Zheng Zhegu 郑鹧鸪 (1880-1925) was a native of Nanjing. After receiving a military education, he was commissioned and then held two important posts in the Imperial Army. However, he became increasingly upset with the corrupt and decadent Qing (Manchu) government, and cast his lot with revolutionaries seeking its overthrow. When his arrest was ordered, the young officer went underground, aided by anti-Manchu members of the Nanjing business community. Under an assumed identity, he worked in business for several years in Nanjing. After the 1911 revolution successfully established the Republic of China, Zheng entered the theater, with considerable success as both an actor and as the chief organizer of several theatrical troupes. In 1922, he was one of the co-founders of the Mingxing (Star) Film Co., assuming the dual role of its theatrical director and head of the studio's new film school. His role in Chinese film history is secured in China's oldest surviving motion picture, "A Laborer's Love" (aka "Romance of a Fruit Peddler"), in which he displayed a fine gift for comedy as the comedy short's good-natured and likeable hero. He also held important roles in several of Mingxing's most notable early films, although overwork was destroying his health. His last film appearance was in 1925's "The Last Conscience," but he died before its completion, on April 14, 1925.
Zheng Zhegu's Filmography (All Acting):
1922:
The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai
A Laborer's Love
Eerie Events in the Theater
Zhang Xinsheng
1923:
An Orphan Rescues His Grandfather
1924:
The Death of Yuli
The Poor Children
The Good Brother
Love and Vanity
1925:
The Last Conscience
