Zhang Shichuan 張石川 | |||||||||
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| Born | Zhang Weitong 1889 or 1890 | ||||||||
| Died | 1953 or 1954 (aged 64) Shanghai, China | ||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, filmmaker | ||||||||
| Known for | A founding father of Chinese cinema | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 張石川 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 张石川 | ||||||||
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Zhang Shichuan (Wade–Giles: Chang Shih-ch'uan; 1889–1953[1] or 1890–1954[2]), also credited as S. C. Chang, was a Chinese entrepreneur, film director, and film producer, who is considered a founding father of Chinese cinema. He and Zheng Zhengqiu made the first Chinese feature film, The Difficult Couple, in 1913, and cofounded the Mingxing (Star) Film Company in 1922, which became the largest film production company in China under Zhang's leadership.
Zhang directed about 150 films in his career, including Laborer's Love (1922), the earliest complete Chinese film that has survived; Orphan Rescues Grandfather (1923), one of the first Chinese box-office hits; The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (1928), the first martial arts film; and Sing-Song Girl Red Peony (1931), China's first sound film.
After the destruction of Mingxing's studio by Japanese bombing during the 1937 Battle of Shanghai, Zhang Shichuan made films for the China United Film Production Company (Zhonglian) in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, which led to accusations of treason after the surrender of Japan in 1945. He never recovered from the humiliation, and died in 1953 or 1954.
- ^ Xiao, Zhiwei (1 June 2002). Encyclopedia of Chinese Film. Routledge. p. 390. ISBN 978-1-134-74554-8.
- ^ Ye, Tan; Zhu, Yun (2012). Historical Dictionary of Chinese Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-8108-6779-6.