Chen Liting (; 20 October 1910 – 27 August 2013) was a Chinese
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
, drama and film director,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
, and film theorist. He was one of the most prominent film directors and screenwriters in pre-Communist China, together with
Shi Dongshan
Shi Dongshan (December 29, 1902 – February 23, 1955), born Shi Kuangshao, was one of the most prominent film directors and screenwriters in pre-Communist China, together with Chen Liting, Cai Chusheng, and Zheng Junli. His most notable film was ...
,
Cai Chusheng
Cai Chusheng (January 12, 1906 – July 15, 1968) was a Chinese film director of the pre-Communist era, and was the first Chinese director to win an international film award at the Moscow International Film Festival. Best known for his progres ...
, and
Zheng Junli.
His most famous film was ''
Women Side by Side
''Women Side by Side'' (), also translated as ''Three Women'' and ''Female Fighters'', is a 1949 Chinese film directed by Chen Liting, made near the end of the Republic of China (1912–49), Republican era. It is Chen's most famous directorial wo ...
'' (1949).
Chen was abandoned as an infant, and then lost both foster parents during early childhood. Before becoming a film director, Chen worked mainly in drama. His patriotic play ''
Put Down Your Whip'' was highly influential and performed countless times during the
Japanese invasion of China
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. During the war he also made a famous staging of the play ''Qu Yuan'', and wrote one of the first Chinese books on film theory.
After the early 1950s, Chen's attempts at filmmaking were repeatedly thwarted by the PRC government for political reasons. He worked as general manager of Tianma Film Studio before being imprisoned during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
. After his rehabilitation at the end of the period, he spent three years on the historical film ''Da Feng Ge'', but retired after that film was also cancelled due to politics.
Early life
Born in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
on 20 October 1910, Chen Liting was abandoned as an infant and adopted by foster parents.
However, he lost his adoptive father at the age of four, and three years later his adoptive mother also died.
Chen was brought up by his uncle, the brother of his adoptive father. He attended a boarding school in
Jiangyin
Jiangyin (, Jiangyin dialect: ) is a county-level city on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, and is administered by Wuxi, Jiangsu province. Jiangyin is one of the most important transport hubs on the Yangtze River, it is also one of the most d ...
at the age of 12, and in 1924 entered
Chengzhong Middle School
Ye Chengzhong (; 1840–1899) was a Chinese businessman and philanthropist active during the final years of the Qing Dynasty and a pioneer in the hardware industry who also made considerable contributions to education.
Biography
Born i ...
in Shanghai.
As a high school student at Chengzhong, Chen was influenced by the post-
May Fourth surge of modern drama.
In 1928, he entered
Daxia University (a predecessor of
East China Normal University
East China Normal University (ECNU) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Shanghai, China. It was formed in 1951 by the merger of the Great China University (est. 1924) and Kwang Hua University (est. 1925) and origin ...
) in Shanghai,
where he translated, directed, and acted in ''
The Rising of the Moon'', a play by the Irish dramatist
Lady Gregory
Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...
. It was the first Chinese production of the play.
''Put Down Your Whip''
After university, Chen worked as a primary school teacher in rural
Nanhui County
Nanhui District (), formerly romanized as Nanhwei, was a district of Shanghai until it was merged into Pudong New Area in May 2009. It had a land area of about and a coastline. The population of Nanhui was as of August 2006. On May 6, 200 ...
outside of Shanghai. In late 1931, he wrote the patriotic play ''
Put Down Your Whip'' (also translated as ''Lay Down Your Whip''), inspired by ''Meiniang'', an earlier play by
Tian Han
Tian Han ( zh, 田汉; 12 March 1898 – 10 December 1968), formerly romanized as T'ien Han, was a Chinese drama activist, playwright, a leader of revolutionary music and films, as well as a translator and poet. He emerged at the time of the ...
.
It became extremely influential and was staged countless times throughout China during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
.
The play was staged both by amateur performers as well as famous actors. The actress
Wang Ying even performed an English version of the play in the White House for
President Roosevelt and
his wife.
