Sung Tsun-Shou

Sung Tsun-Shou or Song Chun-So (Chinese: 宋そう存そん壽ことぶき; pinyin: song cún shòu; Wade–Giles: sung⁴ ts'un² shou⁴; September 2, 1930 – May 27, 2008), was a Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director. He began his film career as screenwriter and assistant director. He came to Taiwan with Li Han-Hsiang (李り翰祥) in 1963 to join Grand Motion Pictures Co., Ltd. (國くに聯れん影かげ業ぎょう有限ゆうげん公司こうし) Li founded. He began his directorial career in 1966 and made altogether close to thirty films between 1966 and 1978. He was known as “literary director” (Chinese: 文人ぶんじん導しるべ演えんじ).

Life and career

Sung Tsun-Shou was born in Jiangdu, Jiangsu in 1930. He was the youngest child in his family and had six brothers and sisters. His father ran a little department store. The first movie he watched at nine was Maiden in Armour (1939) starring Nancy Chan (Chinese: 陳ちん雲くも裳も).

Sung arrived in Hong Kong and studied at the Hong Kong Cultural Vocational school (香港ほんこん文化ぶんか專せん科か學校がっこう) in 1949 . While he was a student, he also worked part-time in First National Printing Co, where he met King Hu, who worked there as an accountant and proofreader. They shared similar interests and often watched movies together.

Sung and King Hu later moved into an apartment, No.170 Boundary Street in Kowloon, and shared one big room with Li Han-Hsiang (李り翰祥) and four other residents, Feng Yi (馮毅), Jiang Guang Chao (蔣光超ちょう), Ma Li (馬力ばりき), and Shen Chong (沈重). All talented but poor, they decided to become sworn brothers and called themselves "the Idle Seven" (ci dà sián,七なな大だい閒あいだ) in 1953.

Thanks to King Hu, Sung was introduced to Lo Wei and worked for his company the SWANK MOTION PICTURE LIMITED as a screenwriter. Sung wrote the screenplay of Duo Cíng Hé (多情たじょう河かわ) directed by Lo Wei. In the following year he began to work for Shaw Brothers Pictures International Limited as a screenwriter and assistant director.

When Li Han-Hsiang moved from Hong Kong to Taiwan to form the Grand Motion Pictures Co., Ltd. Sung came with him to work as his assistant director. Among other films, he participated in the production of Hsi Shih: Beauty of Beauties (1965) directed by Li Han-Hsiang. Sung made his directorial debut film, A Perturbed Girl at Grand Motion Picture in 1966.

His next film At Dawn (破やぶ曉あかつき時分じぶん), set in the late Qing Dynasty and based on a short story by Chu Hsi-ning, received critical acclaim and he was praised to be a "literati director".

In 1971, he directed his first film based on the novel by Qiong Yao (瓊瑤), You Can’t Tell Him (庭にわ院いん深深しんしん), which won the runner-up award for best picture and best supporting actor in the 9th Golden Horse Awards. In the same year he formed the Eighties Film Company with Yu Ching-chun and Yang Wei-hsiung.

Sung married Chao Ying Ying (趙ちょう瑛あきら瑛あきら) in 1972 and had two daughters with her. The film Outside the Window (窗まど外がい), produced by the company and directed by Sung in 1973, was Brigitte Lin’s debut film. Lin was made an instant star by this film, which is based on the namesake autobiographical novel by Qiong Yao, who banned the film from theatrical release in Taiwan.

Sung also directed Story of a Mother (母はは與あずか子こ) in 1973, which is based on the namesake short story by Yu Lihua (於梨華はな). The film is highly praised by critics for its realistic depiction of a mother’s sexual desire and its courage to challenge traditional concepts about the role of mother.

