Yan Ruisheng

Yan Ruisheng (traditional Chinese: 閻瑞生; simplified Chinese: 阎瑞生; pinyin: Yán Ruìshēng) is a 1921 Chinese silent film directed by Ren Pengnian and starring Chen Shouzi and Wang Caiyun. A docudrama based on the murder of Wang Lianying the previous year, it follows a young man named Yan Ruisheng who, deeply in debt, kills a courtesan to steal her jewellery. The crime is discovered, and he and his accomplices attempt to flee. Yan is captured in Xuzhou and returned to Shanghai, where he is executed.

China's first full-length feature film, Yan Ruisheng was produced as short films were gaining traction among domestic producers. A collaborative project of the Chinese Cinema Study Society, the film extensively used the resources of the Commercial Press' filmmaking division. It emphasized verisimilitude in its casting and setting; the stars were chosen based on their physical resemblance to those involved, while extensive use of location shooting allowed scenes to be set in places associated with the murder.

Despite the generally poor box-office performance of earlier Chinese-made films, Yan Ruisheng was a commercial success upon release. Critical reception of its technical aspects was positive; however, the subject matter was challenged and the film faced several calls for banning. The success of Yan Ruisheng stimulated the rise of the domestic film industry even as it contributed to the rise of film censorship in China. The film is thought to be lost.