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Mingxing was a film production company based in Shanghai, the Republic of China. It released 174 narrative films between its establishment in 1922 and 1938, the year after it closed in the face of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Its output consisted of 128 silent films and 46 sound films. Of the company's productions, 69 were directed or co-directed by Zhang Shichuan and another 55 were credited to Zheng Zhengqiu.

History

Co-founded by the dramatists and media entrepreneurs Ren Jinping, Zhang Shichuan, Zheng Zhegu, Zheng Zhengqiu, and Zhou Jianyun, Mingxing had its first theatrical releases – a double feature of the short comedies The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai and Labourer's Love – at the Olympic Theatre on 7 October 1922. These were not optioned by other theatres, and after two further releases the company was in dire financial straits.

This situation changed following the release of Orphan Rescues Grandfather (1923), a full-length melodrama that screened to full cinemas in Shanghai and was later distributed throughout China, as well as Southeast Asia. As Mingxing expanded its facilities and began offering shares, it increased its production from three films in 1924 to sixteen in 1928. These included further melodramas with moral lessons and, following the success of Tianyi's Heroine Li Feifei (1925), wuxia (martial arts) films. The company's productions expanded to include leftist cinema following the arrival of screenwriters such as Qian Xingcun and Xia Yan, working under pseudonyms, in the 1930s.

On 15 March 1931, Mingxing released Sing-Song Girl Red Peony – the first full sound film produced in China. In subsequent years Mingxing continued to produce silent and sound films in conjunction, with its final silent film – Season of Falling Flowers – being released on 27 April 1935. Though experiencing some economic difficulties, Mingxing continued to expand, opening a second studio in June 1936. However, with the escalation of the Second Sino-Japanese War, including the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, the studio was forced to close in 1937. Several already-completed films were screened the following year.

The majority of Mingxing's 174 films, as with most early Chinese films, is considered lost. Early films were shot on volatile nitrate film, which was easily destroyed, and many experienced material degradation. Further contributing to the loss of historical films were internal turbulence and international conflict; for instance, Mingxing's warehouse was damaged during the Japanese bombing of Shanghai in 1932. Productions that have survived include Labourer's Love, the oldest surviving Chinese film, as well as a further twenty-three films. Some films, such as An Amorous History of the Silver Screen (1931), are known only to have survived in the China Film Archive, while others, such as The Classic for Girls (1934), have seen home release.

List of films

This list is divided into two tables, one for the Mingxing's silent films and one for its sound films. Each table is sorted by release date by default, with further sorting capability in certain fields. Titles are given in English-language translations as well as traditional and simplified Chinese. Films are presented together with their director(s), whose names are rendered using the Chinese naming scheme wherein the surname precedes the given name. The list only counts fictional films produced by the company and does not include films from other genres, such as actualities.

Silent films

Sound films

Explanatory notes

1. The Communist writers Qian Xingcung and Xia Yan used cinema to advocate a pro-proletarian platform that emphasized social change. This segued well with Zheng Zhengqiu's belief that film should promote social progress as an educational platform. As the ruling Kuomintang had massacred communists in the late 1920s, these writers avoided openly voicing their affiliation (Xiao 1998, p. 14).
2. Dialogue and singing were recorded to a phonograph cylinder and played alongside the film during screenings (Xiao 1998, p. 17).
3. Also known as Retribution (報應昭彰; 报应昭彰) (Huang 2014, p. 314)
4. Also known as Love and Vanity (愛情與虛榮; 爱情与虚荣) (Huang 2014, p. 312)
5. Also known as The Dandy (紈絝子; 纨绔子) (Huang 2014, p. 289)
6. Also known as The Old Couple (老伉儷; 老伉俪) (Huang 2014, p. 313)
7. Also known as Confession (懺悔; 忏悔) (Huang 2014, p. 296)
8. Also known as Ms Wei's Profession (衛女士的職業; 卫女士的职业) (Huang 2014, p. 299)
9. Also known as Yang Xiaozhen (楊小真; 杨小真) (Huang 2014, p. 285)
10. In two episodes (Huang 2014, p. 284)
11. In eighteen episodes (Huang 2014, p. 293)
12. Also known as Kick Him Out (一腳踢出去; 一脚踢出去) (Huang 2014, p. 306)
13. In two episodes (Huang 2014, p. 288)
14. Also known as Yellow Flowers in Blood and Tears (血淚黃花前集; 血泪黄花前集) (Huang 2014, p. 285)
15. In two episodes (Huang 2014, p. 305)
16. Also known as A Humane Thief (人道之賊; 人道之贼) (Huang 2014, p. 287)
17. Also known as Year of the Harvest (豐年; 丰年) (Huang 2014, p. 285)
18. Also known as Homeless (無家可歸; 无家可归) (Huang 2014, p. 301)
19. In two episodes (Huang 2014, p. 301)
20. Also known as Black Whirlwind (黑旋風; 黑旋风) (Huang 2014, p. 303)

