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Synopsis
A Shanghai teacher hopes to become a published writer and maintain control of her own life. Sexual pressure, insecure employment and sensational reporting close in around her. Her friendship with a working woman offers another model of independence, but the distance between an ideal of emancipation and daily survival remains painfully large.
Cast
DirectorsCai Chusheng
Historical context
The film draws on contemporary debates about women’s emancipation and the treatment of women by the press. Its portrayal of predatory journalism made those debates part of the film’s own public reception.
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 reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
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
