Although the first Chinese feature film was produced in 1913, it was not until the mid-1920s that the Chinese movie industry entered what became a tidal wave of studios and film production. But on the eve of this surge, in March 1922, five Shanghai men got together to start a business venture in this new industry. Their idea was a movie studio, one that would be wholly Chinese-owned and operated, unlike previous efforts which were controlled by foreigners. They decided to call their studio "Mingxing" 明星 (Star) Film Company, and beginning with four short films the same year, and continuing until the Japanese occupiers shut it down in 1937, Mingxing turned out over 200 motion pictures, including many of China's most successful classics of 1920s and 30s, China's first Golden Age of film production. In the process, the studio emerged early on as the dominant player in Shanghai's flourishing movie industry.
"Mingxing's Five Tiger Generals"
By every measure of success, the Mingxing entrepreneurs must have surpassed their wildest aspirations. One reason behind this success was the careful planning that went into the venture, and the appropriate backgrounds the founders brought to it. In addition to making movies, the founders realized they would have to develop their own talent. and not rely on stage performers, so they set up a film school affiliated with the studio. In addition, to foster public interest in Mingxing's movies and its new movie personalities, they planned a magazine devoted to these topics. Each of the founders, who became known in film circles as "Mingxing's Five Tiger Generals," brought some unique talents to the enterprise: Zhang Shichuan had directed several short films for the now-defunct Asia Film Company; Zheng Zhengqiu was primarily a writer, with theater and film credits on his resume; Zheng Zhegu (no relation) was a stage actor who came originally from a business background; Zhou Jianyun offered a background in publishing; and Ren Jinping came from an educational background.
[Zhang Shichuan, left; Zheng Zhengqiu, right] 
Zhang Shichuan and Zheng Zhengqiu, the two principals
in the venture, were the creative talent behind the new studio's
productions. Each was a director and a writer, but increasingly they
built their reputations by specializing, Zheng with his pen and Zhang
behind the camera. The two had fundamental philosophical differences
regarding the objectives of filmmaking. Zhang believed the main
purpose of making movies was to make money: movies are a business, and
the only successful business is a profitable one. Zheng, a social
critic and crusader, believed movies were best used as a force for
change, and if they made money, fine, but that was not the primary
objective. Although many professional relationships might be
threatened by philosophical differences of this sort, it never seems to
have done so in this case, the two remaining close friends right up
until Zheng's death in 1935.
Zhou Jianyun 周剑云 contributed business experience and expertise to
Mingxing, simultaneously assuming the duties of the company's general
manager, director of records and correspondence, chief of distribution,
and head of its commercial department. In 1928, he initiated a merger
with five other film companies, forming a six-company movie and theater
group and building a network for distributing Chinese films.
Zheng Zhegu郑鹧鸪was a veteran stage actor, who had gone into theater from
a business background. His dual roles in Mingxing were as the new
company's stage manager, and simultaneously as chief administrator of
its film school. He soon began to specialize in stage management, but
he also acted in such early Mingxing successes as "The Orphan Saves His
Grandfather" (1923) and "The Soul of Yuli" (1924).
Ren Jinping任矜苹, who came from the field of education, was put in charge
of the company's publicity and external relations. Simultaneously, he
started and oversaw publication of the studio's first film magazine,
"Morning Star"晨星. After trying his hand at directing a film for
Mingxing in 1925, he left the studio the following year to found his
own studio, Xinren新人 (New People), for whom he directed or wrote 10
films by the end of the decade.
[left, the Mingxing Company's corporate headquarters and offices at No.380 Xiafei Rd. (now Huaihai 淮海 Rd.) in Shanghai. The group picture of Mingxing personnel with Douglas Fairbanks
was taken on the front steps of this building. At the lower right is a
photo of the main gate to Mingxing's production studios on Shanghai's
Dumei Rd., now Donghu 东湖 Rd. Although difficult to read, the sign above the entrance reads "Star Motion Picture Company")
Contemporaneous Movie Events of 1922
March 4 – "Nosferatu," from German director F. W. Murnau, premiered in Berlin. This is considered to be the first horror film with a vampire theme.
May 23 – With $1,500 in capital, Walt Disney organized the Disney Company's predecessor, "Laugh-O-Gram Films."
November 26 – "The Toll of the Sea" premiered in New York. This was the first general release film made with the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation's "Process 2" (aka "two-strip") coloring technology, in which red and green strips are combined to simulate full color.
