西廂記 (Xi Xiang Ji)

Scholar ZHANG Gong falls in love with CUI Yingying, the daughter of a high-ranking official, but their union is forbidden by class and tradition. Adapted by HOU Yao from WANG Shifu’s famous play from the 13th/14th century, the film transforms classical literature into a vibrant visual spectacle. Blending traditional opera aesthetics with pioneering special effects, the film reflects the growing commercial consciousness of 1920s Shanghai cinema. Its distribution and preservation history led the China Film Archive to make a bold decision: Rather than attempting to reconstruct the lost original version, they restored the surviving European distribution print, which also meant preserving the interventions of the distributor. This is a stripped-down, fast-paced and abridged version that would have shocked 1920s audiences who knew the play by heart. The Archive followed this up by venturing away from a traditional piano score and pairing the restoration with a brand new electronic soundtrack.

‘Romance of the Western Chamber’, CHN 1927, director: HOU Yao, LI Minwei, 68 min, OV with EN subtitles, silent with music