Shui shou zhang de gu shi

The literal translation of the title of this movie is: the story of the chief of sailors.

Audience needs to know some historical facts first: Pre-revolutionary era sailors were organized as gangs in China, because of Genghis Khan conquest. When Mongols took over China around 700 years ago and set the Peking as the Chinese capital, gangsters were hired as sailors to transport grains to northern part of China via the production base in southern China via rivers and sea. The highly organized gang structure was much more efficient the the feudal bureaucracy, and hence survived for more than 700 years.

As time goes by, the system became inefficient, because gangs became more like unions, which refused any modern management or technology in order to keep the jobs and pay. This movie serves as a positive propaganda in that it advocates the modernity, the new ways improve efficiency.