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Spirit and Flesh

"Spirit and Flesh" and "Eternal Hate". Feature film (black and white). Filmed by Dacheng Film Company in 1941.

Mei Xiang, a girl from a poor family, is hired by Bai Gongguan as a maid, serving the young master Bai Xiongmin full-time. Mei Xiang is gentle and considerate, and the master and servant get along harmoniously. One night, Mei Xiang was raped by Xiongmin's father, Bai Jiankang. Jiankang's wife discovered that Mei Xiang was pregnant and drove her away privately. The heroic people are very disappointed when they don't see the fragrance of plum blossoms. Mei Xiang returned to her hometown to live with her mother, and soon gave birth to her daughter Xiaomei. When the war broke out, Mei Xiang took refuge in the city and stayed at her aunt's house who owned a brothel. She was eventually forced to become a prostitute due to the pressure of life. Bai Jiankang actually became a frequent visitor again. One day, Mei Xiang went to pick up Xiao Mei and met Xiong Min and his cousin Pan Huizhen at the school gate. Reunited after a long separation, Mei Xiang couldn't bear to tell her situation and fabricated lies to deal with the people. Unexpectedly, Xiongmin became emotional after hearing this and proposed to her on the spot. Mei Xiang was shocked and suggested that she should propose to her cousin. The heroes disagreed and loved plum fragrance even more. Xiongmin was very dissatisfied because his father refused to fund his establishment of a night school for the public. In order to help him raise money, Mei Xiang asked Bai Jiankang to come to her home and tricked Bai into voluntarily contributing a thousand yuan to support Xiongmin. Unexpectedly, he was bumped into by Xiong Min. He misunderstood that Mei Xiang was frivolous and ruthless, and left angrily. Mei Xiang was self-defeating and regretful, but she still kept her original intention of helping Xiong Min and asked Pan Huizhen to hand over the thousand yuan to Xiong Min. Xiongmin had learned the truth about Mei Xiang's prostitution from his classmates. In a moment of excitement, he took the money to the brothel and humiliated Mei Xiang. Mei Xiang was suddenly stimulated, escaped from the brothel, ran wildly in the rain, and finally fainted on the street. Afterwards, Xiongmin understood the whole story, felt full of regret, and confessed his fault to Mei Xiang. Unfortunately, it was too late, Mei Xiang finally passed away silently due to too much stimulation.

Screenwriter: Sang Hu Director: Zhu Shilin Photography: Shen Yongshi Actors: Ying Yin, Wang Danfeng, Gu Yelu, Tu Guangqi