''The Life of Wu Xun'' () is a 1950 Chinese film directed by Sun Yu and 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 ...

. A black and white movie, it was produced by Kunlun Film Studio. It deals with a true story of a figure in Chinese history,

Wu Xun Wu Xun (Chinese: 武训; Pinyin: Wǔ Xùn; 1838–1896) was a Chinese educational reformer who pioneered free popular education in the country and became a hero of Chinese liberalism. In the 1950s and 1960s during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution hi ...

, who spent years collecting money as a beggar to eventually found a free school for indigent children. After initial release and despite praise from other Communist Party leaders,

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) ...

published an editorial criticized the film as "fanatically publicising feudal culture" and for its "tolerance for slandering the peasant revolutionary" and described the lead character as "reactionary feudalist ruler". Mao also denounced praise of the film. The film became known as "the first banned film of New China". It was shown in a private showing in 2005 and was released on DVD in 2012. It was initially well received as one of the ten best films of the year, but was soon severely criticized by Chinese authorities. It was rehabilitated in 1986.

Criticism

''The Life of Wu Xun'' attained its unique status in Chinese movie history because of the lengthy political criticism campaign that was enacted against it. On May 20, 1951, after the editorial ''Ought to Emphasize the Discussion on 'The Life of Wu Xun was published in the ''

People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' () is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language ...

'', there emerged the very first large-scale excoriation of a film in the history of the People's Republic of China. Shortly after its release the film was personally denounced by

. In the ''People's Daily'' Mao attacked Wu Xun as a liberal whose literacy programs implied that revolution was not necessary. A group of politicians, led by

Kang Sheng Kang Sheng (; 4 November 1898 – 16 December 1975) was a Chinese Communist politician best known for having overseen the CCP's internal security and intelligence apparatus during the early 1940s and again at the height of the Cultural Revolut ...

and Mao's wife

Jiang Qing Jiang Qing (19 March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman o ...

, leveled charges against the film in order to discredit what they called "liberal" tendencies. As a result, the production staff of the film, and even the historical figure of

, suffered from extensive accusations. This campaign of criticism began a period when Party politics severely interfered with the Chinese film industry. The reputation of the film was not completely restored until nearly forty years later, in 1986.

References

External links

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''The Life of Wu Xun''
from the Chinese Movie Database 1950 films 1950s Mandarin-language films Chinese black-and-white films Chinese biographical films Films directed by Sun Yu Works banned in China 1950s biographical films {{bio-film-stub