{ "id": "epx7yxxyz2", "slug": "the-founding-of-an-army", "title": "The Founding of an Army (建军大业)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical", "label": "War and historical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure", "label": "War action and adventure", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-since-2000", "label": "War action films released since 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-since-2000" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-since-2000.yr-2017-2026", "label": "Released 2017 to 2026", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-since-2000.yr-2017-2026" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Founding of an Army (建军大业), 2017 Chinese historical drama directed by Andrew Lau, third of the founding trilogy; depicts the 1927 Nanchang Uprising and PLA founding, starring Liu Ye, Zhu Yawen, Ou Hao; 133 minutes, released 27 July 2017.", "snippet": "The Founding of an Army (建军大业), 2017 Chinese historical drama directed by Andrew Lau, third of the founding trilogy; depicts the 1927 Nanchang Uprising and PLA founding, starring Liu Ye, Zhu Yawen, Ou Hao; 133 minutes, released 27 July 2017.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-since-2000.yr-2017-2026", "markdown": "# The Founding of an Army (建军大业)\n\n**The Founding of an Army** (建军大业) is a 2017 Chinese historical drama directed by Andrew Lau (刘伟强) that dramatizes the founding of the Chinese [People's Liberation Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/peoples-liberation-army), from the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup of 1927 through the Nanchang Uprising of 1 August 1927 to the meeting of [Mao Zedong](https://www.edgepedia.org/mao-zedong) and [Zhu De](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhu-de) at Jinggangshan[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/19.html). It is the third and final installment of the \"founding trilogy\" (建国三部曲) that began with *The Founding of a Republic* (2009) and *Beginning of the Great Revival* (2011), and it was produced as a tribute film for the 90th anniversary of the army's founding[2](https://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-08/02/c_1119321274.htm).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 27 July 2017, mainland China; 133 minutes; Mandarin; drama/history[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/19.html) |\n| Director and producers | Directed by Andrew Lau; Han Sanping as chief planner and artistic director, Huang Jianxin as producer[3](https://dzb.whb.cn/images/2017-07/19/10/100719.pdf) |\n| Lead cast | Liu Ye (Mao Zedong), Zhu Yawen (Zhou Enlai), Huang Zhizhong (Zhu De), Wang Jingchun (He Long), Ou Hao (Ye Ting)[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/19.html) |\n| Historical span | April 12 coup of 1927, in which about 310,000 people were killed, to the Nanchang Uprising, Sanheba battle, Autumn Harvest Uprising, and the Jinggangshan meeting[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/19.html) |\n| Production scale | Filming from 1 August to 25 November 2016; about 60 scenes across roughly ten provinces; 25,000 extras[4](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BB%BA%E5%86%9B%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%9A/19171028) • [5](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0713/c22219-29401332.html?from=singlemessage) |\n| Audience satisfaction | 88.8 points on 28 July 2017, 22 hours after release, described as the highest score in the history of the Chinese film audience satisfaction survey[6](https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2017-08-02/doc-ifyinwmp1205979.shtml) |\n| Box office | About 4.1 (hundred million yuan) as of April 2024[7](https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202406201636700740_1.pdf?1719669459000.pdf=) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story\n\nThe film opens in 1927, when the [Northern Expedition](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-expedition) had just achieved major results and the right wing of the Kuomintang turned on its Communist allies in the \"party-clearing\" purge; in a few months, close to 310,000 people were killed, and the [Chinese Communist Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-communist-party), founded less than seven years earlier and without an army of its own, was nearly destroyed[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/19.html). From this defeat, Mao Zedong and [Zhou Enlai](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhou-enlai) draw the lesson that \"political power grows out of the barrel of a gun,\" and they go separately to Hunan and Nanchang to join Zhu De, He Long, Ye Ting, and Liu Bocheng in launching an uprising to build an army under the party's own command[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/19.html).\n\nThe narrative is built as a chain of events rather than a single battle scene. Scholar Wang Yichun describes the film as reconstructing the \"first shot\" of the Nanchang Uprising by embedding it in a wide event chain: the conspiracy and bloodshed of the April 12 coup, the debates of the party center, the southern march and the Sanheba battle, the origins of the [Autumn Harvest Uprising](https://www.edgepedia.org/autumn-harvest-uprising) led by Mao, and the meeting at the Jinggangshan base[8](https://www.zgwypl.com/content/details52_43287.html). A review in *Jiemian* similarly notes that the film uses Zhou Enlai as its central figure to link the April 12 coup, the Nanchang Uprising, and the failed southern advance, closing with the Jinggangshan meeting[9](https://www.jiemian.com/article/1507124.html).