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Page Thirl\)-four 'The Digest of the Motion Picture Industry" CAMERA 1 YEAR BOOK MOTION PICTURES IN CHINA ^ , By LEONG, M. A. You must, however, always bear in mind that we have in China a popu- lation four times as great as that of the United States of today, and that China and the territory contiguous gives us one-half of the population of the earth. Along the modern cities you will have ample opportunity to note that the Chinese people are awakening from their long, lethargic sleep; that the hard shell of exclus- iveness which, without a parallel in history, has existed for several thou- sand years, is now breaking and rap- idly falling apart; that the Occidental influence of progression is fast taking hold of the nation; and you will soon find yourself ready to dispute that constantly expressed opinion that China is crumbling away and will, ere long, be obliterated or absorbed by the world's powers. In watching but superficially the progressive activity of the Chinese merchants along the streets, even the most casual observer will become imbued with the thought that it would not be an easy task to subordinate to foreign ideas, or wipe from the earth 400,000,000 of people, bright and shrewd enough to exploit every form of expansion and hold their own in any of the Oriental, Am- erican and European communities, as shown by experience. At the request of Camera! I am giv- jng you, the American public, an hon- est opinion of the Chinese people to- wards amusement. To the Chinese— amusement is a part of their life. Shanghai can be termed the New York of the East, commanding as it does the only commercial gateway to the great trade mart of China, and which is destined within a short time to rank with the leading cities of the world. (The reason i selected the city of Shanghai as an example, is be- cause I was raised and lived there for twenty years.) Owing to its great commercial im- portance to the subjects of the vari- ous countries, it has drawn to its web people from the four corners of the sphere, with every conceivable occu- pation and aspiration for the future, and this combined energy of a dozen different nationalities has reared upon the Eastern shore of Asia a modern and imposing city, comparing with the leading ones in either the New or Old World. Because of Shanghai's wide divers- ity of amusement, the elegance of its driveways and equipage, the splendor of its entertaining and cosmopolitan character of its people, it may be just- ly called the Paris of the Eastern Hemisphere. Midway on the Asiatic Coast, it is the principal port of ent- rance into China from England, France, Australia, Japan, the United States and Canada, forming a paradise for the adventurer and adventuress, of the gambler and getting-rich-quick promoters, who roll up and down the Eastern World calling at Yokohama, Hongkong, Manila, Singapore, Calcut- ta, Colombo and Cairo. Making Shang- hai their headquarters, owing to the fact that it is a land of no extradi- tion. The foreign settlements of Shang- hai are divided into three districts, the American, French and the Brit- ish. In the American settlement there are eight motion picture theatre houses. Three of them, viz., Victory, Apollo and Casino, like the vaudeville houses here. Four acts and a five-reel picture. The price of admission is from 20c to 75c (Mex.) for matinee. From 30c to $1 (Mex.) for evenings. The rest of the houses are for the Chinese. The admission price is 10c to 20c (Mex.), pictures only. There are two motion picture theatres in the French settlement and three Chinese theatres. The British settlement oc- cupies the center of the two. In this settlement is a street about a mile long. The Chinese called it Foochow road, for here is afforded an opportu- nity found nowhere else in the Em- pire to study the light vein of Chinese life, so vastly different from that ob- served during the business hours of the day. The road of amusement is known far and wide, and to the Chi- nese mind there is nothing in the world like it; wealthy and extrava- gant Chinese from all parts of the country are constantly visiting Shang- hai and Foochow road is their con- in the Empire, with far the most gor- geous costumes and jewels. In the Chinese theatres the performance usually begins at eleven in the morn- ing and finishes at eleven at night, or at six in the evening, ending at six in the morning. All the plays are taken from actual historical facts and legendary stories and represent the two great divisions of national life, the civil and military The Van Pan Shi, representing the civil life, is the oldest class of plays, and was the one used in the first thea- tres of China. These plays are pre- sented in the form of songs, and are stant haunt until the jingle has left their pockets. The young and old, with sporting tendencies, squander their own and other people's money like multimillionaires, ai.d the confi- dence men of the Rialto are a little the sharpest in the world, with far the most unique methods of extracting the coin from the stranger. Between the hours of 7 and 12 p. m. the