yang Cixian, "Review of "Seeing the Light", "Shen Pao", July 5, 1923, 18th edition.
(30) Zhizhong "Remembrance after Watching "Reseeing the Light", "Shen Pao", July 3, 1923, 17th edition.
(31) "Viewing Calden's "Remaining Tears"," Shen Shen, 21st edition, February 21, 1923.
(32) Sansan "Talking with the God of Seven Pieces of Griffiths" talked about "Remnant Tears": "This film was screened in Carlton in the last winter, and was banned by the Ministry of Industry for a few days, and it was transferred to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government interfered and the performance was not allowed to begin." "Film Magazine" Vol. 1, No. 1 (May 1924), p. 4. See "China Early Film Illustrated Magazine" (1), p. 320.
(33) Gina Marchetti, “Romance and the Yellow Peril” Race, Sex, and Discur sive Strategies in Hollywood Fiction (Berkeley Univers ity of California Pres s, 1993), p.10.
(34) Kaizhi, "Movie Miscellaneous Talks" (2), "Shen Pao", May 19, 1923, 18th edition.
(35) See Li Daoxin, "The Historical Construction of Chinese Films", China Radio and Television Publishing House, 2004 edition, pp. 379-390. The book has a special chapter on the tragic narratives of Griffith melodramas and early Chinese romance films.
-Originally published in "Contemporary Film", Issue 5, 2006.
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