References

1. ^ Huang 2014, pp. 284–315.
2. Huang 2014, p. 30; Jia 2022, p. 264
3. Huang 2014, pp. 292, 295.
4. Huang 2014, p. 35.
5. Zhang 2005, p. 127.
6. Zhang 2009, p. 125.
7. Jiang 2009, p. 140.
8. Xiao 1998, p. 11.
9. Yang 2003, p. 10.
10. Jin 2009, p. 137.
11. Xiao 1998, p. 17.
12. Huang 2014, pp. 56–57.
13. Rea 2021.
14. ^ Huang 2014, p. 312.
15. ^ Huang 2014, p. 299.
16. ^ Huang 2014, p. 292.
17. ^ Huang 2014, p. 295.
18. ^ Huang 2014, p. 287.
19. ^ Huang 2014, p. 314.
20. ^ Huang 2014, p. 290.
21. ^ Huang 2014, p. 313.
22. Huang 2014, pp. 312–313.
23. ^ Huang 2014, p. 291.
24. ^ Huang 2014, p. 315.
25. ^ Huang 2014, p. 308.
26. ^ Huang 2014, p. 302.
27. ^ Huang 2014, p. 289.
28. ^ Huang 2014, p. 297.
29. ^ Huang 2014, p. 294.
30. Huang 2014, pp. 309–310.
31. Huang 2014, pp. 294–295.
32. ^ Huang 2014, p. 288.
33. Huang 2014, pp. 308–309.
34. ^ Huang 2014, p. 304.
35. Huang 2014, pp. 306–307.
36. ^ Huang 2014, p. 305.
37. ^ Huang 2014, p. 284.
38. ^ Huang 2014, p. 296.
39. ^ Huang 2014, p. 307.
40. ^ Huang 2014, p. 298.
41. ^ Huang 2014, p. 310.
42. Huang 2014, pp. 292–293.
43. ^ Huang 2014, p. 285.
44. Huang 2014, pp. 285–286.
45. Huang 2014, pp. 302–303.
46. ^ Huang 2014, p. 293.
47. ^ Huang 2014, p. 306.
48. ^ Huang 2014, p. 196.
49. ^ Huang 2014, p. 309.
50. Huang 2014, pp. 304–305.
51. ^ Huang 2014, p. 311.
52. ^ Huang 2014, p. 300.
53. ^ Huang 2014, p. 286.
54. ^ Huang 2014, p. 303.
55. Huang 2014, pp. 311–312.
56. Huang 2014, pp. 313–314.
57. Huang 2014, pp. 287–288.
58. Huang 2014, pp. 310–311.
59. Huang 2014, pp. 303–304.
60. Huang 2014, pp. 299–300.
61. ^ Huang 2014, p. 301.
62. Huang 2014, pp. 297–298.
63. Huang 2014, pp. 290–291.

Works cited

• Huang, Xuelei (2014). Shanghai Filmmaking: Crossing Borders, Connecting to the Globe, 1922–1938. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-27933-9.
• Jia, Binwu (2022). "Zheng Zhegu and Performances in Early Chinese Film". Journal of Chinese Film Studies. 2 (2): 261–276. doi:10.1515/jcfs-2022-0002.
• Jiang Zhen (姜贞) (2009). 周剑云:中国电影业的儒商 [Zhou Jianyun: A Confucian Businessman in China's Film Industry]. Film and Art (in Chinese): 139–145. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
• Jin Qi'an (金其安) (2009). 中国早期电影事业的开拓者周剑云 [Zhou Jianyun, The Pioneer of China's Early Film Industry]. Jianghuai Literature and History (in Chinese) (2): 133–141. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
• Rea, Christopher (2021). Chinese Film Classics, 1922–1949. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-18813-5.
• Xiao, Zhiwei (1998). "Chinese Cinema". In Zhang, Yingjin; Xiao, Zhiwei (eds.). Encyclopedia of Chinese Film. New York, London: Routledge. pp. 3–30. ISBN 978-0-415-15168-9.
• Yang, Jeff (2003). Once Upon a Time in China: A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-4817-8.
• Zhang, Zhen (2005). An Amorous History of the Silver Screen: Shanghai Cinema, 1896–1937. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-98238-0.
• Zhang Wei (張偉) (2009). 談影小集——中國現代影壇的塵封一隅 [A Collection of Shorts about Movies—A Dusty Corner of China's Modern Film World] (in Chinese). Taipei: Showway Publishing. ISBN 978-986-221-308-7.

v t e Mingxing Film Company
Founders	Ren Jinping Zhang Shichuan Zheng Zhegu Zheng Zhengqiu Zhou Jianyun
Directors	Bu Wancang Cheng Bugao Hong Shen Li Pingqian Ouyang Yuqian Shen Xiling Xu Xinfu Ying Yunwei Yuan Muzhi Zhang Shichuan Zheng Zhengqiu
Writers	Hong Shen Xia Yan Qian Xingcun Zheng Zhengqiu
Actors	Ai Xia Hu Die Ruan Lingyu Wang Hanlun Xuan Jinglin Yan Yuexian Zhao Dan Zheng Zhegu Zhou Xuan
Films	The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai (1922) Labourer's Love (1922) Zhang Xinsheng (1923) Orphan Rescues Grandfather (1923) Lonely Orchid (1926) The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (1928) An Amorous History of the Silver Screen (1931) Sing-Song Girl Red Peony (1931) Spring Silkworms (1933) The Classic for Girls (1934) Twin Sisters (1934) Crossroads (1937) Street Angel (1937) (all films)

• Chinese films by studio
• Lists of films by studio