Zheng Junli
Chinese actor and director of classic films, persecuted during the Cultural Revolution.
Zheng Junli (December 6, 1911 – April 23, 1969) was a Chinese actor and director from Shanghai who became a major figure during the golden age of Chinese cinema. His films *The Spring River Flows East* and *Crows and Sparrows* are regarded as classics. He was harshly persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and died in prison.
Born into a poor family of Cantonese fruit-sellers in Shanghai, Zheng developed an early passion for reading and performing arts. In 1928, he studied at the Nanguo she drama school under progressive dramatists Tian Han and Ouyang Yuqian. During the 1930s, he worked as a contract actor for the Lianhua Film Company, playing roles such as the love interest Yu Haichou in *New Women* alongside Ruan Lingyu. By the mid-1930s, he was one of Shanghai's biggest film stars.
In 1941, Zheng directed *Long Live the Nations*, the first Chinese propaganda film aimed at fostering unity among ethnic minorities in border regions, produced through the Kuomintang-controlled China Motion Picture Studio. After the Sino-Japanese War, he shifted focus to directing. He co-directed *The Spring River Flows East* (1947) with Cai Chusheng and made the anti-Kuomintang film *Crows and Sparrows* (1948), which later won a first-class Excellent Movie Award (1949–1955) from the PRC's Minister of Culture in 1957.
Zheng welcomed the new Chinese Communist Party government. As a left-wing director, he initially benefited, moving his family from a run-down dormitory at Kunlun Studio to Shanghai's best residential area, opposite Soong Ching-ling's house. After Mao Zedong raised issues about CCP cadres entering cities at the 2nd meeting of the 7th National Congress, Zheng quickly made *The Married Couple*, starring Zhao Dan and Jiang Tianliu. The film depicted a cadre abandoning his village wife for a city girl, failing to resist a "sugar-coated bullet." It was banned before public release.
Zheng served on the Art Commission of Shanghai Film Studio and supported the production of *The Life of Wu Xun*. This film was harshly criticized by the CCP, and Zheng felt guilty. His earlier film *The Married Couple* was also criticized, putting him under great pressure. To denounce *The Life of Wu Xun*, Jiang Qing and her followers researched in Shandong, finding the peasant rebel Song Jingshi of the "Black Flag Army." They promoted Song as a revolutionary example. During scriptwriti
- born
- December 6, 1911, Shanghai, China
- died
- April 23, 1969, in prison
- field
- Actor, director, film theorist
- nationality
- Chinese
- known_for
- Films *The Spring River Flows East* and *Crows and Sparrows*; introducing Stanislavski's system to China
Lore & Background
Zheng Junli was born into a poor family of Cantonese fruit-sellers in Shanghai. He showed early interest in reading and performing, and in 1928 entered the Nanguo she drama school to study under progressive dramatists Tian Han and Ouyang Yuqian. During the 1930s, he was an actor under contract with Lianhua Film Company, playing roles such as the love-interest Yu Haichou in *New Women* opposite Ruan Lingyu. By the mid-1930s, he was one of the biggest stars in Shanghai film. His 1941 film *Long Live the Nations* was the first Chinese propaganda film aimed at developing solidarity among ethnic minorities, produced through the Kuomintang-controlled China Motion Picture Studio. After the Sino-Japanese War, he focused on directing, notably *The Spring River Flows East* (co-directed with Cai Chusheng, 1947) and the anti-Kuomintang polemic *Crows and Sparrows* (1948), which in 1957 received an Excellent Movie Award first-class from the Minister of Culture of the PRC.
Reader's Guide
Zheng Junli's significance lies in his transition from a major star of Shanghai's golden age to a director of enduring classics, as well as his contributions to film theory. He welcomed the establishment of the CCP government and initially benefited, moving his family to a prime Shanghai residence. However, his film *The Married Couple*, made to follow Mao Zedong's directive on cadre behavior, was banned before release. His support for *The Life of Wu Xun* brought severe criticism, and his subsequent attempt to atone with a film about Song Jingshi was also banned after a short release. Despite these setbacks, his biographical pictures on Nie Er and Lin Zexu won wide acclaim. Zheng was also a pioneering film theorist: he translated Richard Boleslavsky's *Acting: The First Six Lessons* and, with Zhang Min, produced the first systematic Chinese translation of Stanislavski's *An Actor Prepares*. He authored *Art History of World's Movies*, a breakthrough for comparing Western and Soviet films from a universal perspective. His legacy is marked by both artistic achievement and the political pressures that ultimately led to his persecution and death in prison during the Cultural Revolution.
Did You Know?
- Zheng Junli was the first person to introduce Constantin Stanislavski's performing system into China.
- His film *The Married Couple* was banned even before its public release.
- He translated Richard Boleslavsky's *Acting: The First Six Lessons* using an English dictionary, then double-checked with a Russian-English dictionary.
- Zheng's 1941 film *Long Live the Nations* was the first Chinese propaganda film aimed at developing solidarity among ethnic minorities.
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