The Vermilion Pencil is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Norman Dawn, and produced and distributed by Robertson–Cole.

[6][7] Extras were cast from Chinatown, Los Angeles, and the value of the costumes worn by the principals cost $20,000[8] (equivalent to $360,000 in 2023).

[11] Some scenes were filmed at the Hollywood home of Adolph and Eugene Bernheimer,[9] now the Japanese restaurant Yamashiro.

In China, Tse Chan (Hayakawa) flees to the mountains after his wife (May) is executed under the command of the unscrupulous Ling Chee.

His son Li Chan (also Hayakawa), who has grown up in America, returns to China many years later as a successful civil engineer.