The Founding of a Republic
| The Founding of a Republic | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Traditional | 建國大業 |
| Simplified | 建国大业 |
| Mandarin | Jiàngúo Dà Yè |
| Cantonese | Gin3 gwok3 Daai6 Jip6 |
| Directed by |
Huang Jianxin Han Sanping |
| Produced by |
Huang Jianxin Han Sanping |
| Written by |
Chen Baoguang Wang Xingdong |
| Starring |
Tang Guoqiang Zhang Guoli Xu Qing Liu Jin Chen Kun Wang Wufu |
| Music by | Shu Nan |
| Cinematography | Zhao Xiaoshi |
| Edited by | Xu Hongyu |
Production company |
China Film Group Shanghai Film Studio Media Asia Films Emperor Motion Pictures Universe Entertainment Polybona Films China Movie Channel Beijing Guoli Changsheng Movies & TV Productions Beijing Hualu Baina Film & TV Production Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation DMG Entertainment Beijing Xinbaoyuan Movie & TV Investment |
| Distributed by |
China Film Group Beijing Polybona Film Distribution (China) Universe Films Distribution (Hong Kong) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 135 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Budget | $8.8–$10 million |
| Box office | $62.5 million[1][2] |
The Founding of a Republic is a 2009 Chinese historical film commissioned by China's film regulator and made by the state-owned China Film Group (CFG) to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The film was directed by Huang Jianxin and China Film Group head Han Sanping.
Although the film premiered on September 17, 2009 in mainland China, it has yet to receive publicity in Taiwan (Republic of China). The film was produced with the backing of the Communist Party, but in response to some reactions outside Mainland China, Huang Jianxin, the film's co-director, "has said it was unfair to describe The Founding of a Republic as propaganda, since modern Chinese audience were too sophisticated to swallow a simplistic rendering of history."[3] While the government in Taiwan has asserted that it has no plans to actively censor the film, it has yet to be released because Taiwan's 2009 annual quota of 10 mainland films was already reached.[4]
The film retells the tale of the Communist ascendancy and triumph, and has a star-studded cast including Andy Lau, Ge You, Hu Jun, Leon Lai, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Zhao Wei, and directors Jiang Wen, Chen Kaige and John Woo, many of whom make cameo appearances so brief they could be easily missed; the leading roles are played by actors equally renowned in China, such as Tang Guoqiang and Zhang Guoli, but they are less well-known internationally. A CFG spokesman said many stars answered Han Sanping's call to appear in the film, and waived their fee. Thus, the movie kept to its modest budget of 60–70 million yuan (US$8.8–$10 million). According to the executive at one of China's top multiplex chains, the film unusually marries "the core of an 'ethically inspiring' film with commercial packaging."[5]
Plot
In 1945 after the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Mao Zedong and members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) travel to Chongqing for a meeting with Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang (KMT). With help from the China Democratic League, the Double Tenth Agreement is signed between the KMT and CPC, with both sides agreeing to stop the civil war and to establish a multi-party government in China.
The following year, Chiang Kai-shek calls for a National Assembly in Nanjing and is elected as President of the Republic of China (ROC). At the same time, the peace negotiations between the CPC and KMT fail and the civil war continues. Other political figures such as Zhang Lan, Soong Ching-ling and Li Jishen, support the CPC because they oppose Chiang's government, even though they are in non-battleground areas such as Shanghai and Hong Kong.
In May 1948, the CPC declares the opening of a "War of Liberation" against Chiang's ROC government, with many other political parties responding to the call and taking the CPC's side. The Red Army scores victories against the NRA in subsequent battles and eventually Chiang's forces retreat to Taiwan in December 1949. On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong proclaims the People's Republic of China with its capital at Beijing, marking the start of a new era for China.