The future
Madame Mao, then known as Li Yunhe, was also among its many performers.
The play has been described in Chinese media as a "spiritual atomic bomb" against Japanese invaders.
It also inspired famous paintings by artists
Xu Beihong
Xu or XU may refer to:
People and characters
* Xu (surname), one of two Chinese surnames ( or /), transliterated as Xu in English
* ǃXu, a name for the ǃKung group of Bushmen; may also refer to the ǃKung language or the ǃKung people
* ǃXu ...
and
Situ Qiao
Situ Qiao (; 1902 – 16 February 1958) was a Chinese oil painter and graphic artist. An important member of the Lingnan School of art, he was also known for his friendship with the influential writer Lu Xun. His most famous work is the 1940 pa ...
.
Second Sino-Japanese War
Chen returned to Shanghai in 1932, where he wrote film reviews and translated Soviet books on filmmaking into Chinese. After the
Japanese invaded China in 1937, Chen joined the resistance movement, serving as the leader of the fourth brigade of the Shanghai Salvation Drama Troupe, which performed numerous patriotic street plays including ''Put Down Your Whip''. The troupe fled Shanghai before it fell to the Japanese, traveling and performing for the next three years under harsh conditions through central and southwest China.
In 1941, Chen arrived in
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
, China's wartime capital, where he joined the China Film Studio and the Central Cinematography Studio run by the
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
government. However, he mainly worked in theatre, directing plays written by
Wu Zuguang,
Xia Yan Xia Yan is the name of:
*Xia Yan (Ming dynasty) (1482–1548), Ming dynasty politician
*Xia Yan (playwright)
Xia Yan (; 30 October 1900 – 6 February 1995) was a Chinese playwright and screenwriter, and China's Deputy Minister of Culture bet ...
, and
Chen Baichen. His most impressive wartime contribution was the staging of ''Qu Yuan'', a famous 1942 play by
Guo Moruo
Guo Moruo (; November 16, 1892 – June 12, 1978), courtesy name Dingtang (), was a Chinese author, poet, historian, archaeologist, and government official.
Biography
Family history
Guo Moruo, originally named Guo Kaizhen, was born on November ...
.
In 1942, he also published ''Rules of Cinema'', which is considered the first comprehensive Chinese book on film theory.
Between WWII and 1949
After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Chen returned to Shanghai. He joined the China Film No. 2 Studio that was newly established by the Nationalist government. He wrote and directed the film ''
Far Away Love
''Far Away Love'' (), also translated as ''Love of Far Away'' and ''Remote Love'', is a 1947 Chinese film directed by Chen Liting. Made during the Republican era, it was produced by the state-owned China Film No. 2 Studio, and stars prominent acto ...
'', whose premiere in Shanghai's Huanghou Theatre on 18 January 1947 was considered a landmark event in postwar Chinese cinema.
The film starred prominent actors and actresses such as
Zhao Dan
Zhao Dan (June 27, 1915 – October 10, 1980) was a Chinese actor popular in the golden age of Chinese Cinema.
Biography
Zhao first became famous working in the Mingxing Film Company in the 1930s including playing opposite Zhou Xuan in '' St ...
,
Qin Yi
Qin Yi (; 4 February 1922 – 9 May 2022) was a Chinese actress. She gained fame for her stage performances in the war-time capital Chongqing during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the war, she became one of China's most popular film actre ...
, and
Wu Yin, and the Ministry of Defence put uniformed soldiers under Chen's command for the filming. It was the first in a series of controversial epics on the social turmoil caused by the war. In late 1947, he made another film ''
Rhapsody of Happiness'', written by Chen Baichen.
After moving to the
Kunlun Film Company
The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the bro ...
, a new private studio, Chen directed ''
Women Side by Side
''Women Side by Side'' (), also translated as ''Three Women'' and ''Female Fighters'', is a 1949 Chinese film directed by Chen Liting, made near the end of the Republic of China (1912–49), Republican era. It is Chen's most famous directorial wo ...