\n\n## Production\n\nThe project originated around 2013, when the city of Nanchang first approached Han Sanping about a film centered on the uprising; Han advised timing production for 2016 so that release would coincide with the army's 90th anniversary in 2017[10](https://ent.sina.com.cn/original/qihua/jianjundaye/). Bona Film Group's Yu Dong later assembled the project, bringing in Han Sanping and Huang Jianxin, and proposed Andrew Lau as director[10](https://ent.sina.com.cn/original/qihua/jianjundaye/). Lau, known for the *Young and Dangerous* and *Infernal Affairs* series, had never made a film of this type; he read through materials on the founding period for about a year and a half before shooting[11](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1745008) • [12](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0725/c40606-29425546.html).\n\nFilming began on 1 August 2016, the army's anniversary, and wrapped on 25 November 2016[4](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BB%BA%E5%86%9B%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%9A/19171028). The shoot lasted about four and a half months, the longest of Lau's career, with the crew moving across nearly ten provinces and about 60 settings including the Du residence in Shanghai, Dufudi in Wuhan, and the Niuxing railway station in Nanchang[11](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1745008) • [4](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BB%BA%E5%86%9B%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%9A/19171028). Some 25,000 extras took part, and the major battle sequences for the Nanchang Uprising and Sanheba alone were filmed over more than 60 days, about half the shooting schedule[5](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0713/c22219-29401332.html?from=singlemessage). In the finished film, war footage accounts for close to 40 percent of the running time[4](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BB%BA%E5%86%9B%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%9A/19171028).\n\n**Battle staging.** The Nanchang Uprising sequence used nearly 3,000 shots and 11 camera positions, including cranes, aerial drones, and GoPro cameras, and flames from explosions rose about ten meters[4](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BB%BA%E5%86%9B%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%9A/19171028). For the Sanheba battle, Lau set a record of 200 explosion points in a single shot[4](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BB%BA%E5%86%9B%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%9A/19171028). Because the cast members were busy stars with scattered scenes, Lau organized a team of more than 100 rehearsal actors, including real veterans, to run through every scene's choreography and blast points before filming[11](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1745008). Producer Huang Jianxin said the script alone was polished for two years, and that every actor did background reading and professional military training before joining the crew[13](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1751173).\n\n## Casting and the \"young faces\" debate\n\nUnlike the first two trilogy films, which assembled more than a hundred established stars, *The Founding of an Army* cast a large share of popular young actors, on the reasoning that the historical figures were themselves young at the time; each character's age is shown on screen, such as [Su Yu](https://www.edgepedia.org/su-yu), played by Liu Haoran, at 19[3](https://dzb.whb.cn/images/2017-07/19/10/100719.pdf) • [11](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1745008). Liu Ye reprised his role as Mao Zedong from *Beginning of the Great Revival*, with Zhu Yawen as Zhou Enlai, Yu Hewei as [Chen Duxiu](https://www.edgepedia.org/chen-duxiu), Ou Hao as [Ye Ting](https://www.edgepedia.org/ye-ting), and Ma Yili as Xiang Jingyu[2](https://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-08/02/c_1119321274.htm).\n\nThe casting drew public criticism before release. Ye Daying, a director and grandson of Ye Ting, said he could not accept the young actor Ou Hao playing his grandfather, and accused the filmmakers of profiting from a major historical event[13](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1751173) • [14](https://m.jiemian.com/article/1529310.html). At a seminar held by the China Film Archive, scholars defended the choice: Zhao Weifang of the Chinese Academy of Arts argued that if casting popular young actors improved audience acceptance of a mainstream film, it was on balance a benefit, and that any weak performances could be addressed at the level of script and direction[13](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1751173). Commentators also noted the film's fictional additions, such as the Nationalist officer Chen Feng played by Zhou Yiwei in the Nanchang sequence, introduced at Lau's insistence[10](https://ent.sina.com.cn/original/qihua/jianjundaye/).