Cast
Main figures
| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tang Guoqiang | Mao Zedong | Chairman of the Communist Party of China (CPC), later Chairman of the PRC Central People's Government |
| Zhang Guoli | Chiang Kai-shek | President of the Republic of China (ROC), Director-General of the Kuomintang (KMT) |
| Xu Qing | Soong Ching-ling | Sun Yat-sen's wife; later Vice President of the People's Republic of China (PRC) |
| Liu Jin | Zhou Enlai | Vice Chairman of the CPC, later Premier of the PRC |
| Chen Kun | Chiang Ching-kuo | Chiang Kai-shek's son; Youth League of the Three People's Principles leader, later President of the ROC |
| Wang Wufu | Zhu De | Commander-in-chief of the Red Army, later Vice Chairman of the PRC |
| Wang Xueqi | Li Zongren | Vice President of the ROC |
| Liu Sha | Liu Shaoqi | CPC Central Committee secretary, later President of the PRC |
| Wang Jian | Ren Bishi | CPC Central Committee secretary |
| Jin Xin | Li Jishen | NRA general, later Vice Chairman of the PRC |
| Wang Bing | Zhang Lan | Chairman of the China Democratic League, later Vice Chairman of the PRC |
| Vivian Wu | Soong Mei-ling | Chiang Kai-shek's wife and Soong Ching-ling's sister; later First Lady of the ROC |
| Xiu Zongdi | Fu Zuoyi | Chairman of Chahar government, later PRC Water Resources Minister |
Chinese Communist Party figures
| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Huang Wei | Deng Yingchao | Zhou Enlai's wife; later CPPCC Chairwoman |
| Shi Xin | Deng Xiaoping | CPC Central Committee secretary, later Chairman of the CMC |
| Zong Liqun | Peng Dehuai | Second-in-command of the Red Army, later Vice Chairman of the CMC |
| You Liping | Lin Biao | Red Army general, later Vice Chairman of the PRC |
| Che Xiaotong | Liu Bocheng | Red Army general, later Marshal of the PLA |
| Zhao Yong | He Long | Red Army general, later Marshal of the PLA and Vice Premier of the PRC |
| Gu Wei | Chen Yi | Red Army general, later Foreign Minister of the PRC |
| Sun Jitang | Luo Ronghuan | Red Army general, later Marshal of the PLA |
| Wang Jun | Xu Xiangqian | Red Army general, later Marshal of the PLA |
| Ao Yang | Nie Rongzhen | Red Army general, later Marshal of the PLA |
| Ye Jin | Ye Jianying | Red Army general, later Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Committee |
| Hou Yong | Chen Geng | Red Army general |
| Zhao Ningyu | Liu Yalou | Red Army general |
| Zhang Erdan | Jiang Qing | Mao Zedong's wife |
| Xie Gang | Gao Gang | Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Committee, later Vice Chairman of the State Planning Commission |
| Wang Huaying | Pan Hannian | CPC politician, later Deputy Mayor of Shanghai |
| Huang Xiaoming | Li Yinqiao | Mao Zedong's chief bodyguard |
| Ma Yue | Yan Changling | Mao Zedong's chief bodyguard |
| Donnie Yen | Tian Han | Lyricist for March of the Volunteers, later member of the PRC Culture Ministry |
| Xu Fan | Liao Mengxing | Liao Zhongkai and He Xiangning's daughter; Soong Ching-ling's secretary, later member of the All-China Women's Federation |
| Chen Hao | Fu Dongju | Fu Zuoyi's daughter; People's Daily reporter |
| Chen Daoming | Yan Jinwen | Deputy leader of Shanghai Investigative Branch of State Secrets Department |
| Zhang Ziyi | Gong Peng | PRC Foreign Affairs Ministry official |
Kuomintang figures
| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Leon Lai | Cai Tingkai | NRA general, later CPC member |
| Chen Kaige | Feng Yuxiang | Chiang Kai-shek's sworn brother, NRA general, Vice President of National Military Council |
| Jiang Wen | Mao Renfeng | Head of BIS |
| Hu Jun | Gu Zhutong | Commander-in-chief of NRA; later Chief of staff of NRA |
| Andy Lau | Yu Jishi | NRA general |
| Chen Baoguo | Zhou Zhirou | NRA Air Force general |
| Jet Li | Chen Shaokuan | NRA Navy admiral, later NPC member |
| Xiao Wenge | He Yingqin | NRA general |
| You Yong | Bai Chongxi | NRA general |
| Li Qiang | Chen Cheng | NRA general, later Vice President of the ROC |
| Yang Xiaodan | Zhang Zhizhong | NRA general, later CPC member |
| Tong Dawei | Kong Lingkan | Kung Hsiang-hsi and Soong Ai-ling's son |
