Breaking with Old Ideas

Last updated
Breaking with Old Ideas
Breakingwitholdideas.jpg
Traditional Chinese 決裂
Simplified Chinese 决裂
Hanyu Pinyin Juéliè
Directed by Li Wenhua
Written by
  • Chunchao
  • Zhou Jie
Starring
  • Guo Zhenqing
  • Wang Suya
Cinematography
  • Zheng Yuyuan
  • Luo De'an
Music by
  • Lü Yuan
  • Tang He
Production
company
Beijing Film Studio
Release date
  • 1975 (1975)
Running time
127 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin

Breaking with Old Ideas is a 1975 Chinese film directed by Li Wenhua. The film is one of the few that were produced during the Cultural Revolution. [1] As a result of the political upheaval taking place, Breaking with Old Ideas's plot was heavily regulated under highly codified guidelines on story and characterization so that it would have a mass character, as opposed to an individual focused character, namely proletarian politics as opposed to bourgeois politics. The film draws inspiration from issues with schooling in China at the time, such as that there was too much study, and too little social practice. [2] [1]

Contents

Breaking with Old Ideas was one of the first films that was removed from public viewing after the Gang of Four was overthrown and the educational revolution campaign was ended. [3]

Plot

In 1958, the Chinese Communist Party sends Long Guozheng (Guo Zhenqing), a graduate of the Counter-Japanese Military and Political University, to head the newly established Jiangxi Communist Labour University (today's Jiangxi Agricultural University). The school's more capitalist elements, such as aiming for high bourgeois academic standards, and refusal to admit poorly-educated (according to bourgeois standards) peasants clash with Long's more communistic approach. He advocates only admitting students from the working class, and begins innovative changes—to the dismay of many other staff—such as putting more emphasis on hard labor than classroom learning, switching courses to accommodate experiential learning, removing impractical sections from the curriculum, holding lessons in the field, and excusing students who miss exams to work for the commune. Later, a student, Li Jinfeng (Wang Suya), whom Long considers an exemplary follower of the "educational revolution", faces expulsion and is put on trial. The masses come out in support of her and denounce those taking the capitalist line on education. Those in power taking the capitalist line decide to shut down the college as a result. In the end, the college is saved by the will of the peasants and a pronouncement from Mao Zedong himself. [4]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mao Zedong</span> Leader of the Peoples Republic of China from 1949 to 1976

Mao Zedong, also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) and led the country from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. Mao also served as the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1943 until his death, and as the party's de facto leader from 1935. His theories, which he advocated as a Chinese adaptation of Marxism–Leninism, are known as Maoism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long March</span> 1934–1936 Red Army retreat during the Chinese Civil War

The Long March was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and October 1935. About 100,000 troops retreated from the Jiangxi Soviet and other bases to a new headquarters in Yan'an, Shaanxi, traversing some 10,000 kilometres. About 8,000 troops ultimately survived the Long March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhang Guotao</span> Chinese politician (1897–1979)

Zhang Guotao was a Chinese revolutionary who was a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern, organizing the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Kuomintang. From 1931 to 1932, after the Party had been driven from the cities, Zhang was placed in charge of the Eyuwan Soviet. When his armies were driven from the region, he joined the Long March but lost a contentious struggle for party leadership to Mao Zedong. Zhang's armies then took a different route from Mao's and were badly beaten by local Muslim Ma clique forces in Gansu. When his depleted forces finally arrived to join Mao in Yan'an, Zhang continued his losing challenge to Mao, and left the party in 1938. Zhang eventually retired to Canada, in 1968. He became a Christian shortly before his death in Scarborough, Ontario, in 1979. His memoirs provide valuable and vivid information on his life and party history.

The 28 Bolsheviks were a faction in the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The faction was formed among Chinese Communists studying at the Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow during the late 1920s and early 1930s. They received their nickname because of their strong support for the orthodox political positions advocated by Joseph Stalin and Pavel Mif. The leaders of the faction included Wang Ming, Bo Gu, Luo Fu, He Zishu, Wang Jiaxiang, and Shen Zemin. Sun Yat-sen University closed in 1930 and the students made their way back to China.

