A Reexamination of the “Copper Coinage” Question: Postwar Shanghai’s (1945–1949) Concatenated Film Ecosystem

“Copper coinage” brings to mind an exploration into issues connected with the economics of the film industry. The focus of this text is on the period between 1945 and 1949, just after the glorious victory of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and just before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the so-called “postwar” period. Through an investigation into the records related to “copper coinage” in The Diary of Lu Chieh, which details the external economic conditions during this stage of film production, this text describes postwar Shanghai’s particular economic, social, and film culture ecosystems from the human side of the equation, bolstered by the special case of star salaries and living expenses. Moreover, this text contrasts Shanghai’s lifestyle of decadent consumption against its concomitant, another wholly different social life—one of pervasive wage arrears and labor strikes. The Diary of Lu Chieh not only recorded a whole host of inside details of film production in Shanghai, including a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the Cultural China Film Company, but also depicts a barren, derelict stage on which diligent filmmakers strove to craft their works amidst a greater social milieu of turmoil and unrest.

Keywords: Celebrity Research ; Diary of Lu Chieh ; Shanghai Cinema ; The Economic History of Film ; Wage Arrears and Labor Strikes