This chapter traces the emergence and consolidation of Chinese animation from the early twentieth century to the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. It begins with theoretical reflections on the definition of animation and its early global origins, including optical devices such as the zoetrope and praxinoscope, before situating the medium in the Chinese context. The pioneering work of the Wan brothers in Shanghai is examined as the foundation of a national industry that sought to integrate indigenous artistic traditions with cinematic innovation. Their milestone film Princess Iron Fan (1941) is highlighted as both a landmark of wartime propaganda and a source of inspiration for Japanese animation. The chapter further explores the role of animation in the Republican era, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and throughout the revolutionary period, emphasizing its function as a medium of ideological communication. With the establishment of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, animation flourished artistically while increasingly bound to political agendas. The Anti-Rightist Campaign and the Cultural Revolution brought severe repression, reducing animation to a tool of propaganda and silencing creative voices. By 1976, the industry had endured alternating phases of innovation and constraint, laying the groundwork for its later revival under reform policies.