[1] Having begun her career with Orphan Rescues Grandfather in 1923 and established a reputation as a tragedienne, the actress Wang Hanlun had failed to receive her salary when working for Shanghai's dominant Mingxing and Tianyi film companies.
[4] She hired Bu Wancang to handle directing, but after he proved unreliable and spent much of his time gambling on horses, Wang decided to finish the film, now titled Revenge of an Actress, herself.
[5] Further setbacks emerged when Minxin reclaimed its office space, requiring Wang to finish filming – with the assistance of Cai Chusheng – at her home.
[2] She therefore became one of China's earliest women directors, preceded by Xie Caizhen (An Orphan's Cry, 1925)[5] and Yang Naimei (A Wondrous Woman, 1928).
[2] It starred Wang as the titular actress, with other roles filled by Gao Zhanfei [zh], Fei Boqing, and Cai Chusheng.