List of Chinese films before 1930

This is a list of the earliest films produced and released before 1930 during the Qing dynasty and Republican China, ordered by year of release.

For an alphabetical listing of Chinese films see :Category:Chinese films.

1905–1929 Title Chinese Title Director Actors Genre Notability 1905Dingjun Mountain定軍山 Ren Jingfeng Tan Xinpei Historical Drama This recording of a Beijing opera performance constitutes the first Chinese film ever made 1913The Difficult Couple難夫難妻 Zhang Shichuan,Zheng Zhengqiu Short First Chinese short feature filmZhuangzi Tests His WifeZhuangzi shi qi Li Beihai Drama The earliest feature film of Hong Kong cinema 1917Victims of Opium黑籍冤魂 Zhang Shichuan,Guan Haifeng Drama/Social Criticism Based on a novel by Wu Jianren 1921Yan Ruisheng閻瑞生 Ren Pengnian Docudrama First full-length Chinese film, a dramatized recreation of a 1920 Shanghai murder case 1922Laborer's Love勞工之愛情 Zhang Shichuan Silent Earliest surviving complete filmAn Empty DreamHistorical Dictionary of Chinese Cinema - Page 113 0810879131 Tan Ye, Yun Zhu - 2012