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Yan Ruisheng

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Yan Ruisheng
An advertisement showing a man leering at a woman; all of the text is in Chinese
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Traditional ChineseDiêmThụySinh
Simplified ChineseDiêmThụySinh
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYán Ruìshēng
Directed byRen Pengnian
Written byYang Xiaozhong
Based onMurder of Wang Lianying
Starring
  • Chen Shouzhi
  • Wang Caiyun
CinematographyLiao Enshou
Production
company
Chinese Cinema Study Society
Release date
  • 1 July 1921(1921-07-01)
Running time
10 reels
CountryChina
LanguageSilent

Yan Ruisheng(simplified Chinese:Diêm thụy sinh;traditional Chinese:Diêm thụy sinh;pinyin:Yán Ruìshēng) is a 1921 Chinesesilent filmdirected byRen Pengnianand starring Chen Shouzi and Wang Caiyun. Adocudramabased on themurder of Wang Lianyingthe previous year, it follows a young man named Yan Ruisheng who, deeply in debt, kills a courtesan to steal her jewellery. The crime is discovered, and he and his accomplices attempt to flee. Yan is captured inXuzhouand returned toShanghai,where he is executed.

China's first full-length feature film,[1]Yan Ruishengwas produced as short films were gaining traction among domestic producers. A collaborative project of the Chinese Cinema Study Society, the film extensively used the resources of theCommercial Press' filmmaking division. It emphasizedverisimilitudein its casting and setting; the stars were chosen based on their physical resemblance to those involved, while extensive use oflocation shootingallowed scenes to be set in places associated with the murder.

Despite the generally poor box-office performance of earlier Chinese-made films,Yan Ruishengwas a commercial success upon release. Critical reception of its technical aspects was positive; however, the subject matter was challenged and the film faced several calls for banning. The success ofYan Ruishengstimulated the rise of thedomestic film industryeven as it contributed to the rise offilm censorship in China.The film is thought to belost.

Plot

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Yan Ruisheng, having wasted his money on gambling, fine food, and prostitutes, decides to rob thecourtesanWang Lianying. He travels to her brothel and hires her. He also attempts to entice Xiaolin Daiyu, but she declines. Yan and Wang travel outside Shanghai, where Yan's friends Wu Chunfang and Fang Rishan are waiting. Although Wang begs for her life, she is killed. Her jewellery is stolen, and her body is left in a field. Back in Shanghai, the brothel manager realizes that Wang is missing. He learns from Xiaolin that she had gone with Yan, and reaches out to the police. After her body is found, Yan and his compatriots unsuccessfully attempt to evade their pursuers. Yan is caught inXuzhou,then repatriated to Shanghai and executed.[2]

Background

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See also:Cinema of China
A Chinese-language newspaper advertisement
Front page of theShen Bao,19 June 1920, offering a reward for the capture of Yan Ruisheng. Hismurder of Wang Lianyingcaptured the imagination of contemporary Shanghai society.

Film was introduced to China in 1896, with the first one screened as part of avariety showin Shanghai. Over subsequent decades, numerous films imported from the West – at first,one-reelerswith little plot but later expanding to include feature-length films – were screened. In 1905,Fengtai Photographic StudioproducedDingjun Mountain,a short film depictingTan Xinpeiin aPeking opera.This was the first Chinese-produced film.[3]Through the 1910s, several film studios were established. Working withZhang Shichuan,the American Benjamin Brodsky established the Asia Film Company, which produced documentaries as well asThe Difficult Couple(1913) – the first Chinese-made short fiction film. Other studios were established in Hong Kong and Shanghai,[3]and toward the late 1910s the production of shorts was increasing.[4]Though initially tepid,[5]audience interest in this new medium – known under such terms as "electric shadowplay" (Điện quang ảnh hí) – blossomed, and by 1926 more than a hundred cinemas were attested throughout the region.[3]

Yan Ruishengwas based ona murder case in Shanghaiwherein a university-educated youth named Yan Ruisheng had killed Wang Lianying, a courtesan known as the "Prime Minister of Flowers".[a][6]The case immediately "scandalized and mesmerized the city's chattering classes",[7]as did Yan's confession that the idea for the murder came from American cinema.[8]Newspaper coverage extended for months, with the 5,000-word verdict and accompanying confessions serialized in theXinwen Baonewspaper from 25 November to 8 December 1920.[9]The story was quickly adapted to the stage, including as spoken-word "civilized dramas" (Văn minh hí),[10]Peking operas, and various local forms of theatre.[11]

