Dingjun Mountain (lost "first Chinese self-directed" opera film; 1905)
Still of Dingjun Mountain
Status: Lost
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Dingjun Mountain(定军山, Ding4 Jun1 Shan1) is a Chinese silent film produced by Fengtai Photography(丰泰照相馆) made in 1905(there are claims it was in 1908[1]). Directed by Ren Qingtai(任庆泰), starring by Tan Xinpei(谭鑫培), a Peking opera superstar in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. The film is regarded as the first film in China, even if it’s controversial. This film tells the story of Huang Zhong(黄忠), a general of Shu(蜀), who captured Mountain Dingjun and killed Xiahou Yuan(夏侯渊), a general of Wei(魏), in the Chinese historical novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
The first documented mention of the movie "Dingjun Mountain" appears in a 1938 article from the 14th issue of the "Cinema" weekly magazine in Shanghai, titled "The Cinematisation of Old Plays Didn’t Start with Mei Lanfang – It Had Already Happened 30 Years Prior". The article recounts a dramatist's words: "At the end of the Qing Dynasty, films were already being shown at Daguanlou(大观楼) in Dashilar(大栅栏)... with scenes from Tan Xinpei’s 'Dingjun Mountain' featuring a plea for enlistment, sword dance, and combat shot on stage..." The text mentions several movie titles, none of which are marked with the year of filming.[2]
Availability
The only print was destroyed in a fire in the late 1940s, only one still was preserved. Since there is only one still left about this film, and the rest of the information is oral, it is not clear whether the film really exists and has been released.[2]
External Links
References
- ↑ Cheng Jihua: 'A Concise History of the Initial Development of Chinese Cinema (1899–1921),' published in the first issue of 'Chinese Cinema' in 1956.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 An article published on the Internet in China about questioning the existence of Dingjun Mountain