New Women () is a 1935 Chinese silent drama film produced by the United Photoplay Service.Christopher Rea, Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949 (Columbia University Press, 2021), p. 117. It is sometimes translated as New Woman. The film starred Ruan Lingyu (in her penultimate film) and was directed by Cai Chusheng. This film became one of Ruan Lingyu's better-known works. Her suicide on International Women's Day (8 March 1935) drew attention to the controversial status of new women and made this film a sensation in modern China.
New Women was considered to be a "problem film" in inciting "the woman question" (, ). It offered criticism to the traditional gender ideology and offered China a change from "old women" to "new women" as an alternative social convention.
New Women was based upon the life of Chinese actress and writer, Ai Xia, who had committed suicide in 1934. Ai Xia's death following her role in A Modern Woman (1933) inspired Cai Chusheng to emulate the tragedy in this film.Cui, Shuqin. "Stanley Kwans Center Stage: The (Im)Possible Engagement between Feminism and Postmodernism." Cinema Journal, vol. 39, no. 4, 2000, pp. 60–80., doi:10.1353/cj.2000.0012.
A print of New Women is currently maintained by the China Film Archive.
Plot
The film centres around an educated and modern young woman, Wei Ming (Ruan Lingyu), living in 1920s Shanghai. As the film begins, Wei Ming is working as a music teacher for a girls' school, harbouring dreams of becoming a writer. She befriends her neighbour Aying, who is a factory worker and teaches patriotic work songs to her coworkers.
Dr. Wang, the school board minister, who is also Wei Ming's old classmate Zhang Xiuzhen's husband, likes Wei Ming and wants her to become his concubine. Wei Ming ignores his advances as she falls in love with the editor of a publishing company Yu Haichou. Yu Haichou, however, refuses Wei Ming. Dr. Wang, angered by Wei Ming's rejection, retaliates against Wei Ming and convinces the principal of the school to fire her.
At the same time, Wei Ming's past catches up to her. Before coming to Shanghai, she had a love affair with a man who left her after she became pregnant. Her older sister who was taking care of her daughter all this time was coming to Shanghai to see her as they were in need of money. Wei Ming's daughter, Xiao Hong, is shown to be suffering from pneumonia and after arriving in Shanghai her condition begins to deteriorate. The two sisters took Xiao Hong to the hospital, but they were refused service because they could not pay the fee upfront. Now that Wei Ming has lost her income as a teacher, she hopes to receive payment from the novel she has written called "The Tomb of Love" instead. She attempted to request an advanced payment from the publisher but was immediately rejected.
Under such harsh circumstances, Wei Ming decides to become a "slave for one night" and prostitute herself. Unexpectedly, her first client is Dr. Wang. Under his mockery, Wei Ming angrily hits Dr. Wang and runs away. She helplessly watches her daughter die, then commits suicide afterwards by overdosing on sleeping pills. Yu Haichou takes Wei Ming to the hospital where Aying attempts to inspire her to continue living. Wei Ming cries out "I want to live, I want revenge". However, the doctor can no longer rescue Wei Ming and she dies. The publisher and the journalist cynically joins to sponsor Wei Ming's funeral for publicity benefits. Aying continues to lead her factory women workers in choral singing classes. The film ends with a scene of Aying and her factory co-workers walking out of the factory, stepping on a newspaper announcing Wei Ming's suicide.
Cast Ruan Lingyu (), as Wei Ming, the heroine, a young woman who teaches music at a private, all-girls high school and who is trying to have her novel published; Wang Naidong (), as Dr. Wang, Wei Ming's suitor and primary antagonist, married to Wei's old schoolmate; Zheng Junli (), as Yu Haichou, an editor at a publishing company, a friend of Wei Ming and her love interest; Wang Moqiu (), as Mrs. Wang, Wei Ming's former schoolmate, now married to Dr. Wang; Yin Xu (), as Li Aying, Wei Ming's neighbor, a factory worker, a physically strong and mentally disciplined woman who devotes her spare time to educating female laborers; Chen Sujuan (), as Wei Xiaohong, Wei Ming's daughter; Gu Menghe (), as Qi Weide, the editor-in-chief of the local newspaper; Wu Yin (), as the music school principal; Tang Tianxiu (), as Wei Ming's elder sister; Liu Qiong (), as Doctor #1; Shang Guanwu (), as Doctor #2; Fang Lianying (), as landlady in the same building as Wei Ming; Zhou Qianyun (), as the daughter of the landlady; Long Ling (), as Wei Ming's ex-husband; Qiu Yiwei (), as the publisher; Hong Jingling (), as the dancing hall manager; Fei Baiqing (), as the man in the flat cap; Diao Banhua (), as the dancing girl; Huang Yunzhen (), as Madam Xu; Zhuo Mei (), as the hospital nurse.
