16th July – Concert Hall, Shanghai Conservatory of Music – h. 9.30
Long Live the Nation(s) (民族万岁)
A documentary film by Zheng Junli (郑君里) – China, 1941
After talk with Zheng Dali
Long Live the Nations is a large-scale wartime documentary directed by renowned Chinese actor and filmmaker Zheng Junli. The film documents how ethnic minority groups in northwest and southwest China supported the national effort during World War II. From villagers donating grain to soldiers on the front lines to Miao communities carving roads through mountainous terrain, the film captures deeply moving moments of solidarity. Notably, many historical images used in Western reports on the construction of the Burma Road—especially those shown in the UK and US—were originally sourced from this documentary.
Filmed in 1939 and premiered in Chongqing in 1940, Long Live the Nations was lost for 60 years before being rediscovered and digitally restored in 2017. As the first Chinese documentary centered on multiple ethnic groups, the film holds both propaganda and archival value. It offers rare footage of Hui, Mongol, Tibetan, and Tu peoples’ daily lives, beliefs, and folk performances, making it an invaluable resource for the study of Republican-era ethnographic filmmaking, anthropology, and ethnomusicology. Its screening today is especially meaningful as it commemorates the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II.
第四届CMEFF开幕影片《民族万岁》是一部失传近七十年的抗战纪录片，由郑君里导演于1939年拍摄，真实记录了西南多民族在二战期间支援抗战的珍贵场景，以及他们的音乐舞蹈等生活纪录。这部影片在CMEFF重现，得益于郑大里老师多年辗转两岸的寻找，也离不开多家机构的共同努力与他的无私协助。
“Our screen is the evening sky;
Light and shadow, are the sunset’s dream.
Let those who seek beauty pluck the clouds,
And use film to weave a rainbow.“
我们的银幕是傍晚的天空，光和影是夕阳的美梦，让好事的人把云霞摘下来，用胶片编成一条彩虹
Original cover of the script (credit: Zheng Dali)
bibliograhic reference
Audiovisual Ethnomusicology 