Xie Caizhen, with music by Xiao Shuxian

Nǐhǎo from this first time female director
Who actually made movies in China
Marion E. Wong shared my descent and sector

Her pictures were made in California
To Americans our culture she unveiled
While I shaped the cinema form in Zhongguo

The Shanghai Shadow Play Company I nailed
It was founded by Dan Duyu, my mentor
Working as one of his actresses prevailed

The Shen Bao press praised my expressive ardour
Working for Li Jiran truly changed my fate
The Nanxing Film Company was my harbour

From their I set sail to my directing state
An Orphan’s Cry made in 1925
Was my feature that the public defined great

Dysfunctional families it would revive
Glimpsing women from the working-class endure
The extras I hired were at least forty-five

The biggest set was the banquet scene for sure
The complex storyline surprised everyone
The female-directed drama had allure

My movie in theatres had a longer run
Eight days as opposed to the usual three
The box office sales it had smashingly won

My brother Yonglan, film co-star and carefree
Moved onto a prolific acting career
He appeared in fifty films of high degree

Meanwhile my film craft was stuck in second gear
I was asked to join a new project to act
But it did not evolve into a premiere

However, Xie Caizhen did have an impact
I was far from being a paper tiger
I roared through moving images, that’s a fact.