Zhu Shilin lived a simple life. Yet his life was a lot more than simple. He lived it simply as a filmmaker, but he lived in epic times, and his life took on an epic scale.

He loved movies and devoted his life to making them. He told mostly simple stories, but because they are of the times they were made, the films too take on an epic scale.

Born into turbulent times, at the very end of the 19th century, he lived through modern China in its various stages, from monarchy to republic to civil war to invasion and occupation by foreign forces. He sat out China’s last civil war, because he was reduced to making films on colonized soil. He died on the brink of one of China’s most traumatic upheavals, his death largely caused by the outbreak of that upheaval.

He made simple films, partly because he suffered from severe physical limitations, result of an early illness. Yet he persisted, leaving indelible marks on an industry that demanded great physical strength, not to mention mental toughness. He thrived on talent, discipline, spirits, dedication and perseverance, leaving behind an extensive and remarkable body of work that embodies his time. He is one of China’s greatest filmmakers.