Remembering Xie Jin

BEIJING,Oct. 20 -- His sudden death shocked not

only those in the film circles.

All who love Chinese films made in the 1950s, 60s,

70s and 80s feel sad about his death.

Xie Jin's name itself has been a synonym for realism in Chinese films in the past several decades.

File photo taken on April 3, 1987 shows Chinese film director Xie Jin (C) working at the locale of his feature "Hibiscus Town" in central-south China's Hunan Province on Dec. 22, 1984. Famed Chinese film director Xie Jin died early on Saturday at 85 in the eastern Zhejiang Province.(Chinese media Photo)
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He was found dead in a hotel in his hometown Shangyu

city early Saturday morning. He was participating in the 110th birthday

celebration of his Alma Mater.

At 85, he outlived for less than two months his

59-year-old son, who died of lung cancer in August this year. He was survived by

a mentally retarded son and still hospitalized wife.

Life was a bit cruel to him; he had two sons who were

mentally disabled and his only son who had stepped in his shoes died before him.

But his films had provided his contemporaries with their most loved pastime.

There was no such expression as "blockbusters" at

least in China when he was at his prime. Yet his name was as powerful as any

advertisement and would fill all cinemas to their capacity.

At a time when political ideology dominated any

artistic works, the human interest and humanitarianism his films had

demonstrated through the heroines or heroes in one way or another echoed the

sentiments of the audience.

Some of his most well known films touched off

different degrees of political ripples. They were either accused of lacking in

consciousness about the class struggle or of over-indulging in the depiction of

bourgeois humanitarianism.

Even in the late 1980s, long after the "cultural

revolution" (1966-76), his film "Hibiscus Town" was accused of demonizing

socialism by conservatives.

But his films are all considered by both critics and

audiences as masterpieces in either artistic value or historical significance.

Xie Jin said on different occasions that a film

director should direct some films that endure the test of time. He did exactly

that, especially after 1976.

His Hibiscus Town is still a must for anyone who has

never experienced that turmoil to understand how and why good people were

politically persecuted and bad guys rose in life.

Another of his films, Legend of Tianyun Mountain, was

a mirror of how human nature was distorted during that particular period of

history.

He once said that as a director one must have

compassion in directing his works, and one's films were very likely to reflect

one's character and personality. This is exactly true of many of the films he

had directed.

When many young film lovers flock to cinemas to watch

expensive blockbusters but are often disappointed by the shallowness of their

content, we should remember that we once had a good director who gave us

thought-provoking films.

When the film critics today debate about where the

Chinese film industry should go, we should also get clues from Xie Jin who

believed films must convey explicit ideas about human nature irrespective of the

modern technology they use and the methods they adopt.

We will remember him not only because we love his

films. It is also because we need someone to emulate him in providing us with

better films.

(Source: China Daily)