This dissertation revisits a piece of forgotten history of Chinese cinema from 1930s to 1950s when Chinese filmmakers formed a cross-border, Pacific Rim network of cinematic exchanges among various Chinese diasporic communities. Through a transnational and diasporic lens, it explores new relationships between Chinese filmmakers, traditional stage culture, language differences, Chinese ethnicity, and politics. It argues that Chinese cinema, from its early age, was the product of transnational movements of capital, people, and ideas among the Chinese diaspora. The global links among various Chinese communities initiated and sustained the development of Chinese cinema. / 博士(アメリカ研究) / Doctor of Philosophy in American Studies / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University