Ethical dilemmas of China's 'Wall Street'

By Liu Wu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-11 09:20

Many props in Empire of Silver, directed by Christina Yao, come from Shanxi's museums and private collections.

A historical novel, a grand tradition and a $10 million budget - that's what Christina Yao received when she began directing her first film back in 2004.

The man who was footing the bill was Terry Kuo, the wealthiest man in Taiwan, who shares the same ancestral home region - Shanxi province in North China - with Yao. It is a part of China known for its centuries-long business tradition.

The novel, which now is a feature film, was Silver Valley, a tale about Shanxi merchants, who were the earliest and most successful businessmen controlling China's trade and finance in the 19th century.

The film stars Aaron Kwok and Hao Lei and when it premiered in Taiwan the promotional slogan was: "See Empire of Silver if you want to be rich."

The film opens in cinemas on the mainland on Aug 21, and is being billed as "the Wall Street of Imperial China" in promotion trailers.

But the subject of war in business, although a relevant topic in the current economic recession, is not an issue Yao wants to explore.

Her focus, instead, is the ethics behind business.

The film is set in 1899, during late Imperial-early Republican China when society was experiencing a transformation and traditional values were under pressure.

The family of powerful banker Kang Wunan becomes the human face of the film.

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