How did the movie "Liu Sanjie" "kill madness" overseas in the 1960s

In the 1960s, there was a singing movie "Liu Sanjie". After the hit the mainland, it caused a sensation in Hong Kong, , Singapore, and other places, maximizing the export of my country's foreign culture in difficult times. So, how did such a film break through the blockades and cause a "tsunami-level" effect overseas? Today, Bai Yu will have a good chat with you about

1. Hong Kong hit

Under the international situation at that time, it was almost difficult for Chinese movie to be broadcast in Hong Kong.

​​With the intensified political propaganda of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong and British authorities promulgated the "Film Censorship Rules" in November 1953 to express their neutrality. The main purpose of this rule is to prevent mutual political propaganda between the two sides. It has no clear censorship rules at all, and it depends entirely on the government's political intentions, so it is called the "Cold War Bamboo Curtain" effect.

​​Hong Kong's "Film Censorship Rules" are very broad in scope and very strict in requirements. For example, if there are scenes of soldiers, leaders, national flags, and national anthems in the film, or as long as there is "political" content in the lines, lyrics, or even the scenery, they will be asked to delete or even ban the film.

​​As a result, it is almost impossible for a large number of mainland reality-themed movies to be released in Hong Kong, which further affects the distribution to Nanyang and other places.

​​According to Mr. Xu Dunle, who has held an important position in the Southern Film Company for a long time, they often argued with the film censorship department on the grounds that their commercial interests were infringed, and often made the censors speechless or even angry, but they still could not change. The fate of most movies being banned. This rule was not deemed illegal until 1987.

​​So under such harsh conditions, the movie "Liu Sanjie" also went through layers of censorship. Although this is an adaptation of folklore, it seems so lighthearted. Singing, love, and a lot of comedy sections conceal the original intention of expressing class struggle in the creation. The film did pass the censorship successfully in the end, becoming one of the few non-drama films that could be released in Hong Kong during this period.

​​According to the data, "Liu Sanjie" had three large-scale screenings in Hong Kong in 1962, 1964 and 1978. The premiere of in 1962 lasted for 42 days, with a box office of over 300,000 Hong Kong dollars, which is rare locally.

2. Hot in Singapore

​​Due to the demonstration effect of "Liu Sanjie" in Hong Kong, "Liu Sanjie" immediately attracted Southeast Asian filmmakers. If the film wants to be released in these regions, the first difficulty facing it is Singapore.

In 1962, there was a film " Jiawu Fengyun " which was very popular in Singapore, which caused a sensational national sentiment effect and was banned by the Singaporean authorities.

​​Since modern times, the Chinese who have traveled across the ocean to a strange country to develop their own living space are also hoping to open up a new world with their own wisdom and hard work. The legend of Liu Sanjie and the unceasing national sentiment of separation aroused the psychological resonance of too many overseas Chinese at that time.

​​At the same time, in the early 1960s, the people of Southeast Asia, who were trying to get rid of their long-standing colonial identity, also constituted a subtle polyphony between the government and the people. After many rounds of negotiation, finally showed its popularity in the first round of "Liu Sanjie" in Singapore for seven months.

​​However, "Liu Sanjie"'s lighthearted surface story made it pass the censorship once again, but it was still inevitably involved in various local political battles. The new Singapore " People's Action Party " once used the folk song duet in "Liu Sanjie" to satirize the opposition. Although

​​lacks other materials to prove whether this political folk song war really exists, during the release of "Liu Sanjie", Singapore is indeed in a critical political period of whether to join the Federation of Malaysia.

​​At the same time, another news on Nanyang Siang Pau showed that nearly three months after the film "Liu Sanjie" was released, the local branch of the People's Action Party hadA film reception was held, and also screened "Liu Sanjie" and a newsreel promoting the Federation of Malays to raise funds for the party's affairs. To a certain extent, this also shows that "Liu Sanjie" is indeed involved in local political party activities.

According to research by Singapore scholars, the film was screened in 968 shows from June 26, 1962 to January 24, 1963, with an audience of 500,000 people, setting a record for the first round of Chinese and Western films in the region.

​​In order to avoid getting caught in the swirl of struggle in Singapore, the New Century Company that distributed "Liu Sanjie" was temporarily formed by local newspaper people, and announced its dissolution immediately after the screening of "Liu Sanjie".

3. Screening bans and expectations

Of course, the passage of "Liu Sanjie" in the bamboo curtain is not unimpeded. Malaysia , which had not established diplomatic relations with China at that time, strictly controlled both communist ideology and Chinese culture for a long time.

​​According to Li Fengyou, who was a projectionist at Shaw Brothers Malaysia at the time, the Malaysian authorities were very careful in censoring film screenings. The screening programme must be reported in detail to the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Political Affairs one to three months in advance. The screening of unapproved film sources is a serious violation of regulations. Behavior.

​​Therefore, although the film has a wide range of influence in Hong Kong, Singapore and other Southeast Asian regions, , "Liu Sanjie" was not likely to be released in Malaysia at that time, and many Malaysian audiences could only go to Singapore to watch the film, for which there was even a special viewing tour group. .

​​In Thailand and other places, the release of "Liu Sanjie" was allegedly sabotaged and obstructed, which staged another political "dark war" during the Cold War. The various obstacles faced in the film's release seem to be as interesting as Liu Sanjie's resistance folk songs. watching "Liu Sanjie" not only enjoys the thrill of favoring characters to defeat the powerful class with wisdom, but also superimposes the thrill of accepting the inspiration from the mysterious spirit of red China and breaking through taboos.

​​in subtle ways, the audience's imagination of the far-flung China that has been turned upside down is that Liu Sanjie and Aniu brother have obtained a "divine" class weapon similar to folk songs, and they have defeated the evil forces with high fighting spirit and lived together. A beautiful and hopeful life.

In the memories of Southeast Asian audiences, "Liu Sanjie" is often compared with the Hong Kong martial arts movie " Tangshan Brother " . For the Chinese who have been suppressed for a long time, as long as they change a little, whether they are landowners who take advantage of the poor, or capitalists who exploit the lives of workers, they can easily cope with the various injustices in the real situation. Like Chinese kung fu , folk songs have become a unique national weapon that can defeat all evil forces in the hearts of ordinary people, and it is also a deified power.

In 1978, "Liu Sanjie" was screened in Hong Kong for the third time on a large scale, and it was re-screened many times after that.

​​A similar situation also appeared in Malaysia. Due to the local long-term control of Chinese, most Chinese in Malaysia gather in "new villages". In 2013, Malaysian scholars organized an open-air screening of "Liu Sanjie". Although it was only played on DVD, the two-week consecutive screening still attracted a large number of audiences who watched "Liu Sanjie" across borders in the 1960s.

​​Obviously, "Liu Sanjie" has become the common cultural memory of overseas audiences, and even formed a new cultural tradition of overseas Chinese in the world. All these are intertwined with the nostalgia of the motherland and the old people, forming a deep national emotional bond.