\n\n## Reception and significance\n\nAt a preview screening for more than 130 cinema-chain representatives on 17 July 2017, the film received high marks, and the China Film Art Research Center's summer survey recorded a satisfaction score of 88.8 on 28 July, described as a record for the survey[15](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0807/c40606-29452687.html) • [6](https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2017-08-02/doc-ifyinwmp1205979.shtml). Some experts compared it with earlier films on the same subject, *Nanchang Uprising* (1981) and *August 1st* (2007), and judged it a more complete account of the founding of the party's army[15](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0807/c40606-29452687.html).\n\nCritics identified the film as a step in the commercialization of Chinese mainstream cinema. At the China Film Archive seminar, professor Wu Guanping of the Beijing Film Academy said the film \"re-translates\" familiar historical and political language for a commercial context, and professor Suo Yabin of Communication University of China noted that among the three trilogy films it had the most complete narrative, and that its use of young idol actors gave them mainstream legitimacy[16](https://www.cfa.org.cn/cfa/ljwm/dt/2020102811530492939/index.html). A more critical *Jiemian* essay argued that the film recodes revolutionary history into a youth film, presenting a \"de-politicized, de-revolutionized, de-classed\" narrative in which the deaths of soldiers on both sides are honored in a humanist register rather than an ideological one[14](https://m.jiemian.com/article/1529310.html).\n\nCommercially, the film earned about 4.1 (hundred million yuan) at the box office as of April 2024, well below the trilogy's first installment *The Founding of a Republic* at 4.2 and far below contemporary hits such as *Wolf Warrior 2*[7](https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202406201636700740_1.pdf?1719669459000.pdf=). An IMAX version was also released[17](https://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/25/254079/2017/Press-Release-The-Founding-of-an-Army-IMAX-Version_C.pdf).\n\n## References\n\n1. [建军大业, Bona Film Group](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/19.html)\n2. [刘伟强执导《建军大业》 刘烨再演毛泽东, Xinhua (2016)](https://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-08/02/c_1119321274.htm)\n3. [《建军大业》将全国公映, 文汇报 (2017)](https://dzb.whb.cn/images/2017-07/19/10/100719.pdf)\n4. [建军大业（2017年刘伟强执导的电影）, Baidu Baike](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BB%BA%E5%86%9B%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%9A/19171028)\n5. [动员2.5万人次参与拍摄 《建军大业》\"群演\"创十年新高, People's Daily (2017)](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0713/c22219-29401332.html?from=singlemessage)\n6. [第一视角｜风华正茂燃青春 《建军大业》亮点大揭秘, Sina News (2017)](https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2017-08-02/doc-ifyinwmp1205979.shtml)\n7. [证券研究报告：公司首次覆盖, Debon Securities (2024)](https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202406201636700740_1.pdf?1719669459000.pdf=)\n8. [评电影《建军大业》：重构\"第一枪\"的历史事件链（王一川）, 中国文艺评论网 (2017)](https://www.zgwypl.com/content/details52_43287.html)\n9. [〖个人意见〗《建军大业》：战争异常残酷 别忘了那千万个打响第二枪的人, Jiemian (2017)](https://www.jiemian.com/article/1507124.html)\n10. [特别企划｜数星星已过时？后\"建军\"时代主旋律商业片怎么走, Sina Entertainment](https://ent.sina.com.cn/original/qihua/jianjundaye/)\n11. [专访｜《建军大业》导演刘伟强：这帮年轻演员很拼, The Paper (2017)](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1745008)\n12. [《建军大业》提档主创忆拍摄甘苦 为\"主旋律\"正名, People's Daily (2017)](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0725/c40606-29425546.html)\n13. [影协秘书长：全面评价《建军大业》不能仅仅依据个人直接感受, The Paper (2017)](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1751173)\n14. [〖思想界〗\"青春片\"《建军大业》：主旋律电影去政治化的得与失, Jiemian (2017)](https://m.jiemian.com/article/1529310.html)\n15. [人民日报海外版：《建军大业》很燃很精彩, People's Daily (2017)](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0807/c40606-29452687.html)\n16. [《建军大业》研讨获专家盛赞，开辟\"主旋律+类型片\"的创作道路, 中国电影资料馆 (2017)](https://www.cfa.org.cn/cfa/ljwm/dt/2020102811530492939/index.html)\n17. [The Founding of an Army IMAX Version press release (2017)](https://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/25/254079/2017/Press-Release-The-Founding-of-an-Army-IMAX-Version_C.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › War and historical films (individual works) › War action and adventure › War action films released since 2000 › Released 2017 to 2026*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-founding-of-an-army", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-founding-of-an-army.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Founding of an Army (建军大业)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-founding-of-an-army. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Founding of an Army (建军大业)](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-founding-of-an-army)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-founding-of-an-army](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-founding-of-an-army). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Founding of an Army (建军大业)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-founding-of-an-army. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Founding of an Army, 2017 Chinese historical drama directed by Andrew Lau, third of the founding trilogy; depicts the 1927 Nanchang Uprising and PLA founding, starring Liu Ye, Zhu Yawen, Ou Hao; 133 minutes, released 27 July 2017." }