''The Founding of an Army'' is a 2017 Chinese

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

produced by the

China Film Group Corporation China Film Group Corporation (CFGC), is the largest, most influential film enterprise in the People's Republic of China, owned by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party. According to ''Forbes'', it is a state monopoly that all ...

to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the

People’s Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

. Produced by

Han Sanping Han Sanping (born 1 October 1953) is a Chinese film producer and distributor. Until 2014, he served as the chairman of the State-owned enterprise, state-owned China Film Group Corporation, which is one of the largest distributors and exporters of ...

and directed by

Andrew Lau Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and Wong ...

, it is the third installment of the ''Founding of New China'' trilogy, along with ''

The Founding of a Republic ''The Founding of a Republic'' is a Chinese historical drama produced in 2009 to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and was made to portray the final years of the Chinese Communist Revolution that followed the end of the ...

'' (2009) and ''

The Founding of a Party ''The Founding of a Party'', alternatively titled in English ''Beginning of the Great Revival'' for its international release,Patrick Frater, 21 May 2011Party becomes Revival for int'l release, Film Business Asia is a Chinese propaganda film relea ...

'' (2011). The film features a star-studded cast of Chinese actors. It was released on July 28, 2017, to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the

Plot

The story begins in 1927 at the beginning of the

Nanchang uprising The Nanchang Uprising () was the first major Nationalist Party of China–Chinese Communist Party engagement of the Chinese Civil War, begun by the Chinese Communists to counter the Shanghai massacre of 1927 by the Kuomintang. The Kuomint ...

, known as the first major

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

–

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

engagement.

Cast

* Liu Ye as

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

Zhu Yawen Zhu Yawen (, born April 1984) is a Chinese actor. He appeared in the films '' The Witness'' and '' The Founding of an Army''; and the television series '' Red Sorghum'' and '' Empress of the Ming''. In 2018, he took part in variety show The Sou ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

* Huang Zhizhong as

Zhu De Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...

*Wang Jingchun as

He Long He Long (; March 22, 1896 – June 9, 1969) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army. He was from a poor rural family in Hunan, and his family was not able to provide him with any formal e ...

Oho Ou Oho Ou or Ou Hao (, born 13 October 1992) is a Chinese actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Zhang Yang in '' The Left Ear'' (2015). Career In 2012, Ou released his first single "Fake Movement", which won him the "Outstanding Newco ...

Ye Ting Ye Ting () (September 10, 1896 – April 8, 1946), born in Huiyang, Guangdong, was a Chinese military leader who played a key role in the Northern Expedition to reunify China after the 1911 Revolution. After serving with the Kuomintang, Ye ...

Liu Haoran Liu Haoran (; born 10 October 1997), also known as Turbo Liu, is a Chinese actor. Liu ranked 18th on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2020, 19th in 2019, and 89th in 2017. In 2021, Liu became the youngest actor to gross over 15 billion RM ...

as Su Yu *

Ma Tianyu Ma Tianyu (; born 12 July 1986), also known as Ray Ma, is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor of Hui ethnicity. He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy. Career 2006–2008: Debut as a singer In 2006, Ma Tianyu entered the ''My Hero'' compe ...

Lin Biao ) , serviceyears = 1925–1971 , branch = People's Liberation Army , rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China , commands ...

*Xiao Ai as

Ye Jianying Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthre ...

Lay Zhang Zhang Yixing (; born ), known professionally as Lay Zhang or simply Lay (), is a Chinese rapper, singer, songwriter, dancer, actor and businessman. Zhang first gained recognition for participating in the Chinese television talent show ''Star A ...

as Lu Deming *

Li Yifeng Li Yifeng (born Li He, 4 May 1987) also known as Evan Li, is a Chinese actor and singer, who rose to fame after participating in the 2007 ''My Hero'' contest. He debuted as a singer in the same year, with the album ''Four Leaf Clover''. Since 20 ...

as He Changgong * Bai Yu as Cai Qingchuan *Liang Dawei as Chen Geng *Yu Hewei as

Chen Duxiu Chen Duxiu ( zh, t=陳獨秀, w=Ch'en Tu-hsiu; 8 October 187927 May 1942) was a Chinese revolutionary socialist, educator, philosopher and author, who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with Li Dazhao in 1921. From 1921 to 1927, he ser ...

* Wu Yue as

Zhang Guotao Zhang Guotao (November 26, 1897 – December 3, 1979), or Chang Kuo-tao, was a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comi ...

*Bai Ke as Di Qiubai *Liu Xun Zi Mo as

Cai Hesen Cai Hesen (March 30, 1895 – August 4, 1931) was an early leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and a friend and comrade of Mao Zedong. Cai was born in Shanghai but grew up in Shuangfeng County in Hunan Province of China. He helped ...

Dong Zijian Dong Zijian (, born 19 December 1993) is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Young Style'' (2013), ''Mountains May Depart'' (2015), ''De Lan'' (2015) and ''At Cafe 6'' (2016). Early life and education Dong is born in Beijing, Ch ...

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...

