The Battle of Mount Dingjun (1905)
《定军山》（1905)
The film came from one of four Chinese classical masterpieces, The Three Kingdoms (San Guo Yan Yi), taking place during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle was fought between the kingdoms of Wei and Shu. In 215, Cao Cao took Hanzhong and appointed his senior generals Xia Houyuan and Zhang He, etc. Lived and stayed in Mount Dingjun and Mount Tian-dang as well as their mountain passes. Liu Bei, leading his generals and soldiers marched towards Hanzhong in the same year while Cao Cao did not gain a firm foothold there. The old senior general Huang Zhong defeated Zhang He at Mount Tiandang and finally seized Mount Dingjun.
《定军山》取材于中国古典四大名著之一的《三国演义》，讲的是三国时 期蜀魏用兵的故事。公元215年，曹操夺取汉中，并派大将夏侯渊、 张郃等留守驻兵定军山和天荡山各隘口。刘备趁曹操立足未稳，同年率将兵进军汉中，老将黄忠打败了驻守天荡山的张郃而夺得定军山。
During the early stage of the 20th century occidental film theaters owned by foreigners attracts numerous people while the occidental film theaters owned by Chinese Ren Qingtai on the same street attracted very few. The only reason was that foreigners did not sell new films to Chinese, and what Chinese theaters could merely do was to show those old films.

20世纪初的北京天桥，外国人开设的西洋影戏院门庭若市。同样一条街，中 国人任庆泰开设的西洋影戏院却门可罗雀。原因只有一个，外国人不卖你新片，任你几部老片循环放映。

The year 1905 met the celebration of sixtieth birthday of Tan Xinpei, the notable old-aged male character artist of Beijing Opera. Ren Qingtai, the boss of the Beijing Fengtai Photo Studio, ought his aspiration to make Chinese people's own films. Tan Xinpei performed his adept excerpts, "Volunteering to take the army (QingYing)”，“brandishing swords (Wudao)，" and “cross swords (Jiaofeng)", etc. in the film. When finished film was held in Daguan Building among the moving crowds and such was the scramble of visitors. The Battle of Mount Dingjun (1905) symbolized the birth of Chinese film.
1905年，适逢京剧老生表演艺术家谭鑫培60寿辰。北京丰泰照相馆老板任庆 泰忽然获得了拍摄中国人自己的电影的灵感。谭鑫培在镜头前表演了“请缨”、 “舞刀”、“交锋”等自己最拿手的几个片断。随后，片子被拿到前门大观楼熙攘的 人群中放映,结果万人空巷。《定军山》标志着中国电影的诞生。