| Cao Kefan | Wu Kuo-chen | Mayor of Shanghai, later Governor of Taiwan Province |
| Zhong Xinghuo | Huang Shaoxiong | Vice President of Control Yuan, later NPC member |
| Xia Gang | Shao Lizi | NRA secretary, later NPC member |
| Ding Zhicheng | Lu Guangsheng | BIS agent |
| Tao Zeru | Wu Tiecheng | Vice President of Legislative Yuan, later Senior Advisor to the Office of the President of the ROC |
| Xu Huanshan | Yu Youren | President of Control Yuan |
| Zhao Xiaoshi | Sun Fo | Sun Yat-sen's son; President of Legislative Yuan |
| Sun Xing | Du Yuming | NRA general |
| Lin Dongfu | Gan Jiehou | Li Zongren's private secretariat representative |
| Ye Xiaojian | Tai Chi-tao | President of Examination Yuan |
| Zhang Hanyu | Liu Congwen |
China Democratic League figures
| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ge Cunzhuang | Tan Pingshan | KMT Revolutionary Committee member |
| Zhang Shizhong | Shen Junru | CDL member, later President of the PRC Supreme People's Court |
| Bi Yanjun | Luo Longji | CDL member, later CPC member |
| Wu Gang | Wen Yiduo | Poet, CDL member |
| Qiao Lisheng | Guo Moruo | Author, poet, historian, archaeologist; later President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences |
| Deng Chao | Xu Beihong | Artist, later President of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts |
| Li Bin | He Xiangning | Artist, CDL member, later CPC member |
| Zhang Qiufang | Li Dequan | Feng Yuxiang's wife; member of the KMT Revolutionary Committee, later PRC Health Minister |
| Liu Yiwei | Li Huang | Chinese Youth Party founder |
Other notable historical figures
| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Feng Xiaogang | Du Yuesheng | Shanghai Green Gang boss |
| John Woo | Liu Wenhui | Sichuan warlord |
| Feng Yuanzheng | Philip Fugh | John Leighton Stuart's personal assistant |
Foreign political figures
| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Aleksandr Pavlov | Joseph Stalin | Soviet Union leader |
| Donald Eugene McCoy | George Marshall | United States military leader, later Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense |
| Donald Freeman | Patrick J. Hurley | United States Ambassador to China |
| Leslin H Collings | John Leighton Stuart | United States Ambassador to China, President of Yenching University |
Fictional characters
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Sun Honglei | Hu Liwei, Central Daily News reporter |
| Fan Wei | Guo Bencai, Mao Zedong's cook |
| Liu Ye | Red Army old soldier |
| Ge You | Red Army Fourth Division leader |
| Wang Baoqiang | Red Army Fourth Division soldiers |
| Wang Xuebing | |
| Huang Shengyi | Xinhua News Agency broadcaster |
| Jackie Chan | Reporter interviewing Li Jishen |
| Chen Hong | Reporter interviewing Zhang Lan |
| Li Youbin | Newspaper agency head |
| Zhang Jianya | Chiang Kai-shek's deputy |
| Lian Jin | Zhou Zhirou's deputy |
| Sun Xing | Yu Jishi's deputy |
| Guo Xiaodong | NRA officer |
| Liu Ye | KMT police officers |
| Huang Zixuan | |
| Guo Degang | Cameraman |
| Zhang Shen | Translator accompanying Liu Shaoqi to the Soviet Union |
| Gong Beibi | Red Army female soldiers |
| He Lin | |
| Yang Ruoxi | |
| Che Yongli | |
| Tony Leung Ka-fai | CPPCC members |
| Feng Gong | |
| Zhao Wei | |
| Miao Pu | |
| Dong Xuan | |
| Chen Shu | |
| Ning Jing | |
| Shen Aojun | |
| Wang Yajie | |
| Zhao Baoyue | |
| Wang Fuli |
See also
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Founding of a Republic. |
- ↑ (Chinese) 2009 Yearly Box Office Ranking for Mainland China
- ↑ Total Gross: The Founding of a Republic (excluding Mainland China)
- ↑ Foster, Peter (17 September 2009). "Epic film The Founding of a Republic marks 60 years of Chinese Communism". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- ↑ "Taiwan Says it won't censor China propaganda film". Retrieved 2009-09-28.
- ↑ Lee, Min (3 September 2009). "China injects star power into anniversary film".
External links
- The Founding of a Republic at the Internet Movie Database
- The Founding of a Republic at the Chinese Movie Database