Zhang Shichuan

Zhang Shichuan
張石川
Born
Zhang Weitong

1889 or 1890
Died1953 or 1954 (aged 64)
Shanghai, China
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, filmmaker
Known forA founding father of Chinese cinema
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese張石川
Simplified Chinese张石川
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhāng Shíchuān
Wade–GilesChang Shih-ch'uan

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.

  1. ^ Xiao, Zhiwei (1 June 2002). Encyclopedia of Chinese Film. Routledge. p. 390. ISBN 978-1-134-74554-8.
  2. ^ Ye, Tan; Zhu, Yun (2012). Historical Dictionary of Chinese Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-8108-6779-6.