Labor's Love

Director: Zhang Shichuan
Screenplay: Zheng Zhengqiu
Cinematographer: Zhang Weitao
Cast: Zheng Zhegu, Yu Ying, Zheng Zhengqiu
Production Company: Mingxing
1922 | B&W | 24 min | 35mm | Silent with Chinese & English Intertitles | Live music accompaniment

Labor's Love is the earliest Chinese film we can see today. This delightful comedy is directed by Zhang Shichuan and written by Zheng Zhengqiu, founders of Ming Xing Company, an important outfit of early Chinese cinema. The film revels in situation humour revealing influence by early Hollywood comedies. It also offers a glimpse of turn-of-the-century city life, with depictions of small businesses, street thugs and gambling dens. (Shown with Swordswoman of Huangjiang)

Screening Courtesy of the China Film Archive

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