The Founding of a Republic建国大业

The Founding of a Republic(建国大业Jiànguó Dàyè ) is a 2009 Chinese historical film commissioned by China’s film regulator and made by the state-owned China Film Group 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. The film was produced with the backing of the Communist Party, but in response to 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.” While the Taiwan government 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.

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.”

In 1945 after the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Mao Zedong and members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 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 CCP, 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 CCP and KMT fail and the civil war continues. Other political figures such as Zhang Lan, Soong Ching-ling and Li Jishen, support the CCP because they oppose Chiang’s government, even though they are in non-battleground areas such as Shanghai and Hong Kong.

In May 1948, the CCP 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 CCP’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.