Chen Xiao Chen Xiao (, born 5 July 1987) is a Chinese actor and model. He is best known for his roles in ''Swordsman'' (2013), '' Legend of Lu Zhen'' (2013), ''The Romance of the Condor Heroes'' (2014), ''Who Sleeps My Bro'' (2015), '' Nothing Gold Can S ...

Ren Bishi Ren Bishi (; 30 April 1904 – 27 October 1950) was a military and political leader in the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In the early 1930s, Ren commanded the Fifth Red Army and was a central figure in the Hunan-Jiangxi Soviet, but ...

*Zhang Dapeng as

Liu Bocheng Liu Bocheng (; December 4, 1892 – October 7, 1986) was a Chinese military commander and Marshal of the People's Liberation Army. Liu is known as the 'half' of the "Three and A Half" Strategists of China in modern history. (The other th ...

*Bao Jianfeng as Tan Pingchuan *Song Yang as Wang Shouhua *Ye Xiaowei as

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

Ashton Chen Ashton Chen Xiaolong (born 6 January 1988 in Dengfeng, Zhengzhou, Henan), also known by his stage name Shi Xiaolong ("Sik Siu-Lung" in Cantonese), is a Chinese actor and martial artist. He is also credited as Xiaolung, Tommy Sik, Shi Xiao-Lu ...

Nie Rongzhen Nie Rongzhen (; December 29, 1899 – May 14, 1992) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, and one of ten Marshals in the People's Liberation Army of China. He was the last surviving PLA officer with the rank of Marshal. Biography ...

* Li Xian as Luo Ronghang *Li Mincheng as Zhou Yiqun *Wang Zhao as

Tan Zheng Tan Zheng (; June 14, 1906 – November 6, 1988) was a Chinese general, Communist revolutionary leader and strategist. He was a major leader of the Red Army and the People's Liberation Army. Childhood Tan Zheng was born in a little village cal ...

* Li Qin as

Yang Kaihui Yáng Kāihuì (; courtesy name: Yúnjǐn (); 6 November 1901 – 14 November 1930) was the second wife of Mao Zedong, whom he married in 1920. She had three children with Mao Zedong: Mao Anying, Mao Anqing, and Mao Anlong. Her father w ...

* Song Jia as

Soong Ching-ling Rosamond Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 189329 May 1981) was a Chinese political figure. As the third wife of Sun Yat-sen, then Premier of the Kuomintang and President of the Republic of China, she was often referred to as Madame Sun Yat-sen. ...

Guan Xiaotong Guan Xiaotong (; born 17 September 1997) is a Chinese actress and singer of Manchu descent. She is known for her roles in films '' The Left Ear'' and ''Shadow''; and the television series ''To Be a Better Man''. From an early age, her family en ...

Deng Yingchao Deng Yingchao (; 4 February 1904 – 11 July 1992) was the Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1983 to 1988, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, and the wife of the first Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai. E ...

Ma Yili Ma Yili (, born 29 June 1976) is a Chinese actress. Ma ranked 42nd on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2019. Early life Ma was born in Hongkou District, Shanghai on June 29, 1976, with her ancestral home in Rudong County, Nantong, Jiangsu ...

Xiang Jingyu Xiang Jingyu (, – , ''née'' Xiang Junxian), was one of the earliest female members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), widely regarded as a pioneer of the women's movement of China. Early life Xiang Jingyu was born in Xupu, Hunan provinc ...

Zhou Dongyu Zhou Dongyu () is a Chinese actress, who gained recognition after appearing in Zhang Yimou's film '' Under the Hawthorn Tree''. She was also chosen by '' Southern Metropolis Daily'' as one of the " Four Dan actresses of the post-90s Generation" ...

as Fan Jiaxia *Feng Wenjuan as Peng Yuanhua *Wang Qinxiang as

Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin (; March 19, 1875 June 4, 1928), courtesy name Yuting (雨亭), nicknamed Zhang Laogang (張老疙瘩), was an influential Chinese bandit, soldier, and warlord during the Warlord Era in China. The warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to ...

Han Geng Han Geng (Chinese: 韩庚; Pinyin: Hán Gēng; ) (born February 9, 1984) is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor. He started his career in 2001, when he was chosen by S.M. Entertainment to become a member of South Korean boy band Super Junior, ...

Zhang Xueliang Chang Hsüeh-liang (, June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also romanized as Zhang Xueliang, nicknamed the "Young Marshal" (少帥), known in his later life as Peter H. L. Chang, was the effective ruler of Northeast China and much of northern ...

*Wang Ting as Si Lie * Michael Chen as Si Li *Cao Kefan *

Daniel Wu Daniel Ng Neh-Tsu (, born September 30, 1974) is an American actor, director and producer based in Hong Kong. He is known as a "flexible and distinctive" leading actor in the Chinese language film industry. Since his film debut in 1998, he has ...

as Hu Hanming *

Wallace Huo Wallace Huo Chien-hwa (, born 26 December 1979) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and producer. He is known for his roles in ''At Dolphin Bay'' (2003), ''Chinese Paladin 3'' (2009), ''Swordsman'' (2013), '' Battle of Changsha'' (2014), ''The Journey of ...

