Little Toys (Xiao Wanyi) dir./sc. Sun Yu With Ruan Lingyu, Yuan Congmei, Li Lili, Han Lan'gen Shanghai: Lianhua Film, 1933

In the late 1920s a village woman's life is shaken by a series of tragedies indirectly caused by the development of the capitalist economy and the outbreak of war. A mother of two, Ye earns her living by making small toys which her husband sells in the town. During a battle bewteen warlords, her husband is killed, her son Yu'er is lost, and her village is practically destroyed. Ye and her daughter, Zhu'er, move to Shanghai and resume their business, but they can barely compete with the more modern and sophisticated toys produced overseas. Ye and her fellow workers help the Chinese troops fighting against the Japanese invasion of Shanghai. Zhu'er and her boyfriend are both killed. Left completely alone, Ye sells her toys in the street. One day she meets again the son she had lost years before. Yu'er now lives with a rich businessman who had bought him from a child trader. Mother and son meet without realizing each other's true identity. Not long after, frightened by some firecrackers which remind her of the bombing, Ye starts yelling at people urging them to wake up, react, and fight. Her final message is clear. The tragedy of her life is not fated: those who fail to act against foreign invasion must share the blame for what transpires. This early film promotes nationalism and patriotism at a time when China faced the threat of economic, cultural and military imperialism.

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