No subtitle track in this language
Wikimedia Commons · Luo Mingyou / Zhu Shilin · Public domain
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Chinese. No subtitle track in this language.
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Synopsis
A headmistress's two daughters take different paths after graduation. The elder travels to Shanghai to study, while the younger entangles romance, vanity and school affairs. Jealousy within the family gradually disrupts the school, forcing their mother to choose between family affection, her responsibilities as an educator and local interests.
Cast
Historical context
This is one of Ruan Lingyu's final screen works. Compared with contemporary films that emphasised personal liberation, it gives greater weight to educational order, restraint and family responsibility. It also reveals the different social views that coexisted within Lianhua.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.
Availability checked on September 11, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Ruan Lingyu — Chen Jiazhen (陈嘉震), 1935, 中国电影女明星照相集; Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain — PD-China and PD-1996
- Lin Chuchu — Unknown photographer; Liangyou (The Young Companion), issue 9, October 15, 1926; digitized by Internet Archive and uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Chris Woodrich. · Public domain — PD-China and PD-US-expired
- Li Lili — Unknown photographer, 1930s; source Sina, via Wikimedia Commons. Commons source was already denoised and sharpened. · Public domain — PD-China and PD-1996
