Zhu Xuhua (1906–1988) was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang, and graduated from Shanghai Daxia University; he was an early Hong Kong film producer and studio executive. He wrote his first film script, The Elder Brother's Romance, in 1927 at the age of nineteen under the pen name Zhu Xuehua. During the war with Japan he managed the Guangxi Daily and represented cinemas in the Chengdu area before coming to Hong Kong. In 1945 he co-founded the Great China Film Company in Hong Kong with Jiang Boying, serving as manager and head of its studio, and in 1948 he co-founded the Yonghua Film Company with Li Zuyong, again as studio head, overseeing all production and also publicity until Li's death ended the company; Yonghua, which produced films such as The Soul of China and The Secret History of the Qing Court, was one of the larger studios of post-war Hong Kong. He then helped Audel set up the International Film Distribution Company, and when it was reorganised as Motion Picture & General Investment (MP & GI, or Cathay) he continued to run its publicity and production. In 1956, backed by Cathay, he founded the Guofeng Film Company, which produced The Vagabond Girl (1960), the film that made Josephine Siao a child star and was later digitally restored by the Hong Kong Film Archive. Leaving Cathay in 1966, he founded and edited the Shaw Brothers' magazine Hong Kong Movie News and ran the studio's actor-training class, bringing the studio's output systematically to audiences and nurturing newcomers. He moved to the United States in 1980 and died in Hong Kong on 15 April 1988. Having headed the Great China, Yonghua and Guofeng companies in turn, producing historical, literary and family dramas, he witnessed the building of Hong Kong's early film industry.
From the 1940s Zhu helped found studios such as Great China, Yonghua and Guofeng in Hong Kong and long ran their production and publicity, producing The Vagabond Girl, which made the child star Josephine Siao. As founding editor of Hong Kong Movie News he brought Shaw Brothers' output systematically to audiences, witnessing the building of Hong Kong's film industry.
Achievements
- 1945 · Co-founded the Great China Film Company in Hong Kong with Jiang Boying.
- 1948 · Co-founded the Yonghua Film Company with Li Zuyong and served as its studio head.
- 1956 · Founded the Guofeng Film Company with Cathay's backing, producing The Vagabond Girl (1960).
- 1966 · Left Cathay to found and edit the Shaw Brothers' magazine Hong Kong Movie News.