Summary of the Key Points
This is the first special exhibition in China that bridges the history of Chinese cinema development with the history of the Chinese capital market. The venue for the exhibition is itself a historic landmark with dual significance: it was the site of the first recorded film screening in China in 1897 (at the former Regal Hotel/Pujiang Hotel) and also the birthplace of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1990. The exhibition brings together rare collections from the China Securities Museum and the Shanghai Film Museum, revealing an unexpected connection between "filming" and "stock trading" that spans 130 years. The exhibition is completely free to the public, offering both interesting anecdotes from the early days of the film industry and insights into the grassroots practices of the Chinese capital market.
---
Detailed Analysis of the Exhibition
1. The Venue with Dual Historical Significance
The exhibition is not just held in a regular museum; the building itself holds significant historical value:
- On one hand, it marks the beginning of Chinese cinema, with the first film screening taking place here in 1897. This year marks the 130th anniversary of that event, making the exhibition a prelude to this important milestone.
- On the other hand, it was the birthplace of China's contemporary stock market. In 1990, the entire trading hall of the Shanghai Stock Exchange was located in this building. The famous scene from the movie "Fan Hua," where people gathered to trade stocks, is reproduced exactly as it happened. The classic film "Gu Feng" (Stock Fever), which depicts the stock market craze of that era, was also filmed in this area. By visiting the exhibition, visitors can stand at the very beginning of both the Chinese film industry and the capital market, experiencing the intersection of two completely different historical narratives.
2. The Rise of a Domestic Film Company 100 Years Ago Thanks to Public Stock Trading
Many people assume that early film production was funded by wealthy individuals out of passion for cinema. This exhibition challenges this stereotype:
The company that produced the iconic film "Orphan Saves His Ancestor" and more than 20 other left-leaning films announced a public offering in the newspaper in 1922, clearly inviting the public to invest. They raised funds to purchase shares, with ordinary people becoming shareholders. This innovative approach not only helped them purchase new cameras and expand their production facilities but also established the modern corporate structures of a board of directors and shareholders' meetings. This company later became a core force in early progressive Chinese cinema, all thanks to the capital raised from the public. This shows that China's film industry adopted mature capital market practices more than 70 years before the official opening of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
3. An Unassuming Old Interest Certificate Reveals the Roots of Private Shareholding in Shanghai Cinemas
An old interest certificate from the 1960s may look like a ordinary receipt, but its story is quite intriguing:
The Huguang Theater in Shanghai was not founded by a single wealthy individual but by dozens of ordinary citizens. Before the state-owned-private partnership in 1954, there were 56 registered shareholders with a total of 800,000 shares. The founder held at most 40,000 shares, and many small shareholders owned just a few thousand shares. This highly decentralized structure is evident even in the records of Li Dashen, a prominent figure in the Chinese film industry. When the industry was nationalized in 1956, the state issued these interest certificates to the private shareholders, guaranteeing them a fixed annual interest rate based on their shareholding. This certificate is a tangible testament to the peaceful transition of the private cultural industry to socialism.
4. An Uncovered Hidden Thread in the Industry History
Previous discussions about Chinese cinema history have focused on directors, films, and stars. This exhibition provides a new perspective on where the funding for the industry came from:
From the 1920s, when film companies publicly offered shares to expand their production, to the early years of the People's Republic of China, when the state-owned-private partnership was established to stabilize the film industry, and later, when leading companies like Shanghai Film Group, China Film Group, and Hengdian Film & Television went public to finance large-scale productions and build distribution networks, it is clear that capital has been a crucial support for the development of Chinese cinema. This century-long narrative has never been systematically presented to the public before.
5. Free Access for All, with Exclusive Benefits
The exhibition is completely free, open from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays and until 4:30 PM on weekends. Located at No. 15 Huangpu Road by the Bund, visitors can see rare items such as century-old stock certificates and prospectuses. Additionally, there are many nostalgic surprises, such as the actual theater schedule from August 1962, a special issue of the Shanghai Film Group magazine for National Day in 1959, and an exclusive commemorative stamp designed for the exhibition. Visitors can spend an hour and a half learning about both the history of Chinese cinema and the early stock market, for a great value.
In summary, this exhibition offers a unique opportunity to explore the interconnected histories of Chinese cinema and the capital market in a way that has never been done before, providing both educational value and entertainment for the general public.