<i>To Live</i> (1994 film) 1994 film by Zhang Yimou

To Live, also titled Lifetimes in some English versions, is a 1994 Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and written by Lu Wei, based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. It was produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International, starring Ge You and Gong Li, in her seventh collaboration with director Zhang Yimou.

In the People's Republic of China since 1967, the terms "ultra-left" and "left communist" refers to political theory and practice self-defined as further "left" than that of the central Maoist leaders at the height of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR). The terms are also used retroactively to describe some early 20th century Chinese anarchist orientations. As a slur, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used the term "ultra-left" more broadly to denounce any orientation it considers further "left" than the party line. According to the latter usage, the CCP Central Committee denounced in 1978 as "ultra-left" the line of Mao Zedong from 1956 until his death in 1976. This article refers only to 1) the self-defined ultra-left of the GPCR; and 2) more recent theoretical trends drawing inspiration from the GPCR ultra-left, China's anarchist legacy and international "left communist" traditions.

New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a type of democracy in Marxism, based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinct from that in any other country. He also said every colonial or semi-colonial country would have its own unique path to democracy, given that particular country's own social and material conditions. Mao labeled representative democracy in the Western nations as Old Democracy, characterizing parliamentarianism as just an instrument to promote the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie/land-owning class through manufacturing consent. He also found his concept of New Democracy not in contrast with the Soviet-style dictatorship of the proletariat which he assumed would be the dominant political structure of a post-capitalist world. Mao spoke about how he wanted to create a New China, a country freed from the feudal and semi-feudal aspects of its old culture as well as Japanese imperialism.

Anarchism in China was a strong intellectual force in the reform and revolutionary movements in the early 20th century. In the years before and just after the overthrow of the Qing dynasty Chinese anarchists insisted that a true revolution could not be political, replacing one government with another, but had to overthrow traditional culture and create new social practices, especially in the family. "Anarchism" was translated into Chinese as 無政府主義 literally, "the doctrine of no government."

<i>Three Kingdoms</i> (TV series) 2010 Chinese historical series

Three Kingdoms is a 2010 Chinese television series based on the events in the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The plot is adapted from the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other stories about the Three Kingdoms period. Directed by Gao Xixi, the series had a budget of over 160 million RMB and took five years of pre-production work. Shooting of the series commenced in October 2008, and it was released in China in May 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jiangxi Soviet</span> Part of the Chinese Soviet Republic the Chinese Civil War

The Jiangxi Soviet, sometimes referred to as the Jiangxi-Fujian Soviet, was a soviet area governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that existed between 1931 and 1934. It was the largest component of the Chinese Soviet Republic and home to its capital, Ruijin. At the time, the CCP was engaged in a rural insurgency against the Kuomintang-controlled Nationalist Government as part of the Chinese Civil War. CCP leaders Mao Zedong and Zhu De chose to create the soviet in the rugged Jinggang Mountains on the border of Jiangxi and Fujian because of its remote location and defensible terrain. The First Red Front Army successfully repulsed a series of encirclement campaigns by the Kuomintang's National Revolutionary Army (NRA) during the first few years of the Soviet's existence, but they were eventually defeated by the NRA's fifth attempt in 1934-35. After the Jiangxi Soviet was defeated militarily, the CCP began the Long March towards a new base area in the northwest.