street is at its greatest splendor, theatres, side shows, restaurants, cinemato- graphs and phonograph establish- ments, Chinese gongs and cymbals, stringed instruments, mingled with the melodious voice of the Chinese sing-song girls, are then at their height. Along this road are situated some of the largest restaurants in the Empire, which often serve a dinner consisting of over one hundred courses and costing many hundreds of dol- lars. When ex-President Taft visited Shanghai he will never forget the treatment given by the Chinese offi- cials in one of the restaurants in Foo- chow road. Here are also located many of the finest and largest theatres to be found sometimes called the singing plays. They are very emotional Jn character and are taken from the historical events and stories which tend to play upon the feelings of the audience. The acting is such as to stir the deepest sentiments of patriotism and filial piety. In the Tsin dynasty (936 A. D.) another kind of play was added to the repertoire of the Chinese actors. This was called the Jin Pan Shi, mean- ing Peking plays, or acrobatic plays. This class of plays usually represents the military life, but may be employed in cases to represent civil life. These plays are also taken from historical events and constitute real Chinese drama. The chief difference between the Van Pan Shi and the Jin Pan Shi is the manner in which the plays are acted, and the tones used in the sing- ing. In the latter the actors are loud spoken, dance and jump about the stage, flash their swords and knives and make all the noiso possible. At the same time the weird music which accompanies the performance grows louder and louder until the din and noise seem to be unbearable. The third class, the Vun Min Shi, is the modern or new play. This class has been copied from the foreign plays, and in a way, represents the advanced or new ideas which are influencing national life in China today. The act- ors and actresses in these plays dress in semi-foreign styles. They employ the native dialects instead of Man- darin used in all the old style plays. The first two classes clearly repre- sent the real Chinese drama. They are based upon historical facts, which are studied in the present-day histor- ies and with which the average school boy in China is perfectly familiar. His- tory thus taught is never forgotten, and the events which happened, in some cases, 3,000 years ago still fresh in the minds of the Chinese. The Chinese actors are divided into several distinct classes. The same like this country. The first division comprises those who perform in the permanent theatres. The owners of the theatre contract for the services of the whole company, ranging from twenty to one hundred persons, usual- ly consisting of about seventy persons. There were, in the old days, no female members included in the properly con- j stituted companies, and a company I which carried actresses had to procure I official permission to play. There are 1 now, however, many companies com- I posed wholly of females. An actor's I salary ranges from $50.00 to $100,000 per annum. Those who impersonate female characters are usually the highest paid. The names of some of the most promi- nent actors and actresses on the Chi- nese stage today, with an estimate of their salaries, may be interesting to some of the theatrical managers and motion picture stars. Deur Shin-pan, the king of actors, has received as much as $10,000 per month. He died in May, 1917. The following are some of the act- ors and actresses who are still play- ing on the Chinese stage: Wong Vung Ch'en, $2000 per month. Mei Lei-fong, $4000 per month. Lui Hung Sun, $1500 per month. Actresses: Un Shiau Fung, $2000 per month. Siau Lan Yin, $1500 per month. Deur Shin-pan, the king of the Chi- nese actors, was the possessor of a very interesting character. He was the leading actor in China for forty years. He was born in Hupeh Prov- ince in Wong Chow-fu seventy years ago, and began studying to become an actor at the age of ten. He was a very bright boy and had an excellent voice—sweet as an organ. Besides the performance given in the theatres there are many of the temples in China with large stages built in the courts or in the largest rooms to accommodate the plays which are given during the spring and autumn of each year to celebrate the birthdays of the various idols. One man or one family or number of fami- lies or sometimes a whole village will employ a troupe of actors for the oc- casion, and the plays are continued throughout the period of festivities. The Chinese are beginning to like the modern plays. Before long all the stages in the temples will show mov- ing pictures instead of the old-fashion plays. The average Chinese in China are great spenders in amusements. In some of the American features they have to pay as high as $4.00 or $3.25 gold for their seat, and after the show they are perfectly satisfied. The good will of the Chinese people toward American business men and of the American people toward Chi- nese merchants has laid a firm found- ation for Chinese-American features. Continued on Page 107