The film is a portrayal of one of the "Four Beauties" of ancient China, in this case the titular Diaochan, from the late Eastern Han dynasty era.
The film, a lavish historical costume drama, represented something of a revival of Chinese filmmaking in Shanghai following the occupation of the city by Japanese forces.
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.
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.
[4] Zhang then distributed the film to the United States, where it played mainly in the Chinatowns of New York City and San Francisco.