Minxin Film Company (), also known as China Sun Motion Picture Company Ltd. (1923–1930), was one of the earliest movie studios in the history of

Chinese cinema The cinema of China is the filmmaking and film industry of mainland China, one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan. China is the home of the largest m ...

and

Hong Kong cinema The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese-language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former Crown colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of ar ...

History

Minxin was founded in 1922 by Lai Manwai. Because Lai believed that cinema in China should serve the country's revolution and modernization, Minxin's early productions focused on documentaries dealing with educational, current affairs, and cultural topics. In 1925, Lai relocated Minxin from Hong Kong to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

and the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

became a major focus of Minxin's films. Lai recorded Sun's public announcement of the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...

, and documented Chiang Kai-shek's consolidation of power after Sun's death, including filming the progress of the Northern Expedition. Initially, Minxin released film from this period as news reels. Later, Lai compiled footage into an eighty-minute film which the KMT branch in Shanghai approved as the only long format film for party

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

, making the film one of the earliest party films in China. By the end of the 1920s the company was in dire financial straits, as it struggled to compete with the much larger

Mingxing Film Company The Mingxing Film Company ( zh, c=明星影片公司, p=Míngxīng Yǐngpiàn Gōngsī), also credited as the Star Motion Picture Production Company, was a production company active in the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China bet ...

as well as other studios, such as the Shaw brothers'

Tianyi Film Company Tianyi Film Company (), also called Unique Film Productions, was one of the "big three" film production companies in pre-Second World War Republic of China. Founded in Shanghai in 1925 by the Shaw (Shao) brothers led by Runje Shaw (Shao Zuiweng ...

. It was ultimately saved by Lai's old friend Luo Mingyou, who suggested a pooling of resources to create a new company - the famous Lianhua Studios. Thus, in 1930, China Sun Motion Picture Company was absorbed into the newly formed Lianhua. By 1936, however, Lai split off from the now declining Lianhua in control of Lianhua's Studio No. 1. This studio then formed the basis of a newly independent "Minxin Film Company."

Notable films

* ''

A Poet from the Sea ''A Poet from the Sea'' is a 1927 Chinese silent film written and directed by Hou Yao, starring himself as a quixotic poet who tried to escape from the constraints of modernity. Filmed in Stanley, Hong Kong, it contains one of the earliest footag ...

'' (1927) * ''

Romance of the Western Chamber ''Romance of the Western Chamber'' (), also translated as ''The Story of the Western Wing'', ''The West Chamber'', ''Romance of the Western Bower'' and similar titles, is one of the most famous China, Chinese dramatic works. It was written by the ...

'' (1927) * '' Mulan Joins the Army'' (1928)

External links

Incomplete list
of China Sun-produced films from the Chinese Movie Database

References

Hong Kong film studios Chinese film studios Mass media companies established in 1922 Mass media in Shanghai Defunct companies based in Shanghai Film production companies of China Defunct film and television production companies of China Mass media companies disestablished in 1936 1936 disestablishments in China Chinese companies established in 1922 {{film-studio-stub