Mother's Happiness | 1926 | Drama

Title: Mother's Happiness | 1926 | Drama Director: Shi Dongshan Studio: Yueming Film Company; Great China Lilium Pictures Starring: Zhou Wenzhu; Wang Cilong; Wang Naidong; Fu Jianqin Release Date: 1926 Runtime: 48 Format: Silent, black-and-white; Chinese and English intertitles Country: Republic of China Language: Silent; Chinese and English intertitles Genres: Drama --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Household Strain and Sudden Tragedy 00:10:00 Widowhood and Sacrifice 00:20:00 Children Come of Age 00:32:00 Urban Hardships and Estrangement 00:42:00 Illness and Final Reunion --- Summary: A rural mother raises four children after her husband dies in an accident. Through years of work as a seamstress she manages to educate them, only to face indifference and disrespect once they are grown and married. The sons leave for the city, money goes astray, and the mother and a daughter‑in‑law are forced to seek shelter with relatives. Eventually the mother falls gravely ill, prompting the scattered family to gather at her bedside. The film explores filial duty and social class in Republican‑era China. Although titled Mother’s Happiness, its irony underscores how maternal devotion can be met with neglect and regret, culminating in a sober reconciliation at the end of the mother’s life. --- Background: Mother’s Happiness is a 1926 Shanghai‑made silent drama directed by Shi Dongshan and written by Zhu Shouju, produced by Yueming Film Company and Great China Lilium Pictures. Surviving today as an incomplete fragment of approximately 48 minutes with bilingual intertitles, it is among the earliest extant Chinese films, reflecting the urban studio system and family‑melodrama “wenyi” tradition of the period. --- Trivia: The literal meaning of the Chinese title Ér Sūn Fú is “Fortunes of Descendants,” highlighting the story’s generational focus. Cinematography is credited to S. M. Chow and S. S. Yue, indicative of early Shanghai studio craft practices. Two acknowledged remakes followed: Song for a Mother by Zhu Shilin and A Mother Remembers by Chun Kim. Actor Wang Naidong , who plays the second son, later appeared opposite Ruan Lingyu in New Women . The extant version runs about 48 minutes and is incomplete; circulating copies derive from archival and online sources. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: 1926 Original Studio / Distributor: Yueming Film Company; Great China Lilium Pictures Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: Unknown --- Hashtags: SilentFilm ChineseCinema 1926 PublicDomain ShiDongshan FilmHistory Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mother%27s_Happiness_(1926).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Mother%27s_Happiness_%281926%29.webm