KwanTeo Film Archive · Work
Song of the Fishermen
渔光曲Song of the Fishermen is a 1934 drama written and directed by Cai Chusheng. It follows the siblings Xiaomao and Xiaohou and their fishing family through poverty, displacement and the struggle to make a living.
About the Work
After their father dies at sea, the family loses its means of support. The children grow up to fish, leave home and endure a life of wandering and street performance. Returning to a fishing boat offers no escape from hardship. The film links labour at sea with poverty on shore, using location footage filmed at Shipu in Zhejiang.
Made during the transition from silent to sound cinema, the film includes music and sound effects. Its title song, with lyrics by An E and music by Ren Guang, brings the fishing family’s labour and hardship into the film’s musical expression.
Released in Shanghai in 1934, the film ran for 84 consecutive days at the Jincheng cinema. It received an honorary award at the Moscow international film exhibition in 1935. Both the film and its song carried the fishing family’s experience to a wider public.