Sun Yu
History of filmmaking in China from its beginnings in the 1920s to 1982, featuring Shanghai cinema of 1930s; the progressive filmmakers; the organisation of filmmaking under the post-war communist government; the impact of the Cultural Revolution; the work of Xie Jin.
Lu Ban, the father of carpentry of China, lived in the Warring States Period more than two thousand years ago. During his travel through the land, he has solved many architectural problems and befriends a young builder. Under the guidance of Lu, the young man slowly turns from an arrogant and imprudent builder into a responsible craftsman able to take on a daunting task assigned by the king.
The life-story of Wu Xun, a beggar in the Qing dynasty who set up free schools for poor children.
"Lianhua Symphony" - a small collection, consisting of eight short films shot in 1937 by young filmmakers Shanghai Lianhua Film Company.
Yu is a village boat-rower who loves smiling. On the contrary, serf girl xiao Hong never smiles because of her miserable life. Yu volunteers to teach her smile.
Young sprinter Lin Ying enrolls in a sports college in Shanghai. As she becomes a sports celebrity, she starts to mangle with the upper class and has gradually forgotten the true essence of sports.
Sister Ye lives in a rural village, where everyone makes traditional toys. When Sister Ye's husband dies of an unknown illness, and while Ye is attending to him, her son is kidnapped and sold to a wealthy lady in the city of Shanghai. Shortly after, the village is destroyed during an attack between rival warlords, forcing the villagers move to the city, where they continue to make toys. Ten years pass, and Ye's daughter Zhu'er has become a toy designer. While helping the Nationalist army at the rear, Zhu'er is killed in an attack by the Japanese. On New Year's Eve, Sister Ye is dressed in rags, sitting on the curb, selling toys. A young boy buys toys from her, and it is none other than her son, whom she does not recognize.
A country girl and her boyfriend arrive in Shanghai for a better life. They soon find only desperation. She is raped and falls into prostitution as he drifts into revolutionary circles. Her access through her trade grants her greater access which she uses to aid her revolutionary lover with tragic results.
A warlord's nephew lusts for farmer Song Ke's sister. When Song refuses, the whole family is thrown into jail and the sister commits suicide. The father dies of grief and Song lives with his cousin abroad. The warlord's nephew loses power and also escapes to the same country.
This film depicting the lives of ordinary people — street peddlers, poor scholars, and young revolutionaries — reflects the culturally progressive political climate of that pre-War, post-May the 4th era.