Between 1966 and 1982, Sung made altogether twenty-six feature films. The great majority of them are literary romantic films (愛情あいじょう文藝ぶんげい片へん). The four most popular actors and actresses of the genre, namely Brigitte Lin, Joan Lin (林はやし鳳おおとり嬌), Charlie Chin (秦はた祥さち林りん) and Chin Han (秦はた漢かん) starred in quite a few of his films, such as Outside the Window, News Hen (女おんな記者きしゃ), Love In The Green Village (綠色みどりいろ山莊さんそう), He Loved Once Too Many (水雲もずく), Love is Smoke(輕けい煙けむり), Fallen Flowers, Flowing Water, the Spring Is Gone (落花らっか，流水りゅうすい，春はる去さ也), and Ask My Love from God (此情可か問とい天てん). He tried martial arts films once and directed Iron Petticoat in 1969, which led him to believe that he was not good at this popular action genre at all.

A Lily in the Valley (老師ろうし．斯卡也答) is the last film Sung directed in 1982, the year when the New Taiwan Cinema movement started.

Filmography

Director

Year	English title	Original title	Notes
1966	A Perturbed Girl	《天てん之の驕おご女おんな》
1968	At Dawn	《破やぶ曉あかつき時分じぶん》
1969	Iron Petticoat	《鐵てつ娘むすめ子こ》
1971	You Can't Tell Him	《庭にわ院いん深深しんしん》
1972	Story of a Mother	《母親ははおや三さん十じゅう歲さい》
1972	Story Of Sinlan	《心こころ蘭らん的てき故事こじ》	No official English title
1972	Love is Smoke	《輕けい煙けむり》
1973	Outside the Window	《窗まど外がい》
1974	Thirteen	《早熟そうじゅく》
1974	Ghost in the Mirror	《古いにしえ鏡きょう幽魂ゆうこん》
1974	The wind of ghost	《夜半やはん怪談かいだん》
1974	News Hen	《女おんな記者きしゃ》
1975	Morning Star	《晨星》	No official English title
1975	He Loved Once Too Many	《水雲もずく》
1976	Chelsia My Love	《秋あき霞かすみ》
1978	Windflower in the Storm	《花はな非ひ花はな》
1978	Ask My Love from God	《此情可か問とい天てん》
1978	Love In The Green Village	《留とめ下か一いち片へん相思そうし》（又また名な《綠色みどりいろ山莊さんそう》）
1978	Legend Of Parrot	《鸚鵡おうむ傳奇でんき》	No official English title
1979	Rainbow In My Heart	《第だい二道ふたみち彩いろどり虹にじ》
1979	Fallen Flowers, Flowing Water, the Spring Is Gone	《落花らっか流水りゅうすい春はる去さ也》
1980	I Sing I Cry	《我わが歌うた我わが泣》
1980	To You with Love	《候鳥こうちょう之の愛あい》
1980	Endless Road/Chilly Water Of Autumn	《走はし不ふ完かん的てき路ろ》（又また名な《瀟瀟秋水しゅうすい寒かん》）	No official English title
1982	A Girl Runs Away From Home	《翹家的てき女おんな孩》	No official English title
1982	A Lily in the Valley	《老師ろうし‧斯卡也答》
1982	Dong sian ge of Eleven Women	「十じゅう一いち個こ女人にょにん」系列けいれつ之の「洞ほら仙せん歌か」	Sung' s first TV series work/No official English title
1989	Silver Girl of Starry theater	名めい星ほし劇場げきじょう──銀ぎん女おんな	location director/No official English title

Screenwriter

Year	English title	Original title	Notes
1958	The Unforgettable Night	《一夜いちや風流ふうりゅう》
1959	Miss Songbird	《歌うた迷小姐あね》
1960	Let the Young Decide	《自由じゆう戀愛れんあい》
1960	Love Ditties on the Tea Hill	《茶山ちゃやま情歌じょうか》
1963	The Honest Hero and the Faithful Dog	《義よし犬いぬ遊ゆう俠》
1964	Trouble on the Wedding Night	《狀じょう元もと及第きゅうだい》

Awards and honors

Year	Awards	Works	Category
1971	9th Golden Horse Awards	You Can't Tell Him	Best Feature Film – Runner Up
1977	14th Golden Horse Awards	Chelsia My Love	Best Feature Film – Runner Up
2001	Festival du film asiatique de Deauville		Tribute
2001	38th Golden Horse Awards		Lifetime Achievement Award