''Zhuangzi Tests His Wife'' () is a 1913 Hong Kong drama film directed by

Li Minwei Lai Man-wai (; September 25, 1893 – October 26, 1953), also romanised as Lay Min-wei or M.W. Ray, considered the "Father of Hong Kong Cinema", was the director of the first Hong Kong film '' Zhuangzi Tests His Wife'' in 1913. In the film, Lai ...

. It is the earliest feature film of

Hong Kong cinema The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of pol ...

, and the only film made by the Huamei (Chinese-American) Studio, which was co-founded by Benjamin Brosky, who had sold his

Asia Film Company The Asia Film Company was the first film production company in China. History The Asia Film Company was established in Shanghai in 1909 by American businessman Benjamin Brosky, and was the first company to produce dramatic films in China. They wer ...

in Shanghai, and Li Minwei. The film was never screened in Hong Kong. Brosky brought the film to the United States, and it became the first Chinese film to be shown abroad when it was exhibited in the Chinese communities of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. It is based on the zidishu play "The Butterfly Dream" written by Chunshuzhai.

Cast

Li Minwei stars as the wife of Zhuangzi, and Li Minwei's wife Yan Shanshan (1896-1951) became the first Chinese film actress, playing a servant girl. *

Li Beihai Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political te ...

... Zhuangzi *

... Zhuangzi's wife * Yan Shanshan ... Servant Girl

Background

Fourth century BCE Zhuangzi (or Zhuang Zhou), one of the two defining figures of Chinese

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

, based his philosophy on all things changing, and the perception of truth depending on the context under which it exists. Throughout history, his teachings have been particularly favored by Chinese scholars and artists, many of whom were inspired by Zhuangzi's philosophy.

Plot

In other media

{{Unreferenced section, date=August 2022 Operatic versions of ''Zhuangzi Tests His Wife'' have been performed on stage by the

Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

and others.

Most operatic versions end with Zhuangzi burying his wife after she commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

for being disloyal to her husband. But this version tackles the story from a different angle. While Tian Shi still ultimately kills herself, Zhuangzi turns her and himself into butterflies and then, eventually, into dust.

References

External links

Zhuangzi Tests His Wife
at

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