Wang Zhaojun
Production of "Diao Chan", a historical epic based on the life of one of the legendary Four Beauties of China, began in January 1937 under director Bu Wancang for the Xinhua Film Company. Originally the film was to be part of an ambitious plan to release a film based on each beauty: Diao Chan, Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, and Yang Guifei, though only "Diao Chan" was ever made. With 90% of shooting complete, however, the production was shut down with the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. As a result of Japanese bombing of Shanghai, nearly all the film sets were destroyed, and most of the cast fled to the country's interior.