Spring Silkworms

Dir: Cheng Bugao
Orig Story: Mao Dun
Scr: Cai Shusheng (alias Xia Yan)
Prod Co: Mingxing
Cast: Xiao Ying, Zheng Xiao Qiu, Yan Yuejian, Gao Qianping, Ai Xia
1933 | B&W | DCP | Silent with music | Chi & Eng Inter-titles | 102min

In 1933, Li Pingqian made a film A Year of Harvest, about farmers' tragic lives: facing exploitation by officials, merchants and landlords. This is a signature work in Li's early stage and a rare example of him exposing class conflicts and emphasising rustic flavours. Unfortunately, no prints of this work exist. Luckily a print of Spring Silkworms, made in the same year by director Cheng Bugao, on the same subject, still survives as evidence of these filmmakers' critique of the times.

This film is a classic example of realism. A silkworm farming family in Zhejiang tries to eke out a living, but finally cannot weather the turbulent times. The production hired silkworm farmers as consultants, filming the entire work process in detail. Sometimes the camera moved slowly, letting the emotions flow out. Film scholar Wong Ain-ling once commented on this style, that life is like water, flowing away drop by drop; a part of human history is thus formed, like stalagmites.

Courtesy of China Film Archive