Zheng Zhengqiu (; January 25, 1889 – July 16, 1935) was a Chinese filmmaker often considered a "founding father" of
Chinese cinema
The cinema of China is one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan.
Cinema was introduced in China in 1896 and the first Chinese film, '' Dingjun Mountain'' ...
.
[Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei (1998). "Zheng Zhengqiu" in ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Film''. Taylor & Francis, pp. 393-94. .]
Biography
Born in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
in 1889, Zheng Zhengqiu was a young intellectual involved in China's
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
scene when he and his friend and colleague,
Zhang Shichuan
Zhang Shichuan (; 1889–1953 or 1890–1954), 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 ...
, made the first Chinese feature film, a short film titled, ''
The Difficult Couple
''The Difficult Couple'' (), also translated as ''Die for Marriage'', is a 1913 Chinese film. It is known for being the earliest Chinese feature film. Although it had a dialogue of only a little more than 1,000 characters, it was the first Chines ...
'' in 1913.
[ The two men would come together again in 1922 with the founding of the seminal ]Mingxing Film Company
Mingxing Film Company (), also known as the Star Motion Picture Company, was one of the largest production companies during the 1920s, and 1930s in the Republican era. Founded in Shanghai, the company lasted from 1922 until 1937 when it was close ...
and the oldest surviving classic Laborer's Love
''Laborer's Love'' () is a classic silent comedy short film produced in China during the Republican Era, which officially premiered on October 5, 1922 at the Olympic Theater in Shanghai. It is also known as ''Romance of a Fruit Peddler'' or ''R ...
, which would dominate Shanghai's film industry for the next fifteen years.
While with Mingxing, Zheng served not only as screenwriter and director, but as a studio manager and producer, personally writing and directing 53 films before his early death in 1935.[ Like many of his colleagues during the period, Zheng was devoted to leftist causes and social justice, themes that were evident in many of his works.][Pang Laikwan (2002). ]
Building a New China in Cinema: The Chinese Left-Wing Cinema Movement, 1932-1937
'. Lanham, p. 48. .
After his partner, Zhang Shichuan, rescued Xuan Jinglin
Xuan Jinglin (; 1907 – January 22, 1992), also romanised as Sie King-ling, was a Republic of China (1912–49), Republican era Chinese actress. She was bought out of a brothel and became a successful actress.
Life
Xuan was born in Shanghai in ...
from a brothel, Zheng Zhengqiu devised her stage name. He based it on the name she had adopted in the brothel and a transliteration of Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...
into Chinese said in a Shanghai accent.
Partial directorial filmography
References
External links
*
Zheng Zhengqiu
at the Chinese Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Zhengqiu
Film directors from Shanghai
Screenwriters from Shanghai
1889 births
1935 deaths
Cinema pioneers
Chinese silent film directors
20th-century screenwriters