Sparkling Red Star is a 1974 Chinese film and one of the very few films produced in China during the Cultural Revolution. Co-directed by Li Jun and Li Ang, the film is a mix between a war film, a children's film and a musical. Today, given the heavy-handed political message and state control of the Sparkling Red Star's story and production, it is generally considered a propaganda film. The film was remade in 2007 as an animated tale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ren Bishi</span> Chinese military and political leader (1904–1950)

Ren Bishi was a military and political leader in the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

<i>Justice Bao</i> (2010 TV series) Chinese television series

Justice Bao is a Chinese TV series starring producer Jin Chao-chun as the Song dynasty official Bao Zheng. The series ran for 3 seasons from 2010 to 2012. In addition to Jin, Kenny Ho, Fan Hung-hsuan and Lung Lung again reprise their iconic roles from the 1993 Taiwanese hit Justice Pao and the 2008 Chinese series Justice Bao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baise Uprising</span> Uprising in the Chinese Civil War

The Baise Uprising was a short-lived uprising organized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in northwestern Guangxi around the city of Baise. It officially began on December 11, 1929, and lasted until late 1931. The uprising established the Seventh Red Army and a soviet over a number of counties in the You River valley. It drew support from a pre-existing movement of Zhuang peasants led by Wei Baqun, and focused on land redistribution in the area it controlled. After a brief but costly attempt to capture Guangxi's major cities, the soviet was suppressed and surviving soldiers made their way to Jiangxi. Today, it is most famous for the role played by Deng Xiaoping, who was the CCP Central Committee's leading representative in Guangxi during the Uprising. Deng was strongly criticized, both during the Cultural Revolution and by modern historians, for the uprising's swift defeat and his decision to abandon the retreating Seventh Red Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xiao Wangdong</span> Chinese general and Minister of Culture (1910–1989)

Xiao Wangdong was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and a lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). He briefly served as acting Minister of Culture of China at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, before being persecuted and imprisoned for nine years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counter-Japanese Military and Political University</span> Former university located in Yanan

Counter-Japanese Military and Political University, also commonly known as Kàngdà (抗大) and Kangri Junzheng University (抗日军政大学), was a comprehensive public university located in Yan'an, Shaanxi, the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Its former site has been converted to a memorial hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qian Zhuangfei</span> Chinese doctor and secret agent

Qian Zhuangfei was a Chinese doctor, film director and a secret agent for the Chinese Communist Party. After the Kuomintang (KMT) began its suppression of the Communists in 1927, Qian infiltrated the KMT secret service, and in 1931 intercepted a telegram reporting the arrest and defection of the Communist leader Gu Shunzhang. His quick reaction allowed the Communist leadership in Shanghai to evacuate, and he was credited with saving the lives of top leaders including Zhou Enlai, later the Premier of China. Zhou called Qian and his fellow agents Li Kenong and Hu Di "the three most distinguished intelligence workers of the Party." Qian was killed in 1935 during the Long March. He was the father of Li Lili, one of China's most popular film stars in the 1930s.

<i>The Heart of Woman</i> 2010 Taiwanese TV series or program

The Heart of Woman, also known as Women, is a Taiwanese Hokkien television series that began airing on SET Taiwan in Taiwan on 21 November 2012, from Mondays to Fridays, and ends on 21 November 2013, lasting one year with a total of 262 episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wuhan Nationalist government</span> 1927 political split between leftist KMT government in Wuhan and KMT rightist government in Nanjing

The Wuhan Nationalist government, also known as the Wuhan government, Wuhan regime, or Hankow government, was a government dominated by the left-wing of the Nationalist or Kuomintang (KMT) Party of China that was based in Wuhan from 5 December 1926 to 21 September 1927, led first by Eugene Chen, and later by Wang Jingwei.

The following lists events in the year 1990 in China.

References

  1. 1 2 Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei. "Breaking with Old Ideas" in Encyclopedia of Chinese Film. Taylor & Francis (1998), p. 101. ISBN   0-415-15168-6.
  2. "Remarks at the Spring Festival".
  3. Beverley Hooper: Inside Peking. A Personal Report. London: Macdonald & Jane’s, 1979; p. 48.
  4. Marion, Donald J. (1997). The Chinese Filmography: The 2444 Feature Films Produced by Studios in the People's Republic of China from 1949 through 1995. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 82. ISBN   0-7864-0305-5.