What does this mean?
Since then, the name "movie" has been established in Tianjin and gradually recognized by the public. The frequency of using "movies" in Ta Kung Pao advertisements is also increasing. Therefore, the word "movie" is directly used in newspaper headlines. For example, Audition Movie (65438+February 5th 0906), Special Movie (65438+March17,0906) and Kit Kat Movie (1906 1 1.
Ta Kung Pao is one of the most important newspapers in northern China. Because of its influence, the word "movie" quickly became popular in Beijing and Tianjin. For example, on August 29th, 1907, Beijing Authentic Patriotic Newspaper reported the news that someone was "opening a movie in Dongan market" with the title of "making a movie". The same is true of official memorials and notices. On April 5th, 1907, a memorial said: "Recently, night movies have been added in various cinemas, and seats can be taken by both men and women. However, the movie lights have to be dimmed, so it can't be turned on. The shortcomings are particularly questionable. "1909 Tianjin Public Security Bureau issued a notice about the Spring Festival activities, saying that" all market stalls and tea gardens are allowed to perform ".
The appearance and use of the word "film" is the inevitable need of the increasingly frequent film screening activities and the reluctance of newspapers and periodicals to use lengthy nouns, which reflects the popularity of film in China. In addition to Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, movies have appeared in many cities and become an important form of entertainment. To show a film, you must first have a screening place. When films were first introduced to China, most of them were shown in tea gardens (theaters) or larger empty rooms. For example, Xidan Civilization Tea Garden in Beijing, Yushun Tea Garden in Tianjin and Tianhua Tea Garden in Shanghai. When the projectionist takes the film to perform everywhere, he often suffers from finding a venue. An early advertisement for rent-seeking venues in Tianjin can well illustrate this situation: "Today, there are the latest and strangest activities and movies of Europeans, supplemented by music, which are different and have all the interesting things in the game. I plan to rent a piece of land near the street in the most lively place in Tianjin to exercise. Six or seven rooms must be used, and the yard must be spacious. Rent in January. "
190665438+On February 8th, an American film dealer came to Tianjin and rented Quanxian Tea Garden (binjiang road Road, Jilin Road) in the French Concession, preparing for continuous screening and replacing a batch of new films every three days. 190765438+1On October 8th, the tea garden was changed to "Quanxian Electric Opera Garden" (even called "Quanxian Film Garden"). Some researchers believe that this is the first cinema operated by China people, about two years earlier than Shanghai Hongkou Grand Theatre (Liu's Record of Modern Social and Cultural Changes in China, Volume II, page 50/kloc-0). Quanxian Electric Opera Garden is "up and down in the garden, beautifully decorated, warm in the furnace and brilliant in lightning, which is incomparable to other parks". In order to facilitate the audience to go home at night, the park "specially ordered several trams from the tram company, and there was a performance every night, waiting on the left side of the park and delivering them to the guests in the urban area at a cost of only six copper coins". A few months later, Quanxian Electric Theater has become famous. The newspaper said that "The Quanxian Theater in the French world has been different from other theaters since it was changed into a movie, with elegant seats, cool lighting and electric fans".
The movies shown in Quanxian Cinema should be said to be the latest in China, such as American detective film The Red-Eye Thief, Bahrain Woman, war film A bloody battle between America and Mexico, and science fiction film Woodenhead. As soon as some films were filmed or released abroad, they appeared in the new film preview of Quanxian Electric Theater. In the film advertisement of May 1907, it said: "The film was shown in this park, and the Chinese and foreign gentry and businessmen in Tianjin cheered at the same time. The park itself can be called unparalleled. There is a new movie today, including a color movie. Now, the park is allowed to perform eight volumes of various clear films and color films every night. The so-called "color film" relative to "transparent film" is "color film" (but different from regular color film) and "black and white film". Therefore, it can be asserted that in 1907, when the color film was just invented abroad, it was introduced to Tianjin, China.