Miserable at Middle Age (Chinese: 哀樂中年; pinyin: Aī lè zhōngnián; lit.

'The Sorrows and Joys of Middle Age') is a 1949 Chinese film directed by Sang Hu (桑弧).

[2] The film is a romantic comedy-drama whose protagonist is Chen Shaochang (Shi Hui), a widowed schoolmaster with three children.

The children hastily pay their respects at their mother's grave and then ask to be allowed to go and play.

As Chen stays behind to weed the grave, he overhears a young girl crying inconsolably.

We cut to years later, when Shaochang's eldest son, Chen Jianzhong (Han Fei), is working at a bank.

Back at the school, Liu Minhua (Zhu Jiachen), who is now a young lady, comes to ask Shaochang for a job as a teacher.

Chen Jianzhong marries Feng Lijun (Li Huanqing), the eldest daughter of the bank manager.

Jianzhong's career takes off: he moves into a mansion and begins to associate with other wealthy people.

At his retirement ceremony, he repeats the story of how the school only had twelve students when he started, but now has hundreds.

The film's star is Shi Hui, who is one of the most highly regarded actors and directors of the "Second Golden Age" of Chinese Cinema of the 1940s and 1950s.

[7] This film is not currently available on DVD, but is in the public domain and can be downloaded for free from multiple online sites.