# The Founding of an Army

The Founding of an Army is a 2017 Chinese historical drama produced by the China Film Group Corporation to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army. Produced by Han Sanping and directed by Andrew Lau, it is the third installment of the Founding of New China trilogy, along with The Founding of a Republic (2009) and The Founding of a Party (2011). The film features a star-studded cast of Chinese actors. It was released on July 28, 2017, to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

## Plot

The story begins in 1927 at the beginning of the Nanchang uprising, known as the first major Kuomintang–Communist engagement.

## Cast

* Liu Ye as Mao Zedong
* Zhu Yawen as Zhou Enlai
* Huang Zhizhong as Zhu De
* Wang Jingchun as He Long
* Oho Ou as Ye Ting
* Liu Haoran as Su Yu
* Ma Tianyu as Lin Biao
* Xiao Ai as Ye Jianying
* Lay Zhang as Lu Deming
* Li Yifeng as He Changgong
* Bai Yu as Cai Qingchuan
* Liang Dawei as Chen Geng
* Yu Hewei as Chen Duxiu
* Wu Yue as Zhang Guotao
* Bai Ke as Di Qiubai
* Liu Xun Zi Mo as Cai Hesen
* Dong Zijian as Deng Xiaoping
* Chen Xiao as Ren Bishi
* Zhang Dapeng as Liu Bocheng
* Bao Jianfeng as Tan Pingchuan
* Song Yang as Wang Shouhua
* Ye Xiaowei as Chen Yi
* Ashton Chen as Nie Rongzhen
* Li Xian as Luo Ronghang
* Li Mincheng as Zhou Yiqun
* Wang Zhao as Tan Zheng
* Li Qin as Yang Kaihui
* Song Jia as Soong Ching-ling
* Guan Xiaotong as Deng Yingchao
* Ma Yili as Xiang Jingyu
* Zhou Dongyu as Fan Jiaxia
* Feng Wenjuan as Peng Yuanhua
* Wang Qinxiang as Zhang Zuolin
* Han Geng as Zhang Xueliang
* Wang Ting as Si Lie
* Michael Chen as Si Li
* Cao Kefan
* Daniel Wu as Hu Hanming
* Wallace Huo as Chiang Kai-shek
* Zhang Tianai as Soong Mei-ling
* Zhang Junhan as Chen Lifu
* Yu Shaoqun as Wang Jingwei
* William Chan as Triad boss
* Zhang Hanyu as Du Yuesheng
* Zhou Yiwei
* Yu Ailei as Zhang Fakui
* Marc Ma as Zhao Fusheng
* Tony Yang as Qian Dajun
* Huang Shang-Ho
* Joseph Cheng as Yu Jishi
* Lu Han as Lian luo yuan (Liaison Officer)
* Tong Ruihuan as Zeng Zhongming
* Zheng Kai
* Winston Chao
* Liu Zhibing
* Alex Fong
* Tang Baoqiang
* Ma Zhengqiang
* Wang Zhifei

## Release
### Critical response

On July 25, 2017, film director Ye Daying (叶大鹰), the grandson of General Ye Ting, criticized the film on Sina Weibo as follows: "The revolutionary history is seriously entertaining. It is a reproach and distortion of the revolutionary history." Ye Daying also sent an open letter to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), which was signed by more than 25 revolutionary successors, many of them are generations of higher military officials. They demanded an apology to their family from the producer.
The page of the film on Douban, the leading film review website in China, has forbidden any rating or comment by its users since July 2017.

### Asian release

This film was only released in Southeast Asia within Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Estonia before the ASEAN international film exhibit.

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 9th Macau International Movie Festival | Best Picture | The Founding of an Army | Nominated |
| 9th Macau International Movie Festival | Best Director | Andrew Lau | Nominated |
| 9th Macau International Movie Festival | Best Supporting Actor | Zhang Yixing | Nominated |
| 9th China Film Director's Guild Awards | Best Film | The Founding of an Army | Nominated |
| 37th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Visual Effects | Victor Wong, Eman Tse | Nominated |
| 23rd Huading Awards | Best Film | The Founding of an Army | Nominated |
| 25th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Jury Award | The Founding of an Army | Nominated |
| 14th Changchun Film Festival | Best Original Music Score | Chen Guangrong, Chen Zhiyi | Won |
| 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Picture | The Founding of an Army | Nominated |
| 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Outstanding Picture | The Founding of an Army | Won |
| 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Writing | Han Sanping, Huang Jianxin, Dong Zhe, Zhao Ningyu | Nominated |
| 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actor | Zhu Yawen | Nominated |
| 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actress | Li Qin | Nominated |
| 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ma Tianyu | Nominated |
| 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Zhang Tian'ai | Nominated |