A Study On The “Play-within-a-Play” In Early Chinese Films（1921-1949）

"Play-within-a-Play" in early Chinese films refers to the embedding of another narrative performance paragraph in the film,including film in the film,drama in the film and other performances in the film,including song and dance,folk art and puppet show with narrative plot.Early Chinese films were frequently embedded in Play-within-a-Play performance paragraphs.According to the statistics of existing films and historical materials that can be collected,there were 123 early Chinese films including Play-within-a-Play and 51 films that can be seen,some of which will be embedded in multiple scenes to play different functions.This paper is divided into four chapters.The first chapter defines the early Chinese film "Play-within-a-Play" from the definition,category and frequency phenomenon,and defines the characteristics of the research object and its research value and significance.The second chapter discusses the emergence of "Play-within-a-Play" in early Chinese films from three aspects: the congenital influence of Chinese and foreign drama forms before the film,the influence after the introduction of foreign films,and adaptation of the original novel.The third chapter is the key chapter of this paper,which combs and discusses the development of "Play-within-a-Play" in early Chinese films,which is divided into four stages: 1921-1931,1931-1937,1937-1945 and 1945-1949.Within each stage,based on the formal characteristics of the play-within-a-play and the dynamic relationship between the play-within-a-play and the times,taking the specific film as an example,combined with the methods of historical textual research,text analysis and case study,through embedding the content,significance and multiple functions of the play-within-a-play,we can have an insight into the film ecology and social texture of each era.In different times,play-within-a-play in the film have different functions.The film makers have changed from the initial unconscious use to deliberate use.The play-within-a-play has become a tool for the creators to express and one of the ways to explore the ontology language of early Chinese films.The tiny embedded elements radiate endless ingenious thoughts and deep meanings.After that,the paper summarizes the development of early Chinese film ’s playwithin-a-play in early times from three aspects: the use of play-within-a-play in various years,the more commonly used drama in drama and the narrative function.The fourth chapter analyzes the film language and aesthetic effect of "Playwithin-a-Play" in early Chinese films.The former divides the scenes and explores its use characteristics from three aspects: scene separation,angle and scene control,editing and performance,taking the existing 51 viewable films as an example.The latter discusses the internal relationship between the false and real relationship formed after it is embedded in the film,the habit of expression and acceptance and the traditional Chinese aesthetics.This paper tries to explore the reasons for the frequent use of Play-within-aPlay in early Chinese films,the development of it and the function from the inside to the outside.At the same time,through the stage performance of Play-within-aPlay find the important phenomenon that the film history has been ignored,and explain it from the perspective of the Play-within-a-Play.Then summarizes the aesthetic experience of the film language in the Play-within-a-Play,and reveals its aesthetic spiritual origin.