Reception
In the 1930s, women were often featured in magazines and advertisements to convey the image of a modern lifestyle. Due to the association of a woman's qualifications with her ability to raise the future generation, women's education was also heavily promoted, giving them a path towards integrating in the workforce. However, this idea of the modernizing role of women was met with criticism from the cultural sphere. "For example, some pointed to the so-called disadvantages of women receiving higher education, claiming that some modern women were no longer faithfully carrying out family duties."
When New Women was released in 1935, the film was interpreted by many as an example of the leftward development of Cai's politics on the traditional constraints on women in mass media and urban society. One newspaper reviewer praised "the number of films with 'the woman question' as their subject over the past few years" and declared that "it is inevitable that this kind of film would go on to influence many aspects of the women's movement to come." 'The woman question' was centred around the discussion of love, marriage, education and employment for women. The term "new women" also symbolized the start of modernist discourse in China. Following the release of the film, critics were "quick to compare the three kinds of women and to try to identify who the new woman might be." Newspaper reviews analyse these "new women" figures within their respective social strata: Zhang Xiuzhen is a college graduate (undoubtedly the daughter of a capitalist family), but she is willing to be a man's plaything all her life as Mrs. Wang of the comprador class. Li Aying has her roots in the working class, combating the hostile environment in her struggle. Wei Ming's background seems to be somewhere between the former two women and, because of that, she comes to be incapable of extricating herself from the sad fate of the wavering petit bourgeois.The release of New Women was marred by a backlash from the press who objected to their profession's unflattering portrayal in the film. In Shanghai, the commercial press criticized the film for depicting the news media as slanderous. The Journalists' Union protested the film's characterization of their trade, and the spectre of negative publicity pressured Lianhua studio into making an open apology.
The portrayal of the new woman by Ruan Linyu was also heavily criticized for her way of life and for using suicide "as the ultimate way of protesting against discrimination and gossip." In an attempt to clear accusations that the movie was "condoning" the suicide of New Women, the producers agreed to screen the film at a fundraiser for a women's educational centre on International Women's Day, March 8.
The suicide of the film's star, Ruan Lingyu, by barbiturate overdose exactly one month after the movie premiered caused further controversy. Her death was purportedly due to the gossip and exposure surrounding her personal life. In her final note, she stated, "Gossip is a fearful thing", attributing her suicide to the same kind of media harassment her character Wei Ming experienced. The idea of the protagonist's "crisis in subjectivity" was brought to life by Ruan's suicide. It provoked much debate in the Shanghai news media on the controversy over the representation and status of women in popular culture and shed a light on the increasing feminist problems of modernity. Much discussion surrounded the similarities between Ai Xia, Ruan Lingyu, and her character Wei Ming, all sources of scrutiny in 'the woman question' of urban China in the 1930s.
Historical background In early 20th century China, the traditional social morals dictated that women must be modest and reserved in their homes. But after the re-founding of the Republic of China in 1911, the grip on traditionalism started to weaken. Women were given more access to education, employment opportunities, and began appearing more in the public's eye. Reformers started to rise and promote “social equality” in society for freedom of love, freedom from sexual discrimination, and freedom of choice.Jing, Shen. "Women's revenge: male violence vs female masculinity in The new woman (1935) and The price of madness (1988)." Asian Cinema Volume XXII. 2011: 226-251.
Following the May Fourth Movement, the term xin nüxing (new woman) was popularized. The direct translation of nüxing is "female sex". However, before the May Fourth Movement, women in China were described by the term funü which emphasized familial and gender roles rather than biological sex.Sarah E. Stevens. (2003). Figuring Modernity: The New Woman and the Modern Girl in Republican China. NWSA Journal, 15(3), 82-103. The new woman's role in modern China was often debated by intellectuals, liberals, and The Nationalists and the Communist. Nonetheless, the "new woman" icon found its way into popular media in the forms of film, photographs, magazines, fashion advertisements and calendar posters.Pan, Yihong. "Crafting the 'New Woman' in China's Left-Wing Cinema of the 1930s: Sun Yu’s Three Films." Frontiers of History in China, vol. 6, no. 2, 2011, pp. 264–284., doi:10.1007/s11462-011-0129-9. Cai Chusheng's film is considered to be the most well-known of the "new woman" genre films. The pioneers of the Chinese Women's Liberation Movement began to pay attention to women's equality of employment and economic independence. They argued that the fundamental reason why women had lost their independence for thousands of years lay in their financial attachment to men and the denial of property rights. Lu Xun once regarded economic independence as the premise of women's liberation, and Li Dazhao believed that women's employment was the basis of equality between men and women.