Part of the Institute for Chinese Studies "Understanding China -- Its Roots and New Frontiers" Lecture Series
The Film: Shanghai Old and New (新舊上海 / 新旧上海; 1936)
Screenplay: Hong Shen (洪深, 1894-1955)
Director: Cheng Bugao (程步高 1898-1966)
Starring: Wang Xianzhai (王獻齋, 1900-1942) and Shu Xiuwen (舒繡文, 1915-1969) as Yuan Ruisan and his wife
Production: Mingxing Film Company (明星影片公司)
Duration: 81 minutes
Hong Shen (洪深, 1894-1955) was a prolific screenwriter, working mostly with the Mingxing Film Company (1922-1937). As part of the Hong Shen activities in November 2013 is the screening of a newly‐subtitled (by OSU doctoral student Alexandra ("Sasha") Draggeim) version of Shanghai Old and New.
This early sound film's story centers around Yuan Ruisan (袁瑞三) and his wife, together with the lives of several other struggling famlies and tenants that reside in the same Shanghai apartment building. The film initiated a trend in Chinese filmmaking in the late 1930s and 1940s to depict strata of social life through the intertwined stories of the residents of a small Shanghai apartment building.
- This English-subtitled film is downloadable from Internet Archive (as of 11.12.2013):
https://archive.org/details/XJSHSCN1
Note: To activate the English subtitles, place cursor on "CC" (closed captioning) and select "en" for the English subtitles,
Two other Hong Shen events are:
1) The Wedded Husband - performances of Hong Shen's play on November 16 and 17
. Information is also available on that web page introducing the Hong Shen Project.
2) Symposium - "Hong Shen and the Modern Mediasphere in Republican Era China" on November 18
- Press releases include:
People's Daily (人民网): 百年后的重现：美国大学校园上演洪深剧作 (10.28.2013)
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Sponsors:
College of Arts and Sciences, The Ohio State University
Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures
Institute for Chinese Studies
East Asian Studies Center
Department of Theatre
Graduate Association of Chinese Linguistics
Graduate Students of East Asian Languages and Literatures