'' (also translated as ''Three Women'' or ''Female Fighters'') in early 1949. Chen and the famous playwright
Tian Han
Tian Han ( zh, 田汉; 12 March 1898 – 10 December 1968), formerly romanized as T'ien Han, was a Chinese drama activist, playwright, a leader of revolutionary music and films, as well as a translator and poet. He emerged at the time of the ...
cowrote the screenplay.
The film is his most famous and it is considered his masterpiece.
People's Republic of China
After the founding the People's Republic of China in 1949, Chen directed two more films: ''Inescapable'' (1950) and ''Work Is Beautiful'' (1951). But he worked mostly in administrative positions, serving as a member of the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2, ...
, and general manager of Tianma Film Studio from 1957 until 1966.
In the 1950s Chen was appointed director for the upcoming film ''Li Shizhen''. However, due to his insistence that the director, rather than government administrators, have artistic control, he was dismissed and the film was directed by his friend
Shen Fu
Shen Fu (; 26 December 1763 – after 1825), courtesy name Sanbai (), was a Chinese writer of the Qing Dynasty, best known for his autobiography '' Six Records of a Floating Life''.
Life
Shen Fu was born in Changzhou (长洲, in Suzhou, Jian ...
.
In the early 1960s, Chen spent three years preparing to make a film about the life of
Lu Xun
Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...
, starring
Zhao Dan
Zhao Dan (June 27, 1915 – October 10, 1980) was a Chinese actor popular in the golden age of Chinese Cinema.
Biography
Zhao first became famous working in the Mingxing Film Company in the 1930s including playing opposite Zhou Xuan in '' St ...
,
Yu Lan
Yu Lan (; 3 June 1921 – 28 June 2020) was a Chinese film actress. In 1961, Yu won the award for Best Actress at the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival for her performance in ''A Revolutionary Family''. Her youngest son is Chinese director a ...
, and
Sun Daolin,
but the film was cancelled by the Shanghai's
Communist Party Chief
A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...
Ke Qingshi
Ke Qingshi ( Chinese: 柯庆施; October 10, 1902 – April 9, 1965) was a senior leader of the People's Republic of China and Chinese Communist Party in 1950s and 1960s.
Born in She County, Anhui Province, Ke joined Chinese Socialist Youth L ...
for political reasons.
Like many other intellectuals, Chen was imprisoned during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
(1966–76). After being rehabilitated at the end of the period, Chen returned to work for the
Shanghai Film Studio
The Shanghai Film Studio (), one of the three biggest film studios in China, is the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs.
History
Shangha ...
, where he was responsible for artistic quality.
He and
Chen Baichen worked together for three years to make the historical film ''Da Feng Ge'', based on the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
palace intrigues of
Empress Lü
Empress (Dowager) Lü Zhi (241–18 August 180 BC), commonly known as Empress Lü () and formally Empress Gao of Han (), was the empress consort of Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. They had two known children, Liu Ying (later E ...
after the death of
Emperor Gaozu.
However, the film was again cancelled by high-ranking politicians, as it was reminiscent of the political struggles after the death of Chairman
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
. Chen Baichen had a heart attack on hearing news of the cancellation, while Chen Liting, then almost 70 years old, retired from filmmaking.
In 2008, Chen Liting's biography by Xia Yu (), titled ''Far Away Love'' after his film, was published by China Film Publishing House ().
He was awarded a prize by Chinese President
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
for making "exceptional contributions to the art of drama".
On the morning of 27 August 2013, Chen Liting died at
Huadong Hospital in Shanghai at the age of 102.
Family
Chen Liting married Mao Yinfen () during the
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstruc ...
. After nearly 40 years of marriage, she died on 18 September 1998.
The couple had one child, a daughter named Chen Maoni (),
who emigrated to the United States.
References
External links
*
Chen Litingat the Chinese Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Liting
1910 births
2013 deaths
Film directors from Shanghai
Chinese dramatists and playwrights
Chinese centenarians
Men centenarians
East China Normal University alumni
Screenwriters from Shanghai
Victims of the Cultural Revolution
20th-century Chinese dramatists and playwrights
Second Sino-Japanese War refugees