Return to Nature

Ill-fated romance of an orphaned flower girl and a young musician, destroyed by his traditional family and the Shanghai underworld.

Lu Ban, the father of carpentry of China, lived in the Warring States Period more than two thousand years ago. During his travel through the land, he has solved many architectural problems and befriends a young builder. Under the guidance of Lu, the young man slowly turns from an arrogant and imprudent builder into a responsible craftsman able to take on a daunting task assigned by the king.

"Lianhua Symphony" - a small collection, consisting of eight short films shot in 1937 by young filmmakers Shanghai Lianhua Film Company. Part 1: Two Yuans (兩毛錢) directed by Situ Huimin / Part 2: Nightmares in Spring Chamber (春閨斷夢) directed by Fei Mu / Part 3: The Stranger (陌生人) directed by Tan Youliu / Part 4: Three Friends (三人行) directed by Shen Fu / Part 5: Landscape Under the Moonlight (月下小景) directed by He Mengfu / Part 6: The Ghost (鬼) directed by Zhu Shilin / Part 7: Rhapsody of a Madman (瘋人狂想曲) directed by Sun Yu / Part 8: Five Little Brothers (小五義) directed by Cai Chusheng

After graduating from maritime college, a group of girls arrive to undergo practical training on a ship and, as future navigators, are greeted in different ways.

Sister Ye lives in a rural village, where everyone makes traditional toys. When Sister Ye's husband dies of an unknown illness, and while Ye is attending to him, her son is kidnapped and sold to a wealthy lady in the city of Shanghai. Shortly after, the village is destroyed during an attack between rival warlords, forcing the villagers move to the city, where they continue to make toys. Ten years pass, and Ye's daughter Zhu'er has become a toy designer. While helping the Nationalist army at the rear, Zhu'er is killed in an attack by the Japanese. On New Year's Eve, Sister Ye is dressed in rags, sitting on the curb, selling toys. A young boy buys toys from her, and it is none other than her son, whom she does not recognize.

A warlord's nephew lusts for farmer Song Ke's sister. When Song refuses, the whole family is thrown into jail and the sister commits suicide. The father dies of grief and Song lives with his cousin abroad. The warlord's nephew loses power and also escapes to the same country.

A country girl and her boyfriend arrive in Shanghai for a better life. They soon find only desperation. She is raped and falls into prostitution as he drifts into revolutionary circles. Her access through her trade grants her greater access which she uses to aid her revolutionary lover with tragic results.

Six young men from the city take jobs building roads for the Chinese Army

Young sprinter Lin Ying enrolls in a sports college in Shanghai. As she becomes a sports celebrity, she starts to mangle with the upper class and has gradually forgotten the true essence of sports.

The life-story of Wu Xun, a beggar in the Qing dynasty who set up free schools for poor children.

A wild country girl moves to Shanghai with her painter boyfriend and experiences exploitation and poverty.

This film depicting the lives of ordinary people — street peddlers, poor scholars, and young revolutionaries — reflects the culturally progressive political climate of that pre-War, post-May the 4th era.

In the mid-19th century, at the height of the Opium War, the Chinese people rose up against the feudal system and the Manchu dynasty, which had capitulated to foreign invaders. ... With their heads bowed, peasants in chains trudge along, those who refused to give money to crush their rebellious brothers. Suddenly, their path is blocked. It is Song Jing-shi who has come to their rescue with his detachment. The freed peasants joined Song Jing-shi. This is how the core of the Black Flag Army was formed. The first historical film made in socialist China in the 1950s. The script is based on authentic material collected in villages in Shandong Province. Legends about the cruelty of Sen Gelinzin and the bravery of Sun Jing-shi, who is called the "Chinese Spartacus," still live on among the people.

Yu is a village boat-rower who loves smiling. On the contrary, serf girl xiao Hong never smiles because of her miserable life. Yu volunteers to teach her smile.