Zhang Xinsheng (film)
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| Zhang Xinsheng | |||||||
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.jpg) Zheng Zhegu as Zhang Jiayun | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 張欣生 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 张欣生 | ||||||
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| Directed by | Zhang Shichuan | ||||||
| Screenplay by | Zheng Zhengqiu | ||||||
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Zhang Weitao | ||||||
Production company | |||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 13 reels | ||||||
| Country | Republic of China | ||||||
| Language | Silent | ||||||
Zhang Xinsheng (traditional Chinese: 張欣生; simplified Chinese: 张欣生; pinyin: Zhāng Xīnshēng), also known as Retribution (報應昭彰; 报应昭彰; Bàoyìng Zhāozhāng) is a lost 1923 crime film from the Republic of China. Directed by Zhang Shichuan, it was adapted by Zheng Zhengqiu from a real-life patricide in which a deeply indebted man had killed his father for his inheritance. Emphasizing verisimilitude in its production and advertising, Zhang Xinsheng was initially a modest success but was later censored for its graphic violence.
Zhang Xinsheng was based on a real-life patricide case. In 1920, a Pudong youth named Zhang Xinsheng, deeply in debt, had poisoned his wealthy father Zhang Jiayun to gain access to his inheritance. A year later, following up on a tip from an accomplice, the police had exhumed the body and conducted a public autopsy. Analyzing the colour of the bones, the police declared a murder to have occurred. Zhang had been arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to death by hanging.[1] This case had drawn extensive media coverage, including in major newspapers such as the Shen Bao and the Xinwen Bao.[2]
Capitalizing on the coverage, which also included stage performances and works of "news fiction" (新闻小说),[2] the Mingxing Film Company began adapting the case to screen.[3] Established in 1922, Mingxing had previously produced a series of comedies, including The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai and Labourer's Love (both 1922).[4] However, these films had not been commercial successes, and Mingxing was on the verge of insolvency.[5] Zhang Xinsheng was directed by Zhang Shichuan, who operated under the philosophy of prioritizing entertainment and mass appeal.[6] It was based on a screenplay by Zheng Zhengqiu, with cinematography handled by Zhang Weitao.[7] Members of the cast included Zheng Xiaoqiu, the teenaged son of Zheng Zhengqiu,[8] as well as Zheng Zhegu as Zhang Jiayun.[9]
The filmmakers emphasized verisimilitude in their production of Zhang Xinsheng. A 1923 Shen Bao report noted that location shooting had occurred at the Zhang ancestral home, Jiangsu No. 2 Prison, and the Sanlintang area of Pudong. Advertising material emphasized that the film had been shot at nineteen different locations, offering "a sense of realism [that] cannot be achieved for stage plays."[3] Cheng Bugao, a viewer who later became a director with Mingxing, recalled that the film had offered close-up shots of the autopsy and the removal of organs – made using flour and red ink – and thereby disgusted audiences.[10] Nonetheless, the film is recorded as including some embellishment.[11]
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