List of Mingxing films
Mingxing was a film production company based in Shanghai, the Republic of China. Between its establishment in 1922 and 1938, the year after it closed in the face of the Second Sino-Japanese War, it released 174 narrative films. The company's output consisted of 128 silent films and 46 sound films. Of the company's productions, 69 were directed or co-directed by Zhang Shichuan; 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 1922. After two further unsuccessful releases, the company was in dire financial straits. This changed following the release of Orphan Rescues Grandfather, a full-length melodrama that screened to full cinemas in Shanghai and was later distributed throughout China and 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, later, wuxia films. The company's productions expanded to include leftist cinema following the arrival of screenwriters such as Qian Xingcun and Xia Yan 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, are 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. Twenty-four productions are known to have survived, including Labourer's Love, the oldest surviving Chinese film. Some films, such as An Amorous History of the Silver Screen, are known only to have survived in the China Film Archive, while others, such as The Classic for Girls, have seen home release.
List of films
This list is divided into two tables, one for 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, 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
| Indicates film is extant |
Sound films
| Indicates film is extant |