Mingxing Film Company

The Mingxing Film Company (), also credited as the Star Motion Picture Production Company, was a production company active in the Republic of China between 1922 and 1937. Established by a consortium of creative professionals, including film director Zhang Shichuan, dramatist Zheng Zhengqiu, and critic Zhou Jianyun, Mingxing initially produced comedy films that drew little audience attention. Facing insolvency in 1923, the company used the last of its capital to produce Orphan Rescues Grandfather, which released to massive commercial success and provided the company with the revenue needed to expand and hire new talent.

In the mid-1920s, Mingxing acquired new studios and made its initial public offering, growing rapidly even in the face of emerging competition. It adapted several novels to film, with its Lonely Orchid (1926) being one of the most successful Chinese films of the silent era. It also expanded from family dramas to wuxia with The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (1928), and began producing sound films with Sing-Song Girl Red Peony (1931). By the early 1930s, Mingxing was one of the largest film companies in Shanghai, together with the Tianyi Film Company and the United Photoplay Service.