Production

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Production ofYan Ruishengwas handled by the Chinese Cinema Study Society (CCSS), a recently established group of students that also published an illustrated periodical titledThe Motion Picture Review(Ảnh hí tạp chí).[b][12]Although the production process was primarily collaborative, several individuals were identified as fulfilling specific roles.[13]Ren Pengnianwas credited as director, while Yang Xiaozhong was attributed for the script and Liao Enshou for cinematography.[14]Also involved were society membersXu Xinfuand Gu Kenfu.[c][15]In its production announcement, CCSS claimed that it intended to disrupt foreign films' monopoly over Chinese audiences, transform the screen portrayal of the Chinese, and produce films for export; a desire to stimulate investment in film was noted in post-release coverage.[12]

Initially, the filmmakers considered hiring cast members from existing stage productions. Ultimately, they decided to cast amateurs.[16]CCSS member Chen Shouzhi was cast in the lead role due to his physical resemblance to Yan Ruisheng; having been one of Yan's friends, he also knew the man's mannerisms.[17]For the victim Wang Lianyin, a retired courtesan named Wang Caiyun was hired;[18]she had also had previous theatrical experience.[19]As earlier films hadused male actors to portray women,she has been identified as the first woman to act in a mainland Chinese film production.[d][20]A third role, the supporting antagonist Wu Chunfeng, was played by Shao Peng.[21]Yan's friend Zhu Zhijia, whose car had been used in the murder, offered to play himself.[22]The film also featured numerous extras, including uniformed guardsmen who were involved in the execution scene.[12]

A Chinese-language newspaper advertisement
The makers ofYan Ruishengemphasizedverisimilitude,advertising that the cast looked exactly the same as their characters' real-life counterparts.

Funds for the production – advertised as tens of thousands of yuan[23]– were borrowed,[13]and equipment and crew were loaned from the filmmaking division of theCommercial Press.[e][24]The Commercial Press' filmmaking division also made available to the crew its indoor studio. Located on the glass-roofed fourth floor of the company's headquarters, the venue was lit bymercury-vapor lampsthat allowed for shooting at night.[25]Despite the availability of such facilities, advertisements emphasized the extensive use oflocation shooting,name-dropping the Fuyuli, Huileli, and Juanli brothels as well as the Helinchun Teahouse.[12]

When makingYan Ruisheng,the filmmakers emphasized a high level ofverisimilitude.[f]In this, they were aided not only by the extensive coverage of the court case, but also their own personal familiarity with the culprit. Some scenes were shot at the same locations where the events had occurred,[26]or at venues frequented by those involved,[24]and the car used in the film was the same one in which Yan had driven Wang.[26]Also featured in the film were theXuzhou railway station,theShanghai Garrison Command[zh],and the execution grounds,[16]as well as scenes of horse racing.[12]

The production ofYan Ruishingwas announced in theShen Baoon 6 April 1921, withprincipal photographyhaving been completed andpost-productionin progress. Coverage appeared in several subsequent issues of the newspaper,[12]and later advertising material explained that the film had been completed over the course of six months.[23]As released, it was ten reels (approx.100 to 120 minutes) in length,[27]with one advertisement describing this as much more economical than the two- or three-night performances of existing stage versions.[23]Thissilent filmwas interspersed withintertitlesinvernacular Chineseby Yang Xiaozhong.[28]

Release and reception

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Yan Ruishengpremiered on 1 July 1921 at the Olympic Theatre in Shanghai'sinternational settlement.[g][29]One of the largest cinemas in Shanghai, the Olympic – owned by Spanish entrepreneur Antonio Ramos – was normally used for first-run releases of Hollywood and French imports. The Chinese Cinema Study Society rented the theatre at 200 yuan (¥18,353 in 2019) per day, which excluded the cost of advertising. Given the general underperformance of Chinese films at the time, the extravagance of the release could have been disastrous.[30]

However,Yan Ruishengfilm was an immediate commercial success upon release. Despite high ticket prices, ranging from one to twentyyuan(equivalent to ¥92 to ¥1,835 in 2019), screenings were sold out.[8]The most expensive balcony seats were reserved prior to the premiere, and per-day revenues reached 1,300 yuan (¥119,293 in 2019) per day. Total profits for the one-week screening were reported at 4,000 yuan (¥367,055 in 2019).[22]This success challenged the contemporary belief that domestically produced films were unprofitable, and the film toured China extensively in subsequent weeks.[12]By mid-July it had been shown in Beijing,Tianjin,andHankou.[31]It was screened in Taiwan in 1925.[32]

In its technical achievements, the film was praised. Critics highlighted the film's cohesion and realism, with some comparing it positively to imported films.[33]Reviewing for theShen Bao,Mu Gong wrote:

The arrangement is much like that of Western film, but incomparable to the chaos of the stage. It could not have been expected that the Chinese people would achieve this level of photography. [...] As for the plot, it is compact, and the male and female actors play their roles well.[h][34]

