Ming xing Film Company(Chinese:Minh tinh phim nhựa công ty;pinyin:Míngxīng Yǐngpiān Gōngsī;lit.'Bright Star Film Company'), also known as theStar Motion Picture Company,was one of the largestproduction companiesduring the 1920s, and 1930s in theRepublican era.Founded inShanghai,the company lasted from 1922 until 1937 when it was closed permanently by theSecond Sino-Japanese War.
| Industry | Film |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1922 |
| Founder | Zhang Shichuan, Zheng Zhengqiu, Zhou Jianyun |
| Defunct | 1937 |
| Headquarters | Shanghai ,China |
History
editFounded in 1922 byZhang Shichuan,Zheng Zhengqiu,andZhou Jianyun,Ming xing emerged along withDazhonghua Baihe Film Company,andTianyi Film Companyas one of the three dominant film studios of the 1920s.[1]During this period, all three studios were known for producing "light" entertainment though even at this early time there was a sign of social criticism, inherited from theMay 4th Movement.[2]
The film company struggled in its first few years with comic shorts like 1922'sLaborer's Love.In 1923, the company producedOrphan Rescues Grandfatherwhich became a commercial success and with it Ming xing 's fortunes were assured.[1] By the early 1930s, Ming xing had become the leading film studio in China, and dominated the market with its upstart rival, theLianhua Film Company(which had co-opted Dazhonghua Baihe) as a close second. In 1931, the first Chinesesound filmSing-Song Girl Red Peonywas made, the product of a cooperation between the Ming xing Film Company's image production andPathé's sound technology.[3]However, the sound was disc-recorded, and the first sound-on-filmtalkiemade in China was by Tianyi Film Company. Tianyi also continued to produce films throughout the 1930s, though its output did not match the two leaders. By the mid-1930s, both Ming xing and Lianhua became major production houses for films in Shanghai. With the death of co-founder Zheng Zhengqiu in 1934, and the advent of full-scale war in 1937, Ming xing was forced to close its doors permanently.
Elements of the Ming xing operation would be resurrected by Zhang Shichuan in 1938 as theGuohao Film Company.[4]
Notable films
edit- The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai(1922) (Dir.Zhang Shichuan)
- Laborer's Love(1922) (Dir. Zhang Shichuan)
- Orphan Rescues Grandfather(1923) (Dir. Zhang Shichuan)
- The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple(1928) (Dir Zhang Shichuan)
- Spring Silkworms(1933) (Dir.Cheng Bugao)
- Wild Torrents(1933) (Dir. Cheng Bugao)
- The Boatman's Daughter(1935) (Dir.Shen Xiling)
- Crossroads(1937) (Dir. Shen Xiling)
- Street Angel(1937) (Dir.Yuan Muzhi)
See also
editNotes
edit- ^abZhang, Yingjin (2003-10-10)."A Centennial Review of Chinese Cinema".Archived fromthe originalon 2008-09-07.Retrieved2008-01-07.
- ^"Hong Kong Shanghai: Cinema Cities".Queensland Art Gallery| Gallery Of Modern Art. 2007.Retrieved2019-08-27.
- ^Gary G. Xu (2012)."Chapter 24 - Chinese Cinema and Technology".In Yingjin Zhang (ed.).A Companion to Chinese Cinema.Wiley-Blackwell.ISBN978-1444330298.
- ^Fu, p. 9
References
edit- Fu, Poshek.Between Shanghai and Hong Kong: The Politics of Chinese Cinemas.Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003.
- Zhang, Yingjin. "A Centennial Review of Chinese Cinema"available athttps://web.archive.org/web/20080907160026/http://chinesecinema.ucsd.edu/essay_ccwlc.html.