The Founding of a Republic

In 1945 after the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Mao Zedong and other members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) travel to Chongqing to meet with Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang (KMT). This meeting aims to consider a peace negotiation between the two parties and hopefully discuss the beginning of a democratic nation. With assistance from the China Democratic League, Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek signed the Double Tenth Agreement on October 10, 1945. Both parties agreed to halt the civil war and establish a multi-party government within China.

The following year, the Nationalist government relocated to Nanjing (Nanking), and both parties broke the Double Tenth Agreement, which led the civil war to resume. In July 1947 and onwards, the People's Liberation Army changed its tactics from strategic defense to offense into regions under KMT rule, beginning the process of liberating China. During this time, Chiang Kai-shek called for a National Assembly in Nanjing, where he was elected as the first President of the Republic of China (ROC). His elected vice president was Li Zongren, a known rival within the party. In May 1948, the CPC declared 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, including the China Democratic League, the Revolutionary Committee (China) and other political figures such as Zhang Lan, Soong Ching-ling and Li Jishen. After numerous victories for the CPC within China's central and southern sectors, Chiang Kai-shek is forced to resign as president, and his forces retreat to Taiwan in December 1949. On October 1, 1949, Mao declared the founding of the People's Republic of China, with Beijing, formally named Beiping, as its capital, marking the start of a new era for China.

The Founding of a Republic, is a historical drama that is shot in many locations including Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing to re-create historical events during the Chinese Communist Revolution.[6] The production of this film was commissioned by China's film regulator, the China Film Administration (CFA), and was produced by the publicly funded China Film Group (CFG).[4] This film was co-directed by Huang Jianxin and Han Sanping, the chairman of the China Film Group, and includes many famous actors including Andy Lau, Ge You, Hu Jun, Leon Lai, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Zhao Wei, as well as other directors such as Jiang Wen, Chen Kaige, and John Woo. The main protagonists were played by highly renowned actors, Tang Guoqiang and Zhang Guoli, who played Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek. One interesting aspect of this film was that a CFH spokesman revealed that many of the stars that appeared in the film waived their fee, which kept the film's budget quite modest.[4] The initial budget of the film was 30 million Yuan (US$4.7 million),[6] however, the finalized cost was 60-70 million Yuan, which is the equivalent of US 8.8-10 million dollars.[4]

Before the release of the film, news had circulated that 21 actors in the film, including Chen Kaige and Chen Hong, are foreign nationals.[11] Particularly due to the film's popularity and connection to the sixtieth anniversary of the People's Republic of China, this controversy quickly attracted large media attention.

Some critics, such as Shanghai writer Han Han, have pointed to the film's strong nationalist themes to highlight the irony of foreign nationals' involvement, especially when understanding how “the communist ideals of the film might translate into today’s world”.[3] On September 17, 2009, National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) spokesman Zhu Hong formally stated that Tang Guoqiang and the other ten main actors of The Founding of a Republic are in fact Chinese nationals. Zhu Hong said in a question-and-answer session that the other actors in the film were all guest stars, and the vast majority were Chinese nationals, thus assuring that the film is in line with the "regulations for employing foreign creators to participate in the filming of domestic films" and that the main actors in Chinese films do not exceed one-third of the provisions of foreign personnel.[12]

• When asked in an interview why he made the film, director Han Sanping said, "When Zhang Heping (former vice chairman of the Beijing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) called me, he wanted me to direct the film, and he gave many reasons. But what finally convinced me was that he said, ‘It's the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China, so I should really come to the front line to give a little power and leave a memento.’ Finally, the leaders of the Film Administration and Zhao Shi, deputy director of the General Administration, decided to let me be the general director and do my best to make the film." At the same time, he said, "Now if I were to categorize The Founding of a Republic, I would say it is a Chinese ‘heroic epic film’.”[13]
• After filming The Soong Sisters, Wu Junmei had resolved never to play Soong Mei-ling again. One important reason was that when she views the finished film and saw that the scenes "Xi'an Incident" and "Congress Speech" were cut, Wu Junmei felt that the character of Soong Mei-ling in the film had deviated from the script she had seen at the beginning. In addition, she felt Soong Mei-ling is a very difficult character, to an extent that she "grows more unconfident as the filming progresses". However, after 12 years of accumulating life experience, she reprised her role as Soong Mei-ling in The Founding of a Republic.[14]
• This is the 14th time that Tang Guoqiang has played Mao Zedong on the screen since 1996. Tang Guoqiang was 56 years old when the film was shot, and Mao Zedong was exactly 56 years old in 1949. After many years, Tang is very much in Mao's element, both in terms of temperament and image.[15]

• The Founding of a Party
• The Founding of an Army

• The Founding of a Republic at IMDb
• The Founding of a Republic at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Founding of a Republic at the Chinese Movie Database
• Why Should 2009 Make a Difference? Reflections on a Chinese Blockbuster
• The Founding of a Republic - Far East Films