Runje Shaw

Runje Shaw
Shaw's portrait on a 1934 issue of Liangyou magazine
Born	Shao Renjie 1896 Ningbo, Zhejiang, Qing China
Died	1975 (aged 79) Shanghai, People's Republic of China
Residence	Shanghai
Other names	Shao Zuiweng
Alma mater	Shenzhou University
Occupation	Entrepreneur, filmmaker
Known for	Founding Tianyi Film Company
Spouse(s)	Chen Yumei
Parent(s)	Shaw Yuh Hsuen Wang Shun Xiang
Relatives	Runde Shaw Runme Shaw Run Run Shaw

Runje Shaw (1896–1975), also known as Shao Zuiweng (C.W. Shaw) and Shao Renjie, was a Chinese film entrepreneur, producer, and director. The eldest of the Shaw brothers, in 1925 he founded Tianyi Film Company (also called Unique Film Productions) in Shanghai, which became one of the top three film production companies in pre-WWII Republic of China, and the beginning of the Shaw Brothers media empire.

Under Runje's leadership, his younger brothers Runde, Runme, and Run Run established branches of Tianyi in Hong Kong and Singapore. Runje retired from filmmaking after Tianyi's Shanghai base was destroyed in 1937 during the Japanese invasion, but his younger brothers, particularly Sir Run Run, rebuilt Tianyi's offshoots in Hong Kong and Singapore, of which Shaw Brothers Studio came to dominate filmmaking in Hong Kong.

Shaw was born in 1896 in Zhenhai, Ningbo, Zhejiang province. His birth name was Shao Tongzhang (邵同章) and Renjie (仁傑) was his courtesy name. After founding Tianyi, he went by the hao Zuiweng (醉翁, literally "Drunken Man"). He was the oldest of six sons of Shao Yuxuan (or Shaw Yuh Hsuen, Chinese: 邵玉軒; 1867–1920), owner of the Shanghai textile firm Jin Tai Chang (錦泰昌).

In 1914 Shaw graduated from Shanghai's Shenzhou University with a law degree and worked as a lawyer for the local court of Shanghai. He later went into business, trading textile dyes, silk, paper, etc. He also cofounded the Sino-French Zhenye Bank (中法振業銀行) with several partners and started Huayou Egg Factory, before getting into the theatre business.

In early 1922, Shaw managed the theatre Xiao Wutai (Happy Stage or Laughter Stage) in Shanghai. Among his colleagues were Zhang Shichuan, Zheng Zhengqiu, and Zhou Jianyun, who co-founded Mingxing Film Company. In 1923 Mingxing released the film Orphan Rescues Grandfather to great commercial success. Inspired by his former colleagues, Shaw established Tianyi Film Company (also known as Unique) in 1925. He served as general manager and director, while his younger brothers Runde Shaw (Shao Cunren) and Runme Shaw (Shao Renmei) managed accounting and distribution. The youngest brother, Run Run Shaw (Shao Yifu), did odd jobs for the company.