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

Zhang Tianai Zhang Tian'ai (; born 28 October 1988), also known by her English name Crystal Zhang, is a Chinese actress and model. She is best known for her breakout role in the 2015 hit web-drama ''Go Princess Go''. Early life and education Zhang Tian'ai wa ...

Soong Mei-ling Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling, ; March 5, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang, was a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of Generalissimo and ...

*Zhang Junhan as

Chen Lifu Chen Lifu or Ch'en Li-fu (; 21 August 1900 – 8 February 2001) was a Chinese politician and anti-communist of the Republic of China. Chen was born in Wuxing, Zhejiang, China (modern Huzhou). In 1925, Chen formally joined Kuomintang (KMT) in Sa ...

*Yu Shaoqun as

Wang Jingwei Wang Jingwei (4 May 1883 – 10 November 1944), born as Wang Zhaoming and widely known by his pen name Jingwei, was a Chinese politician. He was initially a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang, leading a government in Wuhan in oppositi ...

* William Chan as Triad boss *

Zhang Hanyu Zhang Hanyu (born 19 December 1964) is a Chinese actor. Zhang became the first Chinese actor to win the "Grand Slam", winning Best Actor trophies from the Golden Horse Awards, Golden Rooster Awards, Hundred Flowers Awards and Huabiao Awards. L ...

Du Yuesheng Du Yuesheng (22 August 188816 August 1951), also known by Dou Yu-Seng or Tu Yueh-sheng or Du Yueh-sheng, nicknamed "Big-Eared Du",Lintner, Bertil. ''Burma in Revolt: Opium and Insurgency Since 1948''. Silkworm Books. 1999. p.309 was a Chinese m ...

*Zhou Yiwei *Yu Ailei as

Zhang Fakui Zhang Fakui (2 September 1896 – 10 March 1980) was a Chinese Nationalist general who fought against northern warlords, the Imperial Japanese Army and Chinese Communist forces in his military career. He served as commander-in-chief of the ...

Marc Ma Ma Marc is a Chinese actor. He appeared in many Chinese movies and TV dramas as supporting roles. He joined Universe International Holding Limited in March 2011. Personal life Ma was born in Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province in North ...

as Zhao Fusheng *

Tony Yang Tony Yang (; born 30 August 1982) is a Taiwanese actor who rose to prominence for his debut film role in ''Formula 17'' (2004), for which he won the Golden Horse Award for Best New Performer. He is also known for his roles in the Taiwanese box ...

as Qian Dajun *Huang Shang-Ho *

Joseph Cheng Joseph Cheng Yu-shek, JP (; born 1949) is a Hong Kong political scientist and democracy activist. He was the secretary general of the Civic Party and convenor of pro-democratic groups including Power for Democracy and Alliance for True Democra ...

Yu Jishi Yu Jishi (; 1 May 1904 – 25 January 1990) was a Chinese Nationalist military general from Fenghua, Zhejiang. He served with distinction during the Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagemen ...

Lu Han Lu Han (Chinese: 鹿晗, born April 20, 1990), also known mononymously as Luhan, is a Chinese singer and actor. He was a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group Exo and its sub-group Exo-M, before leaving the group in October 2014. Tha ...

as Lian luo yuan (Liaison Officer) *Tong Ruihuan as Zeng Zhongming *

Zheng Kai Zheng Kai (, born 17 April 1986), also known as Ryan Zheng, is a Chinese actor and television personality. He graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy Performance Institute in 2008. During university, he was roommates with famous actors: Du Jiang ...

Winston Chao Winston Chao Wen-hsuan (born 9 June 1960) is a Taiwanese actor. He came to international attention for his performance in the 1993 film ''The Wedding Banquet'' and ''Kabali''. He is also known for his roles in '' Red Rose White Rose'' and ''Eat ...

*Liu Zhibing * Alex Fong *Tang Baoqiang *Ma Zhengqiang *Wang Zhifei

Release

Critical response

On July 25, 2017, film director Ye Daying (), the grandson of General

, criticized the film on his sina weibo as follows: "The revolutionary history is seriously entertaining. It is a reproach and distortion of the revolutionary history." Ye Daying also sent an open letter to the

State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) is a ministry-level executive agency controlled by the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its main task is the administration and supervision of state-owned enterpr ...

(SAPPRFT), which was signed by more than 25 revolutionary successors, many of them are generations of higher military officials. They demanded an apology to their family from the producer. The page of the film on

Douban Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese c ...

, the leading film review website in China, has forbidden any rating or comment by its users since July 2017.建军大业
Douban.

Asian Release

This film was only released in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

within

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Brunei Darussalam Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by the ...

, and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

before the

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

international film exhibit.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Founding Of An Army 2017 films Chinese historical films Chinese propaganda films Films set in the 1920s Films directed by Andrew Lau China Film Group Corporation films Cultural depictions of Mao Zedong Cultural depictions of Zhou Enlai Cultural depictions of Deng Xiaoping Cultural depictions of Chiang Kai-shek 2010s Mandarin-language films