Background
After the end of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese film industry was marked by a period of political reassessment
of past events. Shortcomings of the film system and the need for greater creative autonomy were discussed.
The Beijing Film Academy was reopened and allowed new students to apply in 1978. Authors and filmmakers,
who were suppressed during the Cultural Revolution, now went back to work. The Xi’an Film Studio, which
was founded in 1958 and where film production was prohibited during the Cultural Revolution, started to produce feature films again.
The movie “Xi’an Shibian” (西安事变) was produced and published during this period of relative artistic
freedom, which is often labelled the “second Hundred Flowers”. In this time, many movies dealt with
previously disdained subjects like human feelings or love instead of the former prevalent theme of class.
This general tendency also had some impact on the historical piece “Xi’an Shibian”, since there are
several scenes which focus on personal feelings between the protagonists: for example Jiang Jieshi
蒋介石 and his wife
Song Meiling (宋美龄), or Zhang Xueliang
(张学良) and his wife show affection and
loving care to each other. The characters are not as stereotyped as they used to be in earlier
productions, and dialogues appear to be more lively, while there are rather few rhetorical
gestures and official speeches. The launching of the movie “Love and Inheritance” (爱情与遗产) in
1980, which was – like “Xi’an Shibian” – produced by the Xi’an Film Studio as well, underscores this tendency of change in approach.
But these changes in film subjects did not, however, mean that the importance of film as an instrument of propaganda had diminished. It is very obvious that the production of “Xi’an Shibian” had this overriding purpose. Co-scriptwriter and director Cheng Yin (成荫), belonging to the so-called third generation in Chinese film, had a longstanding experiences in making propaganda movies, especially military movies, and thus was well versed in this genre. Cheng Yin belonged to the generation of Chinese Communists who were deeply rooted in their own revolutionary experiences, having gained personal experience in military battle and class struggle since early on in Yan’an times.
Being a huge official production with an established director, “Xi’an Shibian” was a high budget
undertaking. Cheng Yin chose actors who had to resemble the historic person. Many of his cast
were going to become role model actors afterwards. Gu Yue (古月) ,
embodying Mao Zedong, is one example, Sun Feihu (孙飞虎) as
Jiang Jieshi another. The then newest special effects in battle scenes were employed for showing shootings and explosions.
Like in other movies of the late seventies and early eighties, the treatment of the past in “Xi’an
Shibian” closely followed political guidelines and official requirements: The story line is constructed
to present Zhang Xueliang as a brave patriot with high morality, who is finally betrayed by Jiang Jieshi.
The Chinese Communists around Mao Zedong (毛泽东) and
Zhou Enlai (周恩来) pass on to Zhang their vision of
a united front to fight against the Japanese and support Zhang in his changing from a lackey of Jiang’s
to a remorseful patriot. The depiction of the Chinese Communists is still Mao-centred, where Mao,
from a slightly elevated position, speaks authoritatively to his “comrades”. The music also backs up
the positive or negative classifications. When Mao and his comrades are to be shown, the scenes
often start with a flash of pristine natural environment combined with soft and gentle melodies,
leaving the impression of a peace-loving, benevolent leadership. In contrast, Jiang and the
Nationalists are surrounded by a cold and sterile aura that points to ruthless decision-making in an environment of pressure inherent in this
system of government. The depiction of this hostile environment includes a lot of grey colours, hardly any nature and
no music, and is prevalent not only at meetings of the Nanjing government, but also when Jiang is shown in private life sitting in his living room.
What sets the movie apart from earlier black and white characterisations is its rather complex depiction of Jiang Jieshi. The movie has been credited several times as being the first Chinese mainland film production to draw a somewhat credible picture of Jiang Jieshi, neither totally demonising him nor caricaturising him, but portraying him as a human being. This lifelike depiction can to a large extent be credited to Sun Feihu (孙飞虎), who debuted as Jiang Jieshi in “Xi’an Shibian” and from then on played this role in several other movies. He acts Jiang as a spleenish individual, who, approaching the age of 50, has already several symptoms of senile stubbornness. Sometimes there even appears to be a lack of self confidence in his actions and decisions. Although these attributes are rather negative than positive, they create a certain liveliness and allow for some sympathy towards the character. His helplessness when being captured in pyjamas without his false teeth can make the viewer almost pity him.
Sun Feihu won the “Golden Rooster Award” (金鸡奖), chosen by a national jury of cinema experts, in 1982 for “Best Supporting Actor” for this role. The film also received the “Golden Rooster Award” for Best Make-up and Cheng Yin for “Best Director”.
In December 2006, the movie “Xi’an Shibian” attracted major attention with the 70th anniversary of the Xi’an incident which was officially celebrated in several Chinese cities. During a symposium at December 12th, attended by the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Jia Qinglin 贾庆林, the incident’s significance as a “big boost to morale in the war against Japan” was once again pointed out. Chinese director Yang Fengliang 杨凤良 (who has worked, e.g., with Zhang Yimou 张艺谋) grasped the opportunity of this symposium to announce that he has begun to re-edit the movie, which he appraises as a “milestone in China’s film history”. He also stated that though the film might seem somewhat immature from today’s perspective, it still is definitely worth to re-edit. Yang therefore will redo a number of frames on the movie, repair damaged parts of the film and redo the sound recording. This shows that the movie in its overall configuration is still cherished today and even is considered worth re-editing.
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