1)The Beginnings:Shanghai,1896-1945: During the 1920s film technicians from the United States trained Chinese technicians in Shanghai. Film Genres:comic shorts,feature length films,and family dramas. Tianyi(Unique)Company,family studio founded by the Shaw(Shao)brothers in Shanghai in 1925.But contrary to the trendy features on contemporary issues produced by competing Chinese studios,Tianyi developed its own brand name by adapting Chinese folk tales, myths,and legends already popular among audiences. Their two-part White Snake (1926)broke all records of Chinese films in Southeast Asia. and this kind of overseas success was crucial to Shanghai studios because the majority of movie theaters in China were owned by the foreigners and showed mostly foreign films. 1930s-"progressive"or "left-wing"movement: Progressive films of the 1930s were noted for their emphasis on class struggle and external threats(i.e.Japanese aggression),as well as on their focus on common people, such as a family of silk farmers in Spring Silkworms and a prostitute in The Goddess. The Goddess named by director Chen Kaige(Fifth Generation Director)as his favorite film of the 1930s. In part due to the success of these kinds of films,this post-1930 era is now often referred to as the first"golden period"of Chinese cinema. Japanese occupation of Shanghai,ended the golden run in Chinese cinema. THE GODDESS神女 Starring Ruan Ling-yut诊玉 e1) The Beginnings: Shanghai, 1896-1945: During the 1920s film technicians from the United States trained Chinese technicians in Shanghai. Film Genres: comic shorts, feature length films, and family dramas. Tianyi (Unique) Company, family studio founded by the Shaw (Shao) brothers in Shanghai in 1925.But contrary to the trendy features on contemporary issues produced by competing Chinese studios, Tianyi developed its own brand name by adapting Chinese folk tales, myths, and legends already popular among audiences. Their two-part White Snake (1926) broke all records of Chinese films in Southeast Asia, and this kind of overseas success was crucial to Shanghai studios because the majority of movie theaters in China were owned by the foreigners and showed mostly foreign films. 1930s - "progressive" or "left-wing" movement: Progressive films of the 1930s were noted for their emphasis on class struggle and external threats (i.e. Japanese aggression), as well as on their focus on common people, such as a family of silk farmers in Spring Silkworms and a prostitute in The Goddess. The Goddess named by director Chen Kaige (Fifth Generation Director) as his favorite film of the 1930s. In part due to the success of these kinds of films, this post-1930 era is now often referred to as the first "golden period" of Chinese cinema. Japanese occupation of Shanghai, ended the golden run in Chinese cinema