A grainy image of a man killing a woman as two men support her body
A grainy image of a man, accompanied by five others, leaning over the body of a woman
Scenes fromYan Ruishengdepicting the murder and autopsy of Wang Lianying; the film was criticized for its focus on the killing of a courtesan

At the same time, critics decriedYan Ruisheng'sfocus on a murderer and a prostitute.[8]Some urged that the film not be screened internationally, while others accused it of teaching sex and violence.[35]In theXinwen Baoprior to the film's release, the critic Yan Duhe urged against exporting the film, writing that despite its potential commercial success "for the sake of appearance, it is not very decent to show such criminal incidents to outsiders."[i][34]Similarly, in theChunsheng Dailythe drama critic Guan Ji'an questioned the prudence of adapting the case to film, deeming it unsuited for the purpose of "promoting China's inherent civilization and washing away the shame of Europe and the United States".[j][34]

Ultimately, in 1923,Yan Ruishengwas banned in Shanghai as part of an effort to crack down on films that challenged traditional morals.[8]The Department of Mass Education at theRepublic of China's Ministry of Education in Beijing similarly urged the banning ofYan Ruishengand Zhang Shichuan'sZhang Xinsheng(1922) – another film based on a notorious murder case.[36]The body later drafted a series of regulations seeking tocensor filmsthat "disturbed social order, damaged social mores and (in the case of foreign films particularly) were offensive to Chinese sensibility", publishing them in 1926.[36]This was part of a broader discourse on the influence of cinema – particularly the crime genre – on Chinese society. There was much concern that the advent of films was incentivizing crimes and other acts that were deemed immoral by the contemporary community.[37]

Legacy

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Yan Ruishengwas the first Chinese-made full-length feature film.[1]Inspired by the film's commercial success, numerous companies began working on their own productions. Two more feature-length films,Dan Duyu'sSea Oathand Guan Haifeng'sThe Pink Skull,were released the following year.[k][17]By the middle of the 1920s, some 146 film studios had been established in Shanghai alone; most never completed a film.[38]Of the films that were completed, many focused on urban crime, which continued to draw commercial audiences[24]– and criticism from journalists.[37]Others, drawing on the popularity of courtesans, hired former prostitutes as actresses or told stories centred around the practice.[l][39]

The CCSS disbanded after the film's release,[5]though members such as Ren Pengnian and Xu Xinfu remained active in the industry.[40]The story of Yan Ruisheng remained well known through the 1930s.[11]In 1938, the case was again adapted to film, this time byKwan Man-chingin Hong Kong. Starring Yip Fat-Yeuk as Yan Ruisheng and Fa Ying-Yung as Wang Lianying, this version was given the English-titleWoe to the Debauched!but known in Chinese asYan Ruisheng.[41]The case also served as an inspiration forJiang Wen'sGone with the Bullets(2014).[42]The film, in which Jiang starred alongsideGe YouandShu Qi,followed a mafioso in 1920s China who arranged tolaunder moneyby staging a beauty pageant.[7]

The filmYan Ruishengis thoughtlost;the earliest Chinese film known to have survived in its entirety –Laborer's Love(1922) – was produced the following year. Theloss of early Chinese filmshas been attributed to various causes, including natural degradation, internal conflict, and warfare;[43]for example, theJapanese bombing of Shanghaion 28 January 1932 resulted in the destruction of numerous works byMingxing,the Commercial Press, and other studios.[44]Several film stills fromYan Ruishengare known to have survived.[12]

