Abstract:

The period of 19491964 witnessed the peak of Zheng Junli’s career as a film director. Since his films during this period were closely linked with the political orientation at the moment, each of them enjoyed recognition in the history of the Chinese films after the founding of People’s Republic of China (PRC). As the drafter of The Recent Program of Action for the Association of the Chinese LeftWing Dramatists at the early stage, Zheng reserved the leftwing rationale of “art for politics”, internalized the political discipline on the other hand, and meanwhile constantly explored the ideological and aesthetic expressions of film after the founding of PRC. Through a historical analysis of the five films directed by Zheng during the “Seventeen Years” (19491966), the paper examined the influence of the extreme “left” political pressure on the subject as an art producer, and even on the personal injury to the artist. It reveals that the birth of leftwing culture had its significance in the then times and its positive role in social and cultural construction. Nevertheless, developed to its extreme when calling for the attachment of aesthetic practice of film to the dominant political culture, leftwing culture lost its original value and significance. The study of Zheng’s films during the “Seventeen Years” presents a new dimension of the development of today’s leftwing culture under the current situation.

Key words: Zheng Junli, leftwing films, We as a Couple, Withering Trees Coming to Life Again