Nothing is recorded concerning the origins and background of Zhang Weitao (张伟涛), or why his career was relatively short or ended so abruptly. This is unusual, for he photographed several of the more successful films of the early 1920s. We know he began in movies with the Mingxing studio, and acted in the 1922 comedy short, "The King of Comedy Visits China," apparently his only acting credit. His first credit behind the camera was with "A Laborer's Love," the oldest surviving Chinese-made film, and the following year he photographed the box office smash "An Orphan Rescues His Grandfather." After that, he worked off and on for several smaller Shanghai studios, increasingly directing and writing in the latter half of the decade.
Zhang Weitao Filmography (as cinematographer, except where noted):
1922:
The King of Comedy Visits China (actor)
A Laborer's Love
Zhang Xinsheng
1923:
An Orphan Rescues His Grandfather
1924:
A Couple Through Water and Fire
1925:
Battlefield Tears
1926:
Hell and Heaven
Seeking Freedom of Marriage
Frustrated Hero (co-cinematographer)
Princess Lotus (pts.1,2)
Midnight Lovers
Days of Horror (also co-director)
The Widow (director)
1927:
Rebuild the Nation (writer)
1928:
She Wants to be Free (director)
The True and False Monkey King (writer)
1929:
China's First Detective (writer)