Explanatory notes

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  1. ^In China, the term "flower" (Hoa) has a long history as aeuphemismfor courtesans.Prostitution was legalin China, and in Shanghai's international settlements courtesans paid a "flower tax" through the 1860s. The highest class courtesans entertained their clients not only with sexual services but also with their musical prowess. According to theShanghai Chronicles,in 1915 some 9,700 women were active as prostitutes in theShanghai International Settlement(Shanghai Chronicles 2008). In the 1920s, authorities in the British Concession closed one-fifth of the area's brothels, with plans to eliminate the remainder by 1925 (Chen 2021).
  2. ^This magazine, which only lasted three issues, did not identify its editorial board. Contents focused primarily on Western imports and included several photographs ofCharlie Chaplin,though discussion of the emergingcinema of Japanwas also found (Chen 2021).
  3. ^As noted byChen (2021),sources disagree as to the exact composition of the CCSS. Yang Xiaozhong identified Chen Shouzhi, Shi Binyuan, and Shao Peng as leading members.Lu Jie[zh]described the group as having been established by Gu Kenfu before being joined by himself, Shi Binyuan, Xu Xinfu, and Chen Shouzhi; all of these students contributed toThe Motion Picture Review.
  4. ^Wang was not the first woman to act in a Chinese film production. Yan Shanshan, the wife ofLai Man-Wai,had played a servant girl in her husband's 1913 short filmZhuangzi Tests His Wife(Zhang 2005,p. 38). This film was not produced in Shanghai, but inBritish Hong Kong,which had more liberal policies that may have facilitated her screen appearance (Selbo 2015,p. 55).
  5. ^The Commercial Press' filmmaking division produced some forty-eight films, mostly documentaries, between 1917 and 1924. None are known to have survived, the warehouse having been destroyed during theShanghai incidentof 1932 (Qian 2024,p. 52).
  6. ^Such an emphasis on realism was thought to draw audiences; a similar approach was used forLee Tit'sHouse Number Sixty-Six(1936) fifteen years later (Troost 2023,p. 54).
  7. ^Zhang (2003,p. 8) gives the Embassy Theatre.
  8. ^Original:｢ nhất thiết bố trí quân dữ tây phiến tương phảng, thù dữ các vũ đài chi loạn thất bát tao giả bất khả đồng nhật nhi ngữ, quốc nhân tự nhiếp ảnh phiến, cánh năng trăn thử cảnh giới, thù xuất ý liêu chi ngoại. [...] chí vu thử kịch trung chi tình tiết, biên chế thượng khẩn thấu, diễn nam nữ các viên quân năng thích như kỳ phân. ｣.Original source:Mu Gong ( mộc công ) (11 July 1921).Cố ảnh nhàn bình[Shadowplay Reviews].Shen Bao(in Chinese). pp. 13, 18.
  9. ^Original: ｢ vi quan chiêm kế, nã giá chủng phạm tội sự kiện biểu diễn cấp ngoại nhân khán, khủng phạ bất kiến đắc ngận thể diện. ｣.
  10. ^Original: ｢ phát dương trung quốc cố hữu chi văn minh, nhất tẩy âu mỹ trung chi sỉ nhục. ｣.
  11. ^The Pink Skullalso used equipment loaned from the Commercial Press (Qian 2024,p. 52).
  12. ^Zhang (1999,p. 166) mentionsZheng Zhengqiu,who recruited the courtesanXuan Jinglinfor his filmThe Last Trace of Conscience(1925) and later wrote the "hooker with a heart of gold"storyA Woman in Shanghai(1925) for her.

References

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  1. ^abHe 2018,p. 244;Sugawara 2018,p. 180;Xiao 1998,p. 4;Xu 2012,p. 453
  2. ^based on the summary byZhang (1998b,p. 380)
  3. ^abcXiao 1998,pp. 4–5.
  4. ^Zhong, Zhang & Zhang 1997,p. 53.
  5. ^abZhong, Zhang & Zhang 1997,p. 49.
  6. ^He 2018,pp. 208–221;Zhang 1998b,p. 380
  7. ^abShenzhen Daily 2014.
  8. ^abcdXiao 2013,p. 463.
  9. ^He 2018,p. 244.
  10. ^Yeh 2013,p. 230.
  11. ^abXiong 2011,pp. 480–481.
  12. ^abcdefghChen 2021.
  13. ^abXiao 2013,p. 462.
  14. ^Xiao 2013,p. 462;Xu 2012,p. 453
  15. ^Sun 2022.
  16. ^abWei 2016,p. 64.
  17. ^abXiao 1998,p. 7.
  18. ^Selbo 2015,p. 55.
  19. ^Zhang 2005,p. 38.
  20. ^Selbo 2015,p. 55;Xiao 1998,p. 7
  21. ^Wei 2016,p. 64;Zhang 1998b,p. 380
  22. ^abHe 2018,p. 241.
  23. ^abcLee 1999,p. 116.
  24. ^abcQian 2024,p. 52.
  25. ^Xu 2012,p. 453.
  26. ^abXiao 2013,pp. 462–463.
  27. ^Wei 2016,p. 64;Xu 2012,p. 453
  28. ^Cheng 2024,p. 62;Wei 2016,p. 64
  29. ^Lee 1999,p. 116;Xiao 2013,p. 463
  30. ^Zhong, Zhang & Zhang 1997,pp. 54–55.
  31. ^Cheng 2024,p. 62.
  32. ^Lee 2012,p. 155.
  33. ^He 2018,p. 242.
  34. ^abcquoted inChen 2021
  35. ^Li 2023,p. 221.
  36. ^abZhang 1998a,p. 108.
  37. ^abSugawara 2018,p. 180.
  38. ^Xiao 1998,p. 8.
  39. ^Zhang 1999,p. 166.
  40. ^Sun 2022;Xiao 1998,p. 10
  41. ^HKFA 1997,p. 264.
  42. ^Shanghai Daily 2014.
  43. ^Rea 2021,p. 22.
  44. ^Qian 2024,p. 52;Rea 2021,